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

Joe Rose
Kate Higgins-Bloom
Shira Markoff
Sam Keller
Andrew Davis
Jessica Lugg
Devon Haynes
Adam Carrico
Craig Plazure
Caitlin Moniz
Lam Nguyen
Katherine Scott
Simone Gannage
Erin Nuckols
Jenny Thomas
Gerald Suchy
Stephanie Benedict
Eric Randall
Ryan Drysdale
Daniel Essrow
Tracy Hamblet
Shawn Bardwell
Leslie Martes
Sue Hagedorn
Lois Toulotte
Lise Bruneau
Marc Ferrara
Erin Roth
Mary Phillips
4,016 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Joe Rose
    @wdcjoe tweeted link to this page. 2018-12-17 08:04:13 -0500
    Sign the petition: Hail No to a New Stadium at RFK - Add Your Name Below https://www.hailnorfk.com/?recruiter_id=1054488
  • Joe Rose
    signed 2018-12-17 08:03:25 -0500
  • Kate Higgins-Bloom
    signed 2018-12-17 08:03:04 -0500
    No NFL stadium! Build an economically vibrant and lovable space.
  • Shira Markoff
    signed 2018-12-17 08:01:21 -0500
  • Sam Keller
    signed 2018-12-17 07:59:04 -0500
  • Andrew Davis
    signed 2018-12-17 07:59:01 -0500
  • Jessica Lugg
    signed 2018-12-17 07:58:18 -0500
  • Devon Haynes
    signed 2018-12-17 07:58:02 -0500
  • Adam Carrico
    signed 2018-12-17 07:57:31 -0500
  • Craig Plazure
    signed 2018-12-17 07:54:44 -0500
  • Caitlin Moniz
    signed 2018-12-17 07:53:22 -0500
  • Lam Nguyen
    signed 2018-12-17 07:50:55 -0500
    Lam Nguyen
  • Katherine Scott
    signed 2018-12-17 07:48:52 -0500
  • Simone Gannage
    signed 2018-12-17 07:48:40 -0500
  • Erin Nuckols
    signed 2018-12-17 07:47:32 -0500
  • Jenny Thomas
    signed 2018-12-17 07:43:01 -0500
    Jenny Thomas
  • Gerald Suchy
    signed 2018-12-17 07:42:53 -0500
    The fact that “show me the money” Bowser is complicit in this shameless attempt to ram this through Congress without adequate input from the citizens speaks volumes about the priorities of the Mayor and those council members who support this land grab.
  • Stephanie Benedict
    signed 2018-12-17 07:40:03 -0500
  • Eric Randall
    signed 2018-12-17 07:38:31 -0500
  • Ryan Drysdale
    signed 2018-12-17 07:38:03 -0500
  • Daniel Essrow
    signed 2018-12-17 07:34:41 -0500
  • Tracy Hamblet
    signed 2018-12-17 07:29:27 -0500
  • Shawn Bardwell
    signed 2018-12-17 07:24:06 -0500
  • Leslie Martes
    signed 2018-12-17 07:14:52 -0500
  • Sue Hagedorn
    signed via 2018-12-17 06:41:50 -0500
  • Lois Toulotte
    signed 2018-12-17 05:55:54 -0500
    NO WAY!! It’s PARK LAND!!
  • Lise Bruneau
    signed via 2018-12-17 02:10:19 -0500
    I am very much against this idea.
  • Marc Ferrara
    signed 2018-12-17 01:44:28 -0500
    Marc Ferrara
  • Erin Roth
    signed 2018-12-17 01:43:33 -0500
    Erin Roth
  • Mary Phillips
    signed 2018-12-17 01:29:41 -0500