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

Lynn Labieniec
Kelsey Lopez
Max Zaenglein
Kate McCann
Shelli Goldzband
Warren Hoppmeyer
Hayden Aaronson
Sandra Bruce
Zachary Israel
Jayne somers
John and Debby Hanrahan
Megan Spencer
Gabrielle Levy
Jared Binstock
Sonia Conly
Etienne Stettler
Krista Grigg
Joseph McGrann
Bob Savelson
MiCHAEL Allen
Vanessa Cieslak
Mary Thomas
Elizabeth Goodman
Guy Martin
Donna Fletcher
Angela Tang
Amber Gove
Brandon Hunt
Tonya Rawe
Lauren Drew
3,927 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Lynn Labieniec
    signed via 2023-08-02 10:14:25 -0400
  • Kelsey Lopez
    signed 2023-08-02 09:58:46 -0400
  • Max Zaenglein
    signed 2023-08-02 09:17:35 -0400
  • Kate McCann
    signed 2023-08-02 09:02:05 -0400
  • Shelli Goldzband
    signed 2023-08-02 08:56:13 -0400
    This land could be so much more than a vanity project. It can be park space, new affordable housing, business development. All of these options and more would be much more beneficial than a stadium.
  • Warren Hoppmeyer
    signed 2023-08-02 07:12:14 -0400
    As a cap hill resident very close to the stadium I do not want this!
  • Hayden Aaronson
    signed 2023-08-02 05:14:17 -0400
  • Sandra Bruce
    signed via 2023-08-02 02:15:02 -0400
    I would like to see the land as a park not a stadium
  • Zachary Israel
    signed 2023-08-02 02:02:28 -0400
  • Jayne somers
    signed 2023-08-02 00:28:49 -0400
  • John and Debby Hanrahan
    signed 2023-08-01 22:40:48 -0400
    Congratulations on the opinion piece in the Washington Post, Council Member Allen, and for your steadfast opposition to a Commanders’ stadium at the RFK Stadium site. Promises of economic benefits deriving from a football stadium are a sham, as you have pointed out. For more on this, see the 3 videos below:


    Robert Reich video on stadiums — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLkyULxrWiE


    CNBC SEGMENT ON SPORTS STADIUMShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNRTjSmfAPg&t=607s



    VOX REPORT ON STADIUMShttps://twitter.com/voxdotcom/status/1054050933208956933
  • Megan Spencer
    signed 2023-08-01 22:03:19 -0400
  • Gabrielle Levy
    signed 2023-08-01 21:06:58 -0400
    A football stadium at the RFK site would result in significant downsides of noise, traffic, and parking congestion for East Capitol Hill residents like myself on event days and bring zero economic or community benefit to our neighborhood on the more than 80% of days it will likely sit empty. I would much rather have the space go toward mixed use development: retail, new (including afforable) housing, community recreation facilities, etc that will benefit Capitol Hill and Kingman Park — and all DC residents — 365 days a year.
  • Jared Binstock
    signed 2023-08-01 21:02:37 -0400
  • Sonia Conly
    signed 2023-08-01 18:00:27 -0400
    Definitely no stadium at RFK. Let’s revitalize the Caps stadium, that will contribute to the revitalization of downtown. Football stadiums near residential are a negative for the residents and a negative for the city taxpayers. Let the Virginia or Maryland taxpayers pay for a stadium and improvements or better yet let team pay for their stadium and improvements e.g. near Dulles.
  • Etienne Stettler
    signed via 2023-08-01 17:51:13 -0400
  • Krista Grigg
    signed 2023-08-01 17:14:04 -0400
  • Joseph McGrann
    signed 2023-08-01 17:03:33 -0400
  • Bob Savelson
    signed 2023-08-01 17:01:06 -0400
  • MiCHAEL Allen
    signed 2023-08-01 16:55:51 -0400
  • Vanessa Cieslak
    signed 2023-08-01 16:17:06 -0400
  • Mary Thomas
    signed 2023-08-01 16:11:08 -0400
  • Elizabeth Goodman
    signed 2023-08-01 16:04:47 -0400
  • Guy Martin
    signed 2023-08-01 16:04:02 -0400
  • Donna Fletcher
    signed 2023-08-01 15:57:00 -0400
  • Angela Tang
    signed 2023-08-01 15:55:27 -0400
  • Amber Gove
    signed 2023-08-01 15:55:12 -0400
  • Brandon Hunt
    signed 2023-08-01 15:50:13 -0400
  • Tonya Rawe
    signed 2023-08-01 15:45:01 -0400
  • Lauren Drew
    signed 2023-08-01 15:44:39 -0400