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

Edward Kraemer
Vishaal Chhabria
Lisa Conley
Karen King
Melanie Ness
Christine Callsen
Christina Baum
Kyle Burke
Haider Hakky
Gregg Tourville
John Cross
Erika Anderson
Korry Baack
Andrew Fordham
Avril Claytor
Sandra Perez
Adam Mason
Megan Thompson
James Lambert
Anne Rosenthal
Daniel Michelson-Horowitz
Andy Barnes
Justin Brown
Ian Collins
Felicia Donelson
Kerry Barnes
Michael Murphy
Adrian Britt
Angel Ballard
Alexis Serna
4,003 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Edward Kraemer
    signed 2018-12-16 11:53:35 -0500
  • Vishaal Chhabria
    signed 2018-12-16 11:49:15 -0500
  • Lisa Conley
    signed 2018-12-16 11:25:53 -0500
  • Karen King
    signed 2018-12-16 11:24:00 -0500
  • Melanie Ness
    signed via 2018-12-16 11:23:18 -0500
  • Christine Callsen
    signed via 2018-12-16 11:20:36 -0500
  • Christina Baum
    signed 2018-12-16 11:07:17 -0500
  • Kyle Burke
    signed via 2018-12-16 11:00:26 -0500
  • Haider Hakky
    signed 2018-12-16 10:59:18 -0500
  • Gregg Tourville
    signed 2018-12-16 10:50:12 -0500
  • John Cross
    signed 2018-12-16 10:49:38 -0500
    John Cross
  • Erika Anderson
    signed via 2018-12-16 10:45:18 -0500
    Erika Anderson
  • Korry Baack
    signed via 2018-12-16 10:42:50 -0500
  • Andrew Fordham
    signed 2018-12-16 10:37:39 -0500
  • Avril Claytor
    signed 2018-12-16 10:35:24 -0500
  • Sandra Perez
    signed 2018-12-16 10:31:34 -0500
  • Adam Mason
    signed 2018-12-16 10:27:51 -0500
  • Megan Thompson
    signed 2018-12-16 10:26:48 -0500
  • James Lambert
    signed via 2018-12-16 10:13:01 -0500
  • Anne Rosenthal
    signed 2018-12-16 10:00:43 -0500
  • Daniel Michelson-Horowitz
    signed 2018-12-16 09:51:34 -0500
    Please use this land for affordable housing and green space!
  • Andy Barnes
    signed 2018-12-16 09:43:38 -0500
  • Justin Brown
    signed via 2018-12-16 09:43:37 -0500
    Justin Brown
  • Ian Collins
    signed via 2018-12-16 09:39:41 -0500
    Ian Collins
  • Felicia Donelson
    signed 2018-12-16 09:36:06 -0500
    The revival of RFK should be a decision of those who will be most affected and that’s the residents of Ward 6. Anytime there’s an event at RFK, it brings with it lots of trash in and around neighboring streets, limited parking on the residential streets, traffic, and overall a disruption of the day to day flow of the neighborhood. It’s a shame that Mayor Bowser is not standing with the residents of Ward 6.
  • Kerry Barnes
    signed 2018-12-16 09:32:17 -0500
  • Michael Murphy
    signed 2018-12-16 09:29:48 -0500
  • Adrian Britt
    signed 2018-12-16 09:23:53 -0500
  • Angel Ballard
    signed 2018-12-16 09:00:27 -0500
  • Alexis Serna
    signed 2018-12-16 09:00:22 -0500