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

Martha Logan
Jon Sherman
Peter Montgomery
David Hermann
Gerry Widdicombe
Matt Timmeny
Amanda Anderson
Theano Tsagka
Thomas Millar
Robert Schafer
Wilbert Hidalgo
Jamie Schafer
P W
Margaret Zebot
Fann Harding
Josh McCleary
Shelly Livingston
Betsy Stewart
Jennifer Newton
Amanda Kloer
Elaine Newman
Jess Gersky
David Stute
Sarah Underwood
Hugh Sullivan
Elisabeth Fondriest
Anthony James
Henry Maury
Linda Hannick
Will Herter
4,002 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Martha Logan
    signed 2018-12-22 23:18:30 -0500
  • Jon Sherman
    signed 2018-12-22 22:50:58 -0500
  • Peter Montgomery
    signed 2018-12-22 22:01:30 -0500
  • David Hermann
    signed 2018-12-22 21:25:01 -0500
  • Gerry Widdicombe
    signed 2018-12-22 21:24:46 -0500
    Workforce housing and playing fields would be great. Straighten out East Capitol Street. Move the National Guard. Maybe even move the Washington Hospital Center here.
  • Matt Timmeny
    signed 2018-12-22 21:23:48 -0500
    Matt Timmeny
  • Amanda Anderson
    signed 2018-12-22 20:54:08 -0500
  • Theano Tsagka
    signed via 2018-12-22 18:45:20 -0500
  • Thomas Millar
    signed 2018-12-22 18:30:25 -0500
  • Robert Schafer
    signed 2018-12-22 17:41:06 -0500
    Robert A Schafer
  • Wilbert Hidalgo
    signed 2018-12-22 17:09:25 -0500
  • Jamie Schafer
    signed 2018-12-22 15:11:31 -0500
  • P W
    signed 2018-12-22 14:39:41 -0500
    I am a taxpayer in Northern Virginia & I support the principles set forth in this petition about land use & citizens’ concerns.

    There are 2 other reasons this land should not be used for an NFL franchise at this time.

    1) Why on earth would the D.C. government underwrite a billionaire Dan Snyder who wants to use taxpayers’ money instead of his own?

    Snyder’s desire for others’ money is the OPPOSITE approach from the NE Patriots NFL team owner. Robert Kraft financed Gillette Stadium w/mostly his own money. If he could use his own money to build a stadium, why can’t Dan Snyder?

    2) Like it or not, the Washington NFL team (last in NFL to desegregate) has a racist name—31 other NFL teams do not.

    MLB also understands the importance of language & images—the Cleveland Indians finally changed their mascot.

    Times change, but Mr. Snyder refuses to change w/them.

    NO to using RFK land to enrich an already very rich billionaire at the expense of hard-working taxpayers in D.C. & elsewhere.
  • Margaret Zebot
    signed 2018-12-22 13:44:05 -0500
    Study after study show that municipalities never recoup the costs of subsidizing sports arenas. And DC needs more housing and parks, not more sports arenas. Finally, no one should be supporting a team unwilling to change its racist name.
  • Fann Harding
    signed via 2018-12-22 13:43:42 -0500
    We don’t need to be subsidizing high profit sports moguls. We need to take care of our people first
  • Josh McCleary
    signed via 2018-12-22 13:28:07 -0500
    Josh McCleary
  • Shelly Livingston
    signed 2018-12-22 13:14:36 -0500
  • Betsy Stewart
    signed 2018-12-22 13:09:00 -0500
  • Jennifer Newton
    signed 2018-12-22 12:51:26 -0500
  • Amanda Kloer
    signed 2018-12-22 12:35:51 -0500
  • Elaine Newman
    signed 2018-12-22 12:02:58 -0500
    Elaine Newman
  • Jess Gersky
    signed 2018-12-22 11:51:08 -0500
  • David Stute
    signed 2018-12-22 11:47:32 -0500
  • Sarah Underwood
    signed 2018-12-22 11:45:16 -0500
  • Hugh Sullivan
    signed 2018-12-22 11:16:54 -0500
  • Elisabeth Fondriest
    signed 2018-12-22 10:53:34 -0500
    SE DC is the most underserved quadrant in terms of parks and other outdoor recreation resources. This is a great opportunity to re-envision the use of the site to help address this deficiency.
  • Anthony James
    signed 2018-12-22 10:44:20 -0500
    I’m a property owner on Capitol Hill & that stadium is useless!!!
  • Henry Maury
    signed 2018-12-22 09:39:55 -0500
  • Linda Hannick
    signed 2018-12-22 09:35:16 -0500
    No stadium at RFK site! Let Maryland have it in AO on Cove.
  • Will Herter
    signed 2018-12-22 09:25:40 -0500