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

Michael Holzer
Jonathan Goldfuss
Jennifer Hunter
Juliana Duffy
Lisa Scott
Michael Abt
Anonymous
Jamie Hare
Richard Ingebretsen
John Rice
Paula Krenkel
Susan Ousley
Shaaren Pine
David Vacca
Nicholas Rogers
Brian Cooper
Michael Hildner
Michael Koritko
Antoine Fillinger
Jen Goehring
Kirstin Fearnley
George Koors
Caroline Eader
Kathryn Legomsky
Jennifer DeKnight
Freya Goetz
Lashada Ham-Campbell
Kate Gratz
N. Sanders
Brian Levy
4,016 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Michael Holzer
    signed via 2018-12-18 08:53:17 -0500
  • Jonathan Goldfuss
    signed 2018-12-18 08:53:15 -0500
    Do NOT waste this massive opportunity to improve the lives of so many DC residents by instead giving tax dollars to a billionaire so millionaires can give each other brain damage. NO to the NFL and NO to Dan Snyder.
  • Jennifer Hunter
    signed 2018-12-18 08:52:33 -0500
    Let’s work on the skyrocketing prices of residences in DC! Who can afford to even live in DC anymore?
  • Juliana Duffy
    signed via 2018-12-18 08:46:36 -0500
  • Lisa Scott
    signed 2018-12-18 08:36:51 -0500
    The mayor should be doing things that help her constituents. DC residents should benefit… not some rich racist. The only thing that would sway me is he changed the name of the team.
  • Michael Abt
    signed 2018-12-18 08:25:48 -0500
  • Anonymous
    signed 2018-12-18 08:15:43 -0500
    I think it is ashame that Washingtonians are being pushed out of a city due to rich entrepenuers. They deserve a chance at affordable housing ; where does the maddness end. Low income residents cannot afford to live where they were raised and ancestor who help build this city are losing housing. WHERE is the AFFORDABLE HOUSING .
  • Jamie Hare
    signed 2018-12-18 08:11:22 -0500
  • Richard Ingebretsen
    signed 2018-12-18 08:06:30 -0500
  • John Rice
    signed 2018-12-18 07:58:24 -0500
  • Paula Krenkel
    signed 2018-12-18 07:54:29 -0500
  • Susan Ousley
    signed 2018-12-18 07:52:59 -0500
  • Shaaren Pine
    signed 2018-12-18 07:49:39 -0500
  • David Vacca
    signed 2018-12-18 07:32:29 -0500
  • Nicholas Rogers
    signed via 2018-12-18 07:28:58 -0500
  • Brian Cooper
    signed 2018-12-18 07:18:57 -0500
    Get out of my city

    You mediocre pseud
  • Michael Hildner
    signed 2018-12-18 07:13:57 -0500
  • Michael Koritko
    signed 2018-12-18 06:22:37 -0500
  • Antoine Fillinger
    signed 2018-12-18 04:03:49 -0500
  • Jen Goehring
    signed 2018-12-18 02:24:26 -0500
    I used to live in the neighborhood (F St, NE). The stadium is an eyesore, vast parking lot a short-sighted use of urban space, and entire complex a physical divide in a city that has been making progress to knit itself together.
  • Kirstin Fearnley
    signed 2018-12-18 01:26:10 -0500
  • George Koors
    signed 2018-12-18 00:55:20 -0500
  • Caroline Eader
    signed via 2018-12-18 00:50:05 -0500
  • Kathryn Legomsky
    signed 2018-12-18 00:48:31 -0500
  • Jennifer DeKnight
    signed 2018-12-18 00:43:40 -0500
  • Freya Goetz
    signed via 2018-12-18 00:40:43 -0500
  • Lashada Ham-Campbell
    signed 2018-12-18 00:31:21 -0500
  • Kate Gratz
    signed 2018-12-18 00:29:47 -0500
  • N. Sanders
    signed 2018-12-18 00:16:02 -0500
    ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anacostia deserves more than this. Build housing, restaurants, and service outlets for the people of this forgotten area!!! Do the right thing without having to be begged to do it in a petition!!!
  • Brian Levy
    signed 2018-12-18 00:12:22 -0500