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

Jesse Maxwell
Veronika Arrington
Zach Bernstein
Ryan Essman
Joey Hunziker
Molly Braese
Robert Pryor
Jade Kendrick
Bernie Lee
Michael Thompson
Rachel Hall
Peter Kelley
Clare Mulligan
Katherine Griffin
Deirdre Hamilton
Samson Cheng
Juana Beverly
Michael Massaroli
Tim Nichols
Paul Cromwell
William Lemus
Ron Sanchez
Paxton Helms
Sara Grigera
Demetrios Festa
Jeff Buck
Zachary Weinstein
Sara Gray
4,003 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Jesse Maxwell
    signed 2018-12-18 15:24:06 -0500
  • Veronika Arrington
    signed 2018-12-18 15:23:10 -0500
    Veronika Arrington
  • Zach Bernstein
    signed 2018-12-18 15:12:53 -0500
  • Ryan Essman
    signed 2018-12-18 15:09:26 -0500
  • Joey Hunziker
    signed 2018-12-18 15:08:29 -0500
  • James Jackson
    @thisisjamesj tweeted link to this page. 2018-12-18 14:55:42 -0500
    Sign the petition: Hail No to a New Stadium at RFK - Add Your Name Below https://www.hailnorfk.com/?recruiter_id=1064077
  • Molly Braese
    signed via 2018-12-18 14:54:27 -0500
  • Robert Pryor
    signed 2018-12-18 14:53:51 -0500
  • Jade Kendrick
    signed 2018-12-18 14:47:42 -0500
  • Bernie Lee
    signed 2018-12-18 14:47:13 -0500
  • Michael Thompson
    signed 2018-12-18 14:37:39 -0500
  • Rachel Hall
    signed 2018-12-18 14:35:48 -0500
  • Peter L. Kelley
    @peterlkelley tweeted link to this page. 2018-12-18 14:34:27 -0500
    Sign the petition: Hail No to a New Stadium at RFK - Add Your Name Below https://www.hailnorfk.com/?recruiter_id=1219944
  • Peter Kelley
    signed 2018-12-18 14:33:57 -0500
    Thank you for speaking up against another stadium giveaway project, especially for a sport that brain-damages our kids. They can stay where they are.
  • Clare Mulligan
    signed 2018-12-18 14:12:27 -0500
  • Katherine Griffin
    signed via 2018-12-18 14:02:53 -0500
  • Deirdre Hamilton
    signed 2018-12-18 14:02:51 -0500
  • Samson Cheng
    signed 2018-12-18 14:00:49 -0500
  • Juana Beverly
    signed via 2018-12-18 13:54:42 -0500
  • Michael Massaroli
    signed 2018-12-18 13:53:16 -0500
    Public stadium deals are a scam.
  • Tim Nichols
    signed via 2018-12-18 13:45:00 -0500
  • Paul Cromwell
    signed 2018-12-18 13:39:39 -0500
  • William Lemus
    signed via 2018-12-18 13:30:53 -0500
  • Ron Sanchez
    signed 2018-12-18 13:25:18 -0500
  • Paxton Helms
    signed 2018-12-18 13:21:44 -0500
    Giving this beautiful piece of riverside land (to say nothing of the millions in subsidies) to a football team would be the defining tragedy or Capitol Hill. There are SO MANY higher-priority uses! Tell Dan Snyder to go somewhere else —-and put this extraordinary resource to its highest and best use.
  • Sara Grigera
    signed 2018-12-18 13:20:48 -0500
  • Demetrios Festa
    signed 2018-12-18 13:18:19 -0500
    This would be a massive waste of city space and prioritize millionaires over the hard working people of the city. Absolutely no stadium for football at RFK.
  • Jeff Buck
    signed 2018-12-18 13:15:58 -0500
  • Zachary Weinstein
    signed 2018-12-18 13:08:32 -0500
  • Sara Gray
    signed via 2018-12-18 13:01:46 -0500