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 and doesn’t help the surrounding community, as study after study has demonstrated.

  • 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

Lea Howe
Hilary Russell
Susan Holmes
Kenyon Weaver
Chris powell
Henry Schwarz
Chris Landis
Ethan Landis
Moira Egan
Maria "Mia" Grosjean
Ellen Murphy
Edna Temaner
Denise Curry
Mary Mann
Kimberly Katzenbarger
Kathleen Robertson
Melanie Aron
Neil Seldman
Marguerite Pridgen
Campbell Howe
Nathan Harrington
Jose De Arteaga
Shelagh Grimshaw
Noreen Lyne
John Capozzi
Diana Hibbs
Catherine Plume
Marshall Daly
Paula Hirschoff
Marchant Wentworth
3,927 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Lea Howe
    signed 2023-08-28 08:48:51 -0400
  • Hilary Russell
    signed via 2023-08-28 08:03:26 -0400
  • Susan Holmes
    signed 2023-08-28 07:21:03 -0400
  • Kenyon Weaver
    signed 2023-08-28 06:18:06 -0400
  • Chris powell
    signed 2023-08-28 05:57:26 -0400
  • Henry Schwarz
    signed 2023-08-28 02:09:07 -0400
  • Chris Landis
    signed via 2023-08-28 01:55:16 -0400
    Don’t forget the NFL is already a licensed monopoly?
  • Ethan Landis
    signed 2023-08-27 23:01:08 -0400
  • Moira Egan
    signed 2023-08-27 21:37:51 -0400
  • Maria "Mia" Grosjean
    signed 2023-08-27 21:30:01 -0400
    Absolutely no way to a new ridiculous, useless stadium in DC.
  • Ellen Murphy
    signed 2023-08-27 20:24:55 -0400
    We already have Nationals stadium. We don’t need another one. Housing and mixed retail is a better option. Also, don’t destroy the open air market and let’s retain the RFK name somehow to honor a great man.
  • Edna Temaner
    signed 2023-08-27 19:49:57 -0400
  • Denise Curry
    signed 2023-08-27 19:29:54 -0400
  • Mary Mann
    signed 2023-08-27 19:20:51 -0400
  • Kimberly Katzenbarger
    signed 2023-08-27 17:41:55 -0400
  • Kathleen Robertson
    signed 2023-08-27 16:29:55 -0400
  • Melanie Aron
    signed 2023-08-27 14:37:22 -0400
  • Neil Seldman
    signed 2023-08-27 14:19:51 -0400
  • Marguerite Pridgen
    signed 2023-08-27 14:04:10 -0400
    We have a baseball stadium that isn’t sustaining the surrounding local businesses as predicted. Enough with this . Find out what the longtime residents need and ask new residents if the prospect of a new NFL stadium is why they moved here.
  • Campbell Howe
    signed 2023-08-27 13:56:10 -0400
  • Nathan Harrington
    signed 2023-08-24 06:20:33 -0400
  • Jose De Arteaga
    signed 2023-08-22 19:47:04 -0400
  • Shelagh Grimshaw
    signed 2023-08-22 12:38:05 -0400
  • Noreen Lyne
    signed via 2023-08-22 10:07:39 -0400
  • John Capozzi
    signed 2023-08-22 09:58:08 -0400
    Not one penny of taxpayer money for the stadium—Infrastructure included!
  • Diana Hibbs
    signed 2023-08-21 22:47:51 -0400
    I do not want another stadium to be built at the RFK campus. Rather, I want to see this land used for the District residents, as more open green space, playing fields, children playgrounds, a state of the art indoor sports complex for all ages to enjoy, including a swimming pool, basket ball courts, a wall climbing facility, out door skate park, etc. and a beautiful memorial to Robert F. Kennedy.
  • Catherine Plume
    signed 2023-08-21 12:37:07 -0400
  • Marshall Daly
    signed 2023-08-21 00:46:15 -0400
  • Paula Hirschoff
    signed 2023-08-20 21:21:52 -0400
    There are a thousand ways this land could be used instead of as a football stadium. We desperately need community gardens, parks, affordable housing, farm markets.
  • Marchant Wentworth
    signed 2023-08-19 23:08:48 -0400