Hail No to a New Stadium at RFK - Add Your Name Below

Read my August 1, 2023 op-ed in the Washington Post.

If you believe the 190 acres of RFK's campus could be more than the next NFL stadium, say #HailNo and sign this petition below:

"As a DC resident, I am against a deal that gives away a single square foot of land or a single District tax dollar to build a new stadium.

  • I believe the 190 acres alongside the Anacostia River could be so much more than oceans of asphalt for surface parking and a 60,000 seat stadium.

  • On average, most NFL stadiums only hold 10 to 20 events annually outside of eight NFL home games, meaning the stadium sits empty more than 300 days a year. An enormous space that sits empty doesn’t spur economic growth or create meaingful jobs and doesn’t help the surrounding community.

  • Make no mistake - people drive to NFL games and they're going to park somewhere, regardless of how much is available. At San Francisco's new stadium, they had to rent out all of the parking lots at a nearby amusement park. Where do you think people will park around RFK if there isn't enough parking for fans?

  • Nationwide, since 1997 we've seen the NFL pit communities against each other while collecting more than $6.7 billion dollars from taxpayers to build stadiums for privately-owned teams. Overall, local taxpayers end up footing around half the bill for a new NFL stadium.  

  • The costs of these projects are always higher than estimated. The five most recent newly-constructed NFL stadiums have surpassed more than $1 billion dollars each!

  • As a DC resident, I don't want to see DC hoodwinked into paying for a billionaire's stadium. The District needs our tax dollars to create new housing at all levels, support local DC entrepreneurs who run small and local business, take urgent steps forward to shift to a 100% clean energy environment, build larger and modern schools for our growing city, fund our Metro system, and in general spend money to make life better and easier for DC residents.

  • Sitting on the banks of the historic Anacostia River, a new stadium and all of the traffic and trash that would come along, would set the Anacostia River's improvement back. RFK has never had to meet standards set by the National Environmental Policy Act, and I am concerned any deal worked out under the outgoing Congress would try to extend the exemption to holding the site accountable to environmental standards.

Dedicating millions of dollars to bring an NFL stadium to the District is a bad deal and a poor use of an incredible opportunity. 

Thank you."

Who's signing

Sonia Conly
Etienne Stettler
Krista Grigg
Joseph McGrann
Bob Savelson
MiCHAEL Allen
Vanessa Cieslak
Mary Thomas
Elizabeth Goodman
Guy Martin
Angela Tang
Amber Gove
Brandon Hunt
Tonya Rawe
Lauren Drew
Elizabeth Engel
Bryan Schauer
Hallie Kroll McGrath
Abbey Scholl
Michele Adelson
Karen Azeez
Lorraine Osinski
Jeff Ng
Jacob Beard
Jeffrey Tegman
Nancy Parrish
Vandy Howatt
Laura Jain
Yael Meroz
Nancy Piho
4,003 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Sonia Conly
    signed 2023-08-01 18:00:27 -0400
    Definitely no stadium at RFK. Let’s revitalize the Caps stadium, that will contribute to the revitalization of downtown. Football stadiums near residential are a negative for the residents and a negative for the city taxpayers. Let the Virginia or Maryland taxpayers pay for a stadium and improvements or better yet let team pay for their stadium and improvements e.g. near Dulles.
  • Etienne Stettler
    signed via 2023-08-01 17:51:13 -0400
  • Krista Grigg
    signed 2023-08-01 17:14:04 -0400
  • Joseph McGrann
    signed 2023-08-01 17:03:33 -0400
  • Bob Savelson
    signed 2023-08-01 17:01:06 -0400
  • MiCHAEL Allen
    signed 2023-08-01 16:55:51 -0400
  • Vanessa Cieslak
    signed 2023-08-01 16:17:06 -0400
  • Mary Thomas
    signed 2023-08-01 16:11:08 -0400
  • Elizabeth Goodman
    signed 2023-08-01 16:04:47 -0400
  • Guy Martin
    signed 2023-08-01 16:04:02 -0400
  • Angela Tang
    signed 2023-08-01 15:55:27 -0400
  • Amber Gove
    signed 2023-08-01 15:55:12 -0400
  • Brandon Hunt
    signed 2023-08-01 15:50:13 -0400
  • Tonya Rawe
    signed 2023-08-01 15:45:01 -0400
  • Lauren Drew
    signed 2023-08-01 15:44:39 -0400
  • Elizabeth Engel
    signed 2023-08-01 15:43:19 -0400
  • Bryan Schauer
    signed 2023-08-01 15:35:13 -0400
  • Hallie Kroll McGrath
    signed 2023-08-01 15:33:17 -0400
  • Abbey Scholl
    signed 2023-08-01 15:25:45 -0400
  • Michele Adelson
    signed 2023-08-01 15:24:08 -0400
  • Karen Azeez
    signed 2023-08-01 15:22:33 -0400
  • Lorraine Osinski
    signed 2023-08-01 15:17:25 -0400
    We absolutely can find a better purpose for the land at/ around RFK than a football stadium. Mayor Bowser already had her vanity project in using our tax dollars to build the Entertainment and Sports Arena. Enough is enough. There are SO many other things that we should be focusing our time and tax dollars on other than a new football stadium so she can feel good about her legacy. It’s revolting how much effort she has put into this. Would be nice if she put that much effort into making DC a safer place to live with more accountability and housing for those who need it.
  • Jeff Ng
    signed 2023-08-01 15:16:21 -0400
  • Jacob Beard
    signed 2023-08-01 15:15:50 -0400
  • Jeffrey Tegman
    signed 2023-08-01 15:09:43 -0400
  • Nancy Parrish
    signed 2023-08-01 15:07:49 -0400
  • Vandy Howatt
    signed 2023-08-01 15:06:59 -0400
  • Laura Jain
    signed 2023-01-29 18:17:02 -0500
  • Yael Meroz
    signed 2023-01-11 15:57:48 -0500
  • Nancy Piho
    signed via 2023-01-10 09:56:53 -0500