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

Jean Sammon
Annette Olson
Herbert Harris Jr
Jacob Hackman
Hope Glastris
Patricia Petty
julie jacobson
Paul Krupa
Sandra Reischel
Beth Peacock
Linda Toth
Doug Siglin
Pat Munoz
Anne deBuys
Gail Sonnemann
Taylor Denyer
Gustavo Gatti
Laura Gentile
Stuart Denyer
Marie Henderson
Kathleen Jackson
Robert Emberson
Martha Byers
Maurice Landes
Nathan Schuur
Barbara Young
Melchina Smulson
Jake Sacks
Conor McGrath
Geoffrey W Barron
4,004 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Jean Sammon
    signed 2023-08-18 13:28:45 -0400
  • Annette Olson
    signed 2023-08-18 13:11:38 -0400
  • Herbert Harris Jr
    signed 2023-08-18 12:57:51 -0400
  • Jacob Hackman
    signed 2023-08-18 12:44:37 -0400
    As a Virginia resident who visits DC often, a football stadium would be a terrible waste of space and of money, and I wouldn’t go.
  • Hope Glastris
    signed 2023-08-18 12:28:03 -0400
  • Patricia Petty
    signed 2023-08-18 12:23:47 -0400
  • julie jacobson
    signed 2023-08-18 12:15:29 -0400
  • Paul Krupa
    signed 2023-08-18 12:12:03 -0400
  • Sandra Reischel
    signed 2023-08-18 11:46:54 -0400
  • Beth Peacock
    signed 2023-08-18 11:39:13 -0400
  • Linda Toth
    signed 2023-08-18 11:26:40 -0400
  • Doug Siglin
    signed 2023-08-18 11:25:43 -0400
    I’ve worked on improving the Anacostia River and revitalizing surrounding areas for more than 25 years, including as a member of the Anacostia Waterfront Framework Plan team in the early 2000s. A new football stadium with all the needed parking would be an absolutely awful use of the 190 acres of riverside land.
  • Pat Munoz
    signed 2023-08-18 11:12:34 -0400
  • Anne deBuys
    signed 2023-08-18 11:00:41 -0400
    As a DC resident, I DO NOT want to see DC hoodwinked into paying for a billionaire’s stadium. The District needs our tax dollars to create NEW ENERGY-EFFICIENT HOUSING, support local DC entrepreneurs who run small and local business, take urgent steps forward to shift to a 100% CLEAN ENERGY ENVIRONMENT, and build larger and modern schools for our growing city.
  • Gail Sonnemann
    signed 2023-08-08 15:04:54 -0400
    Use DC funds for DC residents, not professional sports and tourists. Create a racially equitable neighborhood with housing based on the MFI of DC’s Black population. The highly desirable RFK site could be a model neighborhood with fully mixed income affordable housing amidst community services for wards 6/8, POC owned local businesses and additional river front public recreation space.
  • Taylor Denyer
    signed via 2023-08-05 09:02:31 -0400
  • Gustavo Gatti
    signed 2023-08-05 08:37:25 -0400
  • Laura Gentile
    signed 2023-08-05 06:25:54 -0400
  • Stuart Denyer
    signed 2023-08-05 04:09:11 -0400
  • Marie Henderson
    signed via 2023-08-04 09:35:59 -0400
  • Kathleen Jackson
    signed 2023-08-04 08:43:29 -0400
  • Robert Emberson
    signed via 2023-08-04 05:44:14 -0400
  • Martha Byers
    signed 2023-08-03 23:14:50 -0400
  • Maurice Landes
    signed 2023-08-03 21:42:03 -0400
    Public investment in a new stadium at the RFK site would yield a low return for DC taxpayers, and particularly for Capitol Hill and nearby communities that have to deal with the game day impacts. If DC wants to make an investment in sports, the more affordable and highest return across the DC community might be in facilities, equipment and coaching resources to expand/improve interscholastic athletics at the middle school and high school levels.
  • Nathan Schuur
    signed 2023-08-03 20:04:46 -0400
  • Barbara Young
    signed 2023-08-03 11:16:09 -0400
    Use the space for housing and recreational activities such as a atv and dirtbike trail to give a safeplace for those who partake in that activity. This would also cut down on police chases and traffic gridlock.
  • Melchina Smulson
    signed 2023-08-02 22:31:53 -0400
  • Jake Sacks
    signed via 2023-08-02 22:08:14 -0400
  • Conor McGrath
    signed 2023-08-02 21:40:04 -0400
    This neighborhood has so many needs that could be met with this space: housing, retail, restaurants, parks, recreation and community space. It would be irresponsible to use this space as another football stadium that would sit empty for more than half the year.
  • Geoffrey W Barron
    signed 2023-08-02 21:36:51 -0400
    I don’t want my tax dollars subsidizing wealthy owners. Let’s use tax dollars to improve the lives of and build housing for ordinary DC residents, to fight climate change. Let’s turn the RFK complex into a vibrant neighborhood, not leave it a sea of parking spaces for occasional games.