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Mark Clouse has made some fantastic moves since becoming the Washington Commanders President in 2025. He sat down with The Sports Junkies at training camp to preview his vision for the Commanders over the next few years. What are you most excited about as a Commanders fan?
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00:00This is Mark Klaus, team president of the Washington Commanders.
00:03He is joining us now here at training camp.
00:06What's up, Mark?
00:07Did we talk your ear off at the media get-together?
00:09We feel like we monopolized your time, Jason and I.
00:11I couldn't even get to the food table, you guys.
00:13The food was gone by the time.
00:15No, look, you guys know I go to those things sometimes.
00:17I just hang out and like to chill in the corner and have a good time.
00:20We had good conversations.
00:21We did.
00:21I always enjoy talking to you guys.
00:23You gave us some good off-the-record stuff.
00:24I love it.
00:27Yeah, I'm good for one or two of those a lot of the way.
00:29I was just asking the guys because I didn't remember.
00:31Were you a helicopter pilot?
00:32I was.
00:33See, he was a helicopter pilot.
00:34Did you ever have a scare?
00:36Oh, yeah.
00:36Yeah, yeah.
00:37I'm sure.
00:37What was the worst scare?
00:38So I'll give you the two-second version.
00:41I was flying.
00:42So one of my assignments was in Death Valley.
00:45It was a bad guy.
00:46I portrayed the bad guys.
00:48And it was like 122 degrees.
00:51And helicopters are the power of a helicopter is based on the temperature and all this stuff.
00:57So we're out there flying along.
01:00And when we had measured before we went out, we were super tight, like almost too hot to fly.
01:05Yeah.
01:05And I got up there and I was flying in.
01:08We were going to go around this peak.
01:11And I tried to go up to get over it.
01:13Nothing.
01:14Wow.
01:14And the only thing that saved us was there's like a dry waddy or like a – and I could
01:18turn into it and fly out of it.
01:20So in those moments, what are you thinking?
01:22Did your mortality – like, you know, you always hear about what do you think about those last seconds if
01:27you think you're actually going down.
01:29This will sound cheesy.
01:30I know that.
01:31So I'm just going to get that out there ahead of time.
01:33But you do train so much that you really don't think.
01:37Honestly, I realized there was no power.
01:40I'm like, you immediately know to look that you've got to get down and get lower.
01:45And so that's what you do.
01:46But if that option wasn't there?
01:47Yeah.
01:48It would have been – I would have gone into the side of the hill.
01:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:51I mean, honestly, if there wouldn't have been that cutout that I could get into.
01:53How many people were in the helicopter at the time?
01:55Three of us.
01:55Three of you.
01:56Yeah.
01:56So how does that work?
01:57I don't even understand.
01:58Sorry.
01:58I've got to understand this.
01:59How does temperature affect how –
02:01The power of the engine.
02:02So the hotter it is outside, the less power your engine has.
02:06So how much weight you're carrying is super important as you're measuring heat.
02:10Wow.
02:10So I bet your listeners didn't know they were going to get the –
02:12No, no.
02:13That's good intel.
02:14That's interesting.
02:15That's good information.
02:16How long does it take you to – we had an old radio producer, and I love the guy.
02:19But he told us that he used to fly helicopters when he was, like, in the Army or whatever.
02:25And I just didn't believe him.
02:26How long does it take – how long does it take to learn from scratch?
02:31Yeah, so it takes – flight school is about a year.
02:33So it takes you –
02:34That's it?
02:34It takes you about a year.
02:35And then –
02:36Maybe he did.
02:36Then you train, right?
02:38You go to a unit.
02:39You've got guys –
02:39You didn't believe JV?
02:40Yeah.
02:41I didn't know if I believed him.
02:42It takes about a year to get through it.
02:43About a year?
02:44Wow.
02:44And then are you – so then you're not a nervous flyer at all.
02:47You love flying.
02:48No, I'm not.
02:49Yeah.
02:49Do you fly regular planes?
02:50Do you have that ability?
02:51I did when I was flying helicopters.
02:54But, honestly, I keep saying I'm going to go back and do it again.
02:56And I just – finding time.
02:58Life happens.
02:59Job's keeping me too busy.
03:00Right, right.
03:01I mean, I've always fantasized just to avoid traffic having a helicopter ready to be available.
03:06Here, in particular.
03:08Oh, yeah.
03:08I would love it.
03:09All right.
03:09So, so far, we've got a couple days left for fans that are coming by.
03:12Success so far from your perspective?
03:14It's been fantastic.
03:15And, as you guys know, we doubled the days, essentially, this year, steered several of
03:21those to season ticket holders where we're really focused on, you know, creating value
03:25and making sure that we're making that experience positive.
03:28It's been incredible.
03:30I mean, we've been full every single day, rain, shine, great atmosphere, great energy.
03:36And these guys love it, too.
03:37I mean, the players are like, you know, are fans going to be there tomorrow?
03:40Yeah, they're going to be there.
03:41So, it matters to them a lot, too.
03:43It's been great.
03:43So, a little thing that kind of went viral or was reported this week, if you went to
03:48the game, Braves on the Warpath is back.
03:51Like, how does that get discussed?
03:52How does it come back?
03:53Sure.
03:54How did you come about bringing those lyrics back?
03:56Well, I think, you know, a lot of times we've been talking about the strategy, if you will,
04:02of trying to connect our heritage and our past with today.
04:05And so, a lot of the things that we focus on are looking for those things that fans loved.
04:11And part of an era that we are incredibly proud of is Redskins and championship football.
04:16And so, we look for those things.
04:18Now, in this particular case, I would say, found that the old version was a little clunky, right?
04:23It wasn't as clean.
04:24It wasn't as, like, you know, flowed as well.
04:27And so, we said, hey, let's look at going back to that.
04:29And, you know, we didn't make big fanfare about it.
04:32But I do think it lives more in the space of being a connection to the past.
04:38One of the stars of week one of the preseason were the uniforms.
04:42Yeah.
04:42People raved about the uniforms.
04:44Are you guys pleased with that?
04:45They look great.
04:45They did.
04:46They did.
04:46When you see, I say this to someone, like, you talk a lot about this and you can kind of
04:50get into the, like,
04:51am I too much into the details or minutia?
04:54You see them run out of that tunnel on the field.
04:56You're like, yep, that's right.
04:57That works.
04:58That's the way it's supposed to look.
04:59And the end zones, too.
05:00The end zones paint it differently as well.
05:02Yep.
05:02Yeah.
05:03All right.
05:04I keep hearing about the new stadium, the current stadium, the upgrades.
05:09And people are telling me, like, you wouldn't believe, like, what they're doing.
05:13Even though they're going to be there maybe four more years.
05:15Can you talk about some of that stuff?
05:17Yeah.
05:17Look, I think it's incredibly important.
05:19And we talk about this a lot as a business team.
05:22Like, I don't want to hear that you think our current stadium isn't good.
05:27I don't want to hear that we're going to be in a new one soon.
05:30We've got to make the experiences right now for our fans incredible.
05:33And, by the way, how can we expect you to come to the new stadium if we're not doing things
05:37to make this one better?
05:39And so what we tried to do was focus on the things that mattered the most to fans, right,
05:42which is can I get them in and out of the stadium a little bit more efficiently?
05:46Can I make parking a bit simpler?
05:48Can the food be better?
05:50And more affordable?
05:51Right, can I create value for people on food?
05:54And can I clean it up?
05:56Like, there were just things that we, you know, that needed to be fixed.
06:01The ripped leather couches.
06:02Yeah, exactly.
06:03Right.
06:03Or paint on a wall.
06:05Like, I mean, you think about that as being a pretty easy thing to do to tell fans or to
06:10signal a fan.
06:11What other, though, is there something, like, brand new that we've never had to experience?
06:15Well, if you're on the club level, you know that our club level season ticket holders are all you can
06:23eat.
06:23Right.
06:24And to be honest with you, you know, two or three years ago, quality of the food and how it
06:30was distributed was a mess.
06:33People could wait 45 minutes to get chicken tenders, right?
06:36We can't have that.
06:37So if you go there now, you'll see this incredible structure we've built.
06:41It's right, it's the facing of the kitchen.
06:43So the kitchen's right behind it.
06:46It's a heated, like, think of slots where you just grab and go, right?
06:50So it's always being replenished, always making sure.
06:53And we up-weighted the quality of the food.
06:55And a lot of love this year for the $5 Bud Lights, too.
07:00And that's because Danny Boy and his team back in the day didn't give an half.
07:03Well, look, I think the –
07:05He's forward-faced.
07:06He doesn't care about him.
07:07I think the reality is that, you know, we have a responsibility to make that experience as great as we
07:14can.
07:15And, you know, we were super grateful to have so many season ticket holders come back to the franchise.
07:20And I feel like I've got to make that work.
07:23I've got to make it a value.
07:24One thing that we talked about when Cakes and I were hanging out with you at the happy hour was
07:29–
07:29And you talked about it, about interviewing the companies that were going to build the new stadium.
07:34Yeah.
07:35And you guys finally decided it.
07:36We did.
07:37Clark was one.
07:38Yep.
07:38I can't remember the other two.
07:39Morton, Sid, and Smoot.
07:40Okay.
07:40So you hired three companies.
07:42Yeah.
07:42How did that – you told us about the process.
07:44Yeah.
07:44And that was a long process.
07:45It's a long process.
07:46A lot of details.
07:47It's a long process.
07:47You decided on those three companies.
07:48Yeah.
07:49So, you know, as is the case many times in life, everyone's kind of good at certain things.
07:54And so when you're building a stadium, this is not a project you can just kind of pick one person.
07:59No.
07:59So you really got to look across the entire array of what needs to happen to make this a world
08:05-class and, in our mind, the best building in the world.
08:09You got to get the right people in the right lanes.
08:11And we're super excited about Clark, Morton, Sid, and Smoot.
08:15All three bring different skill sets to the table that are going to make this an incredible project.
08:19What about grass?
08:20Yeah.
08:20So, you know, look, the good news, right, for where we are right now is we have time.
08:26We're going to obviously construct the building in a way that gives us optionality.
08:30And anyway, even if you did do turf, you'd want the ability to do grass for certain things.
08:35Like they did in the World Cup.
08:35Like they did in the World Cup.
08:36But I think our mindset is we've got probably two to three years.
08:41Let's continue to see how technology unfolds.
08:44Our focus is to try to bring the best surface for the players.
08:47Let's see what happens.
08:48I mean, science is advancing on both fronts, right?
08:51Quality of grass that can be grown indoors, quality of turf.
08:54All of these things are moving.
08:56We want to give ourselves as much optionality as we can.
08:59So when we get to the point in a few years where we need to decide.
09:01If you did decide, and I know it's probably a long shot, but if you did decide to go grass,
09:07what kind of considerations do you have to take?
09:09Like is it actually like rolling it in and out?
09:12Is that like the biggest challenge?
09:13Yeah, so what you need to do is you need to make sure there's infrastructure to grow the grass.
09:20So that's essentially water and light, right?
09:23Well, you've kind of got the light, right?
09:25You do, but you're going to need to supplement it with grow light.
09:28So if you watch how they did World Cup, like if you saw any of those videos where it was
09:32showing how they were going into enclosed buildings and growing that grass, it takes a process, right?
09:39You've got to have grow lights, you've got to have irrigation, it's underneath the floor, all of the things that
09:45are necessary infrastructure-wise, and that's what we're focused on.
09:48It's not rolling it in and out like they do that in Arizona?
09:51They do, but see the problem we have, that's a great answer because that allows you just to kind of
09:56get it out in the sunlight and go.
09:58We just don't have that space at the RFK site.
10:01Okay, understood.
10:01I didn't even know that was a possibility.
10:03Yeah, I mean physically it can be done.
10:05There's a lot of different techniques that they have now, but the reality is that we just don't have necessarily
10:11the space around it.
10:12So for plausibility, it would be just full-time, real grass with grow lights and whatever else, water, et cetera,
10:20that you need.
10:21Yeah, and like I said, what we'll do is make sure that in the design we have the capacity to
10:25do that.
10:26Add it if you want.
10:28Right.
10:28Talking to Mark Klaus, who's the team president of the Washington Commanders.
10:31How do you soothe the fears of a fan base that are starting to see reports of PSLs coming to
10:36the new stadium?
10:37They've never dealt with that before at the old stadiums.
10:40What's your –
10:41That's what happens with these new stadiums.
10:43Well, it's – you know, look, first of all, I understand it can be confusing and it can be frustrating.
10:49What we're trying to do is make sure that, one, we're super transparent and we educate kind of what the
10:55process is.
10:56It's, you know, this narrative that all there's going to be is these incredibly high-cost PSLs is just not
11:03accurate.
11:04We've got a very distinct focus that from day one, you know, Josh and the ownership team have delivered is
11:10we need to make affordability part of our strategy.
11:14And, you know, we've talked a little bit about this.
11:16We're going to have what we call the Wall of Fans, which is going to be this really cool continuous
11:21bowl.
11:21So a little bit of a – giving you a little bit – I've not talked about that publicly.
11:26Oh, very nice.
11:27So it's going to be this kind of ability to see – every seat in there is going to feel
11:33like you are standing up against just this incredible, you know, stack of fans that are over the tunnels where
11:40we come out, where the opposing team comes out.
11:43So is that going to be the bit kind of like where the Clippers have that wall?
11:46It's interesting.
11:47If you're wearing, like, enemy gear, like you can't sit here if you're wearing a Cowboys jersey.
11:51We're working all of that to make it very protective for our fans.
11:56And we're going to make sure that those seats can be affordable, right?
12:00I want our fans – I can't promise that everyone's going to be in the exact same seat, but I
12:05certainly want them to have an opportunity to be part of this.
12:07You've seen the reports from Buffalo where fans are upset about some of the obstructed view seats, et cetera.
12:12I assume some of that is unavoidable when you put a stadium together and you pack it 65, 75, 85,
12:18whatever.
12:19There's going to be some – how much of an issue is that going to be here in D.C.?
12:25Look, I think part of what we're trying to do is design this so that every seat in the house
12:31– and I know you hear this a lot from people.
12:33Like, every seat's going to be a great seat.
12:34But we really are going to ensure that, like, our upper deck is going to be closer to the field
12:39than any stadium in the NFL.
12:40So your views from different positions and what I just described about the bowl, you're not going to have these
12:46big overhangs where you're sitting underneath seats from above.
12:50It's going to be more of a slope all the way down the stadium.
12:53It's going to be steep, though.
12:54Yeah.
12:54It will be – the way we're designing it is it will definitely pull you closer to the field, but
13:01you're not going to feel like you're, you know, climbing Mount Rushmore.
13:04About to fall down.
13:04I grew up going – like, when I was a kid, both my parents, Buckeyes, so – not Ohio State
13:10fans, sorry.
13:11But I used to get taken up to the top deck there.
13:15Man, that was a mountain climb to get up at those seats.
13:17Oh, I bet.
13:17I loved every minute of it.
13:19What was your favorite game growing up?
13:21Do you have a memory?
13:23Well, any time we beat that team up north.
13:25That was a good day.
13:26That was a good day.
13:29But now I've got to be more diplomatic than that.
13:32No, you don't.
13:32So I don't get it.
13:33So how are you – if it's not as sloped, how are you getting them closer to the field?
13:39In the design itself, it is a slope.
13:40There's no doubt about it.
13:41But it's not going to feel like you're climbing Mount Rushmore.
13:44It's the way that they can design it so that you've got this kind of continuous gradual move up so
13:51there's no one part.
13:52Like part of it, sometimes the bowls are flatter, and then it's like this straight ascension up.
13:57Ours is going to be more of a continuous curve up.
14:00Got you.
14:00And we'll – you know, we're probably – I would say next three months or so, we're going to start
14:07sharing the views of that so people can really see what happens.
14:10Have you already put out there like the screens and all that?
14:13No, no.
14:13That's all – we're close on that.
14:16But it's going to be very unique.
14:19Nothing like it in the NFL.
14:20Really?
14:20Yeah, nothing like it in the NFL.
14:21I'm wondering, you know, Pete, I feel like we have to ask on behalf of the fans.
14:26Some people still want the old name back.
14:28For us on the show, we got tired of talking about it for years.
14:31We feel like it's a dead issue.
14:33But I'm wondering, has the acceptance of Commanders and the Commanders brand grown in the last couple of years?
14:39Yeah.
14:40You know, I've talked about this a couple different times, a couple different occasions.
14:45I know there are things that fans may want that I can't deliver.
14:49But what I can do is focus on the things that we can change and that we can evolve.
14:55Everything from what we talked about earlier today, uniform, fight song, retiring legends that were part of our Redskins heritage
15:04and era.
15:05All of those things have been very thoughtful and part of this idea of connecting our past with our present.
15:14And I think in building the Commander brand with that as a combination, we've got a real chance to bring
15:21people along with us on the journey.
15:22And I'm going to keep looking for ways and opportunities to do that where we kind of bring these worlds
15:27together.
15:28And that's really been the goal from the get-go.
15:30Well, bringing the new stadium back to where the old one was.
15:32Yeah, how about that?
15:32That's number one.
15:33How about that?
15:33That's a pretty good one.
15:34That's a pretty good one.
15:35That's pretty good.
15:35Well, you know, we all said this during the run to the NFC Championship game.
15:40We saw more and more of the gear.
15:42And you see it.
15:42Obviously, we're here at training camp.
15:45But you see it more and more.
15:46Out and about.
15:47John and I, for years, did a pregame show.
15:50And over the years, you'd see less and less Redskins gear.
15:53You would see, like, an old Chris Cooley jersey or, you know, a John Riggins jersey.
15:57But less and less.
15:58And now I do think there is an uptick on, you know, Commander's hats, Commander's jerseys that you're seeing out
16:04and about.
16:05Yeah, no, look.
16:06It's funny that you say it.
16:07That is a huge measuring stick for me.
16:09Like, are people wearing Commander's gear?
16:12Are people out?
16:13I mean, I've seen people love the W with the spear, the Hail Razor jerseys out there in force.
16:21And people will know.
16:22But my daughter's got the old one, right?
16:24Isabel, can you show your hat?
16:25She's got the regular W.
16:26I love it.
16:26I like it.
16:27She's a couple years old.
16:27Nice look.
16:28Nice look.
16:28So it's funny.
16:29Like, my wife hates this.
16:30But, like, when I'm out and I see people in gear, I'll go up and say, hey, thanks, man.
16:34I appreciate that.
16:35That's awesome.
16:35It's getting harder.
16:36It's getting harder now because there's more of it out there.
16:38But, yeah, my wife, you know, whatever.
16:40I haven't seen many number five LSU jerseys.
16:43Did you used to wear Campbell's soup gear?
16:45I did.
16:46Those are dying.
16:47By the way.
16:48CEO, you're wearing the gear.
16:49I know.
16:49Like, what do you wear?
16:51Oh, I wore it.
16:52Like, I'm all about the brand.
16:53Yeah.
16:53I am all about the brand.
16:55But my wife will tell you this, too.
16:56Will not go to a grocery store with me.
16:58I'll go immediately to the aisle.
17:00I'll start resetting.
17:01Oh, really?
17:01The label's out.
17:02I'll get the manager out.
17:03You've got to edge it.
17:04You've got to.
17:05That Campbell's.
17:06Yeah, yeah.
17:06She's, like, head down right out of the store.
17:08Who was the number two, though?
17:09Campbell's is number one.
17:10Who was the number two soup?
17:12Just like the team up north, it's the light blue can.
17:15Oh, yeah.
17:15Is what I would say.
17:16Oh, it starts with a P.
17:17Maybe.
17:18Sounds like pro.
17:20Yeah, maybe that's it.
17:21I don't know.
17:21Oh, yeah, yeah.
17:22I think we've got some in our closet.
17:25What are you doing, man?
17:25Our pantry.
17:26Your closet.
17:27Our pantry.
17:28If I come to your house, and I'm not saying I am.
17:30Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:31But if I do, the first time you get a free coaching session from me.
17:34Okay.
17:34The second time I take that food with you.
17:36No.
17:37That's hilarious.
17:38All right.
17:39I have a question for you.
17:40All right.
17:40All right.
17:40If you're coaching this football team, would you play Jaden Daniels in the second preseason
17:44game?
17:45So, you know the joy of my role?
17:47And this is just such a gift for me.
17:50I've got the two best guys in the business in DQ and Adam Peters.
17:55AP.
17:56And they are so committed to what we need to get done this year.
18:01And, look, I know they will look at all those.
18:05I can tell you this, though.
18:06There's probably no one that wants to get out there and play any more than number five.
18:09Yeah.
18:09Right.
18:10But I got two great guys that are making those calls, and I'm going to figure out how to
18:14get that stadium done and get them in the...
18:16Awesome.
18:16Get the environment as crazy as I can for them to win games.
18:20Noon kick on Saturday.
18:20We're going to let you go.
18:21We're not going to monopolize more of your time.
18:24It's okay.
18:24I know how you guys are.
18:25You get a hold of me.
18:26Yeah.
18:26Yeah.
18:26Yeah.
18:26Yeah.
18:26We know you've got to do some stuff.
18:27That's Mark Klaus, Commander's President.
18:28Thank you, Mark.
18:30Appreciate you.
18:31Junks are out of the studio.
18:32We're live at Commander's Training Camp in Ashburn.
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