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

Andy Barnes
Justin Brown
Ian Collins
Felicia Donelson
Kerry Barnes
Michael Murphy
Adrian Britt
Angel Ballard
Alexis Serna
Michael Fortunato
Mary Peralta-Reed
Anna rozzo
Linda Samuel
Joshua Arvizu
Marguerite Nutter
Kim Hawkins
Roxann Van Dusen
Katherine Giefer
Trish Manzke
Eric Romero
Elizabeth Horst
Mollie Jackson
Thomas Olano
Jeff Sandberg
Daley Burns
Erica Stewart
Chirece Jones
Bethany Dettwyler
Elizabeth Mulligan
Catherine Gibson
4,016 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • 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
  • Michael Fortunato
    signed via 2018-12-16 08:46:32 -0500
  • Mary Peralta-Reed
    signed 2018-12-16 08:30:28 -0500
    No stadium. Build better bike infrastructure and fix our streets. Feed people, shelter people. No stadium.
  • Anna rozzo
    signed via 2018-12-16 08:24:21 -0500
  • Linda Samuel
    signed 2018-12-16 08:22:16 -0500
  • Joshua Arvizu
    signed 2018-12-16 08:19:06 -0500
  • Marguerite Nutter
    signed 2018-12-16 08:08:18 -0500
  • Kim Hawkins
    signed 2018-12-16 07:58:31 -0500
  • Roxann Van Dusen
    signed via 2018-12-16 07:32:46 -0500
  • Katherine Giefer
    signed via 2018-12-16 07:27:25 -0500
  • Trish Manzke
    signed 2018-12-16 06:17:18 -0500
  • Eric Romero
    signed 2018-12-16 03:19:05 -0500
  • Elizabeth Horst
    signed 2018-12-16 02:47:05 -0500
    The NFL has a history of extracting and extorting deals from cities that get nothing back, lose money and revenue, while the owners enjoy huge profits. Let’s make it stop now in DC. That site should belong to and be accessible to all people of the district, not just Redskins fans who can afford overpriced tickets.
  • Mollie Jackson
    signed 2018-12-16 02:42:35 -0500
  • Thomas Olano
    signed 2018-12-16 01:55:57 -0500
  • Jeff Sandberg
    signed via 2018-12-16 01:41:51 -0500
  • Daley Burns
    signed 2018-12-16 01:02:50 -0500
  • Erica Stewart
    signed 2018-12-16 00:50:17 -0500
  • Chirece Jones
    signed 2018-12-16 00:46:35 -0500
  • Bethany Dettwyler
    signed 2018-12-16 00:24:10 -0500
  • Elizabeth Mulligan
    signed 2018-12-16 00:08:16 -0500
  • Catherine Gibson
    signed 2018-12-15 23:55:21 -0500