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

Stephen Cobb
Bailey Vogt
Thomas Graham
Chelsie Jeppson
Scott Shumaker
William Driscoll
Taquann McKinney
Kameron Purcell-Mclaughlin
Ben Mishkin
Kristofer Dowdell
Mike Rosenberg
John Miller
Eric Kollig
Ben Barge
Marina Galkina
Joe Gaines
sara Cardello
John Fine
David Kanner
Sean Scully
Sally Stoecker
Tony Spadafora
Julie Evans
Corey Ramsden
Mary Suffoletta
Tim Rogers
Thomas Grahame
Scott Hunter
Carol Krafka
4,004 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Stephen Cobb
    signed 2019-02-13 12:56:33 -0500
  • Bailey Vogt
    signed 2019-02-13 12:40:26 -0500
  • Thomas Graham
    signed 2019-02-13 12:35:44 -0500
  • Chelsie Jeppson
    signed 2019-02-13 12:25:59 -0500
  • Scott Shumaker
    signed 2019-02-13 12:25:33 -0500
  • William Driscoll
    signed 2019-02-13 12:09:37 -0500
  • Taquann McKinney
    signed via 2019-02-13 12:03:58 -0500
  • Kameron Purcell-Mclaughlin
    signed via 2019-02-13 11:57:20 -0500
  • Ben Mishkin
    signed 2019-02-13 11:51:32 -0500
  • Kristofer Dowdell
    signed 2019-02-13 11:34:26 -0500
    There’s a severe shortage of affordable housing in this city. The last thing we need is another multi-million dollar sports stadium for a team that hasn’t won a championship in almost thirty years. #HailNoRFK
  • Mike Rosenberg
    signed 2019-02-13 10:58:18 -0500
  • John Miller
    signed 2019-02-13 10:11:54 -0500
  • Eric Kollig
    signed 2019-02-13 10:03:26 -0500
  • Melissa Pewett
    @MelissaPewett tweeted link to this page. 2019-02-13 09:43:25 -0500
    Sign the petition: Hail No to a New Stadium at RFK - Add Your Name Below https://www.hailnorfk.com/?recruiter_id=1221351
  • Ben Barge
    signed 2019-02-05 15:37:48 -0500
    Ben Barge
  • Marina Galkina
    signed 2019-01-29 20:16:03 -0500
  • Joe Gaines
    signed 2019-01-29 13:04:21 -0500
    Hail No to the racist stadium.
  • sara Cardello
    signed 2019-01-29 11:49:48 -0500
    sara Cardello
  • John Fine
    signed 2019-01-28 17:46:09 -0500
  • David Kanner
    signed 2019-01-28 14:02:07 -0500
    Build housing, not waste-of-space parking lots.
  • Sean Scully
    signed 2019-01-28 12:30:17 -0500
    Not a DC resident, but I am close enough to have an opinion. The waterfront should not be burdened with a building and parking lot that will only be used 30 times per year. Football stadiums belong in the suburbs, not in the city.
  • Sally Stoecker
    signed 2019-01-26 14:49:36 -0500
    Sally Stoecker
  • Tony Spadafora
    signed 2019-01-26 09:15:58 -0500
    Why should we pay taxes to turn millionaires into billionaires?
  • Julie Evans
    signed 2019-01-25 09:58:54 -0500
  • Corey Ramsden
    signed 2019-01-24 23:45:06 -0500
    No new stadium! Let the community guide what goes there next.
  • Mary Suffoletta
    signed via 2019-01-24 19:46:30 -0500
    First before any deal… change the name—e.g., red skin potatoes!

    Second, why not share Baltimore’s stadium! We can make it happen.
  • Tim Rogers
    signed 2019-01-24 13:07:25 -0500
    Tim Rogers
  • Thomas Grahame
    signed 2019-01-24 12:36:53 -0500
  • Scott Hunter
    signed 2019-01-23 21:04:26 -0500
    Scott Hunter
  • Carol Krafka
    signed via 2019-01-23 15:03:16 -0500