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

Athena Angelos
Neil Flanagan
Rebecca Ennen
Sally Strain
Sarah Y
Marc Laitin
Andie W
Stephanie Rogers
Evelyn Thornton
Trevor Mattson
Mallory Perreault
William Herron
Redding Cates
Kirby Vining
Christina Herman
Gaurav Bansal
Michelle Tissue
Karin Edgett
Ericka Taylor
Susan Van den Toorn
James Key
Elizabeth Rudd
John Tomkinson
Gene Throwe
Ruth Caplan
Mary Bolton
Steve Hagedorn
Jane Huntington
William Panici
Leni Berliner
4,003 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Athena Angelos
    signed 2018-12-16 22:31:52 -0500
  • Neil Flanagan
    signed 2018-12-16 22:20:03 -0500
  • Rebecca Ennen
    signed 2018-12-16 22:17:47 -0500
    Not one inch. Not one cent.
  • Sally Strain
    signed via 2018-12-16 22:12:06 -0500
  • Sarah Y
    signed via 2018-12-16 22:05:06 -0500
    Sarah Young
  • Marc Laitin
    signed 2018-12-16 21:57:42 -0500
  • Andie W
    signed via 2018-12-16 21:49:48 -0500
  • Stephanie Rogers
    signed 2018-12-16 21:40:38 -0500
  • Evelyn Thornton
    signed 2018-12-16 21:31:34 -0500
    Evelyn A Thornton
  • Trevor Mattson
    signed 2018-12-16 21:15:21 -0500
  • Mallory Perreault
    signed 2018-12-16 21:00:03 -0500
  • William Herron
    signed via 2018-12-16 20:33:19 -0500
  • Redding Cates
    signed 2018-12-16 20:18:28 -0500
  • Kirby Vining
    signed via 2018-12-16 20:05:52 -0500
  • Christina Herman
    signed via 2018-12-16 19:57:23 -0500
  • Gaurav Bansal
    signed 2018-12-16 19:55:26 -0500
    Hail no!
  • Michelle Tissue
    signed 2018-12-16 19:53:35 -0500
  • Karin Edgett
    signed via 2018-12-16 19:49:33 -0500
    Am tired of corporate welfare deals.
  • Ericka Taylor
    signed 2018-12-16 19:26:50 -0500
  • Susan Van den Toorn
    signed 2018-12-16 19:25:30 -0500
  • James Key
    signed 2018-12-16 19:09:05 -0500
  • Elizabeth Rudd
    signed 2018-12-16 18:58:59 -0500
  • John Tomkinson
    signed 2018-12-16 18:47:33 -0500
  • Gene Throwe
    signed 2018-12-16 18:40:27 -0500
  • Ruth Caplan
    signed via 2018-12-16 18:40:22 -0500
  • Mary Bolton
    signed via 2018-12-16 18:39:03 -0500
  • Steve Hagedorn
    signed via 2018-12-16 18:28:08 -0500
  • Jane Huntington
    signed via 2018-12-16 18:21:23 -0500
    Jane Huntington
  • William Panici
    signed via 2018-12-16 18:21:14 -0500
  • Leni Berliner
    signed via 2018-12-16 18:13:38 -0500