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

Emily White
Anna Doorenbos
Jennifer Fritschi
Guillermo Galdamez
Michael MacNeill
Tommy Brown
David Spett
Phillip Mauller
Lee Granados
Jonathan Markman
Linda Reinisch
James Davis
Ben Barry
Chris Smith
Casey Torgusson
Allison Smith
Nathan Parsons
Ari Schwartz
Christina Burnett
Lionel Dripps
Emily Whyte
Chelsea Brennan
Nathan Ringelstetter
Danielle Morello
Noah Cherry
Kathleen Rehwaldt
Valerie Wexler
Christopher Thomson
Meredith Cann
4,016 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Justin Warrenfeltz
    @jawarrenfeltz tweeted link to this page. 2018-12-17 13:35:42 -0500
    Sign the petition: Hail No to a New Stadium at RFK - Add Your Name Below https://www.hailnorfk.com/?recruiter_id=1219147
  • Emily White
    signed 2018-12-17 13:35:27 -0500
    Please don’t subsidize this racist jerk, and don’t sell out Ward 8 residents!
  • Anna Doorenbos
    signed 2018-12-17 13:34:05 -0500
    DO NOT give away this prime real estate, ripe for development in a part of town that desperately needs it. Dan Snyder and the Washington Red Potato Skins do not deserve that gift from DC.
  • Jennifer Fritschi
    signed 2018-12-17 13:33:59 -0500
  • Guillermo Galdamez
    signed 2018-12-17 13:33:53 -0500
  • Michael MacNeill
    signed 2018-12-17 13:33:16 -0500
  • Tommy Brown
    signed 2018-12-17 13:33:16 -0500
  • David Spett
    signed 2018-12-17 13:32:41 -0500
  • Phillip Mauller
    signed 2018-12-17 13:32:31 -0500
  • Lee Granados
    signed 2018-12-17 13:32:03 -0500
  • Jonathan Markman
    signed 2018-12-17 13:31:58 -0500
  • Linda Reinisch
    signed via 2018-12-17 13:31:50 -0500
  • James Davis
    signed 2018-12-17 13:31:20 -0500
  • Ben Barry
    signed 2018-12-17 13:31:18 -0500
  • Chris Smith
    signed 2018-12-17 13:31:03 -0500
  • Casey Torgusson
    signed 2018-12-17 13:29:58 -0500
  • Allison Smith
    signed 2018-12-17 13:29:29 -0500
  • Nathan Parsons
    signed 2018-12-17 13:29:09 -0500
  • Ari Schwartz
    signed 2018-12-17 13:27:36 -0500
  • Christina Burnett
    signed 2018-12-17 13:27:22 -0500
  • Lionel Dripps
    signed 2018-12-17 13:25:44 -0500
  • Emily Whyte
    signed 2018-12-17 13:25:03 -0500
  • Chelsea Brennan
    signed 2018-12-17 13:24:56 -0500
  • Nathan Ringelstetter
    signed 2018-12-17 13:24:23 -0500
  • Danielle Morello
    signed 2018-12-17 13:24:04 -0500
  • Noah Cherry
    signed 2018-12-17 13:23:18 -0500
    Football stadiums, as opposed to soccer or baseball stadiums, are huge wastes of space. Instead of contributing to the surround area, they’re used only several times a year and require massive parking infrastructure. If the Washington Football team wants a stadium, it can fund it itself and take into account the huge costs of paying for the land lease in what is otherwise very valuable real estate close to the heart of the city.
  • Kathleen Rehwaldt
    signed via 2018-12-17 13:22:36 -0500
    NO public financing for a new stadium! NO corporate welfare for one of the wealthiest teams in the NFL!
  • Valerie Wexler
    signed 2018-12-17 13:22:25 -0500
  • Christopher Thomson
    signed 2018-12-17 13:22:16 -0500
  • Meredith Cann
    signed 2018-12-17 13:22:13 -0500