By STEPHEN WHYNO

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 2027 NFL draft is heading to the nation’s capital on the National Mall, President Donald Trump said Monday, bringing the widely popular event back to Washington for the first time in more than eight decades.

After word of Washington getting the draft two years from now surfaced Sunday night, Trump made the formal announcement in the Oval Office flanked by Commissioner Roger Goodell, Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

“I don’t think there’s ever been anything like that,” Trump said. “It’s going to be beautiful. It’s going to be something that nobody else will ever be able to duplicate that, I don’t suspect. It’s very exciting.”

It is the latest off-field victory for the Commanders, who a week ago reached an agreement with the D.C. government to build a new home on the old RFK Stadium site, pending council approval. Trump also endorsed that plan in his remarks, saying, “I don’t think there is a better site anywhere in the world.”

Under former owner Dan Snyder, the team previously tried multiple times to land the draft and was unsuccessful. Now, it’ll happen behind the team’s new Harris-led ownership group, which bought the Commanders from Snyder in 2023.

“What a great day for Washington,” Harris said. “I believe we’ll get over a million people, and it’s going to be an amazing day and it’ll showcase what Washington’s all about.”

Washington last hosted the draft in 1941 at the Willard Hotel.

“We believe in investing in sports because they have helped us transform neighborhoods, and the NFL bringing this event to the nation’s capital will help us fill hotel rooms, our restaurants,” Bowser said. “Americans from all 50 states will come to their nation’s capital and enjoy our beautiful city and museums.”

Green Bay, the NFL’s smallest market, hosted the most recent draft in late April outside historic Lambeau Field. The NFL announced a crowd of 600,000 fans attended over the three days.

“The draft has really become one of the great entertainment and sports events,” Goodell said, trumpeting the popularity of the draft in recent years. “It will not just be an event. It will be something that will show the world how far the nation’s capital has come and where it’s going.”

The NFL draft used to be a fixture at Radio City Music Hall in New York and has become an even bigger hit since it hit the road in 2015. Chicago hosted the draft in 2015 and ‘16. Philadelphia had it in ’17, followed by Dallas and Nashville.

Goodell announced the picks from his house in 2020 during the pandemic. It went to Cleveland in 2021 followed by Las Vegas, Kansas City and Detroit. A record crowd of 750,000 attended Detroit’s draft in 2024. Pittsburgh will host next year.

The draft in Washington in ‘27 will mark the third anniversary of the franchise-altering selection of quarterback Jayden Daniels with the second pick. The Commanders made the playoffs and reached the NFC championship game in Daniels’ rookie year and look to be a Super Bowl contender for years to come.

“I have to say that Josh had a very good draft a short while ago,” Trump said. “You have a very good quarterback — a great quarterback, I think.”

Success on the field under Harris-hired general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn has made Washington a premier market again, decades after the organization’s glory days that included three Super Bowl championships.

After the news conference last week unveiling plans to build a 65,000-seat stadium, Goodell said the turnaround from losing to winning is “immeasurable in so many ways.”

“This market is obviously critical,” Goodell said. “To be able to have a franchise here that everybody here is proud of that’s gotten back on the football field in a positive way and now to have a stadium that brings their team back into D.C., I think that’s a really big step and something that’s going to be great for the NFL, too.”

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed from Tampa, Florida.

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