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

Jason Levitis
Sarah Miller
Daniel Garry
Claire Rojstaczer
Elizabeth Owens
Joshua Russell
Deborah Bachler
Jen Horan
Charles Day
Donna Fletcher
Benjamin Bloom
Meera Rao
Arun Rao
Kimberly Pate
Aden Yacobi
Irene Stevenson
Noris Weiss Malvey
Mukund Belliappa
Colleen Clark
Alaina Pitt
Martin Noyd
Alexandra Wisbiski
Patricia Eguino
Denise Fleming
Francis McFadden
Brianne Ryback
Chris Atkin
Raquel Dominguez
Jesse B Rauch
Debbie Polhemus
4,004 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Jason Levitis
    signed 2023-10-02 13:35:49 -0400
  • Sarah Miller
    signed 2023-10-02 09:34:36 -0400
    Please, kept DC green. No stadium.
  • Daniel Garry
    signed 2023-10-01 22:36:29 -0400
  • Claire Rojstaczer
    signed via 2023-10-01 18:23:25 -0400
  • Elizabeth Owens
    signed via 2023-10-01 17:34:37 -0400
    This is my backyard. This is a neighborhood. A community. Absolutely not.
  • Joshua Russell
    signed 2023-10-01 17:06:07 -0400
  • Deborah Bachler
    signed via 2023-10-01 16:47:32 -0400
  • Jen Horan
    signed 2023-10-01 16:29:59 -0400
    We need more outside space and recreation, especially for our underserved and sadly acting out youth. Programs, sports, outdoor learning, health and wellness, even outdoor classrooms or an e tire rec center with a splash zone.

    I don’t even have a kid and I go over to the pavillion at RFK fields playground and it is HOPPING on the weekends with community gatherings and birthday parties. We need more of these 3rd spaces in our community, to connect with each other.
  • Charles Day
    signed 2023-10-01 14:00:34 -0400
    Now that half the RFK parking spaces have been converted to the wonderful athletic fields, where will all the cars park on game days? In our neighborhoods!
  • Donna Fletcher
    signed 2023-10-01 12:32:36 -0400
  • Benjamin Bloom
    signed 2023-10-01 10:00:28 -0400
    No stadium, our city has much more pressing needs. Look at the success of the The Fields at RFK—turning parking lots into athletic fields has benefited so many kids, adults, and families across the city. Use the space for the common good. No stadium.
  • Meera Rao
    signed via 2023-10-01 09:54:15 -0400
  • Arun Rao
    signed 2023-10-01 09:20:15 -0400
    No stadium. Mixed use – parks, retail, housing. No parking lots.
  • Kimberly Pate
    signed 2023-10-01 08:40:37 -0400
  • Aden Yacobi
    signed 2023-10-01 08:33:08 -0400
    I at fine with a football stadium, if and only if the Commanders receive no DC funding, tax incentives, or other explicit or implicit transfer of money. A stadium subsidy is financially irresponsible given the decline in DC office tax revenue and upcoming WMATA fiscal cliff.
  • Irene Stevenson
    signed 2023-09-25 09:16:18 -0400
  • Noris Weiss Malvey
    signed 2023-09-25 09:10:12 -0400
  • Mukund Belliappa
    signed 2023-09-25 08:14:04 -0400
  • Colleen Clark
    signed 2023-09-22 07:14:37 -0400
  • Alaina Pitt
    signed 2023-09-18 11:16:51 -0400
  • Martin Noyd
    signed 2023-09-17 16:10:39 -0400
  • Alexandra Wisbiski
    signed 2023-09-17 15:27:58 -0400
  • Patricia Eguino
    signed 2023-09-17 14:25:55 -0400
  • Denise Fleming
    signed 2023-09-17 10:02:40 -0400
  • Francis McFadden
    signed 2023-09-16 23:10:03 -0400
  • Brianne Ryback
    signed 2023-09-16 22:06:33 -0400
  • Chris Atkin
    signed 2023-09-16 19:12:24 -0400
    Not a single tax dollar should be used for a stadium. The RFK space could be used for so much more, housing and green space.
  • Raquel Dominguez
    signed 2023-09-16 18:37:17 -0400
  • Jesse B Rauch
    signed 2023-09-15 11:41:08 -0400
  • Debbie Polhemus
    signed via 2023-09-07 12:43:12 -0400