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

Andrew Brenner
Ana Meehan
Matthew Dickens
John Wunder
Michael Moses
Josh Linden
David Johnson
Matthew Becker
Nathaniel Mason
Sara Agarwal
John Cowgill
Pamela Salmi
Michael Segal
Sandra Jorgensen
Maggie Adams
Sebastian Castellanos
David Zurbuchen
Jason Walsh
Nate Cooper
Sarah Brown
Brian Flahaven
Aparna Kumar
Maggie Sauerhage
Katherine Hailey
Will Handsfield
Ryan Terry
Ben Podnar
Noreen Lyday
Lila Jaafar
Monica Swintz
4,004 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Andrew Brenner
    signed 2018-12-14 13:15:21 -0500
  • Ana Meehan
    signed 2018-12-14 13:14:38 -0500
    Although I am against an NFL stadium, I thought there was a separate issue of renewing the lease.
  • Matthew Dickens
    signed 2018-12-14 13:14:33 -0500
  • John Wunder
    signed 2018-12-14 13:14:20 -0500
  • Michael Moses
    signed 2018-12-14 13:14:00 -0500
  • Josh Linden
    signed 2018-12-14 13:13:43 -0500
  • David Johnson
    signed 2018-12-14 13:12:16 -0500
    David A Johnson
  • Matthew Becker
    signed 2018-12-14 13:12:00 -0500
    Matthew R Becker
  • Nathaniel Mason
    signed 2018-12-14 13:11:23 -0500
  • Sara Agarwal
    signed 2018-12-14 13:11:10 -0500
    This is not the best use of space or funds. Please use an appropriate public process.
  • John Cowgill
    signed 2018-12-14 13:10:30 -0500
    John Cowgill
  • Pamela Salmi
    signed 2018-12-14 13:10:26 -0500
  • Michael Segal
    signed via 2018-12-14 13:09:42 -0500
  • Sandra Jorgensen
    signed 2018-12-14 13:09:24 -0500
    Sandra K Jorgensen
  • Maggie Adams
    signed 2018-12-14 13:09:17 -0500
  • Sebastian Castellanos
    signed 2018-12-14 13:08:54 -0500
  • David Zurbuchen
    signed 2018-12-14 13:07:18 -0500
  • Jason Walsh
    signed 2018-12-14 13:06:52 -0500
  • Nate Cooper
    signed 2018-12-14 13:06:13 -0500
  • Sarah Brown
    signed 2018-12-14 13:04:12 -0500
  • Brian Flahaven
    signed 2018-12-14 13:03:41 -0500
  • Aparna Kumar
    signed 2018-12-14 13:03:35 -0500
    We need more safe parks, fields and playgrounds for families to play, exercise and destress. We need to preserve the Anacostia. We dont need another megashrine to a debilitating sport that promotes traumatic brain injury and objectifies women.
  • Maggie Sauerhage
    signed 2018-12-14 13:03:28 -0500
  • Katherine Hailey
    signed 2018-12-14 13:03:12 -0500
  • Will Handsfield
    signed 2018-12-14 13:02:57 -0500
    I live 7 blocks west of the RFK stadium, and in the past, have lived within 10 blocks of Mile High Stadium in Denver. Living near an active NFL stadium is terrible for residents in two ways. On gamedays, the influx of traffic into the neighborhood makes normal resident mobility (including on foot, by bike, by car, by bus, or other transit) nearly impossible. On all other days, the stadium area may as well be a dark spot on the map where nothing happens, and the opportunity costs are very high. A big part of the problem lies in building infrastructure that is scaled for game day (maybe 100,000 people showing up at once), which is then used by almost no one the remaining days of the year. It leads to speeding, vast vacant spaces, and the crime that happens in places where no one is watching.


    I also have grave concerns over the sport of football generally, which we know causes CTE trauma in the brains of all of its players, often fatal in later life, and closely associated with much higher rates of suicide, spousal abuse, and even murder. The city should not be party to the continuation of a sport that causes highly damaging trauma to its participants.


    A better athletic use for the site could be any of the following:

    An indoor running track suitable for scholastic meets – running is the most accessible sport to the largest number of kids and adults – most people can do it, and it only requires an investment in shoes.

    An Olympic-distance indoor pool and natatorium – the District’s only olympic-sized indoor pool is distant from most residents, located in upper Ward 3 nearer to the Maryland border than to central DC. This site, with Metro accessibility on 3 lines, and close to Wards 5, 6, 7, & 8 would have year round access for a large number of underserved district residents.

    An indoor stadium suitable for gymnastics, dance competitions, and other sports more accessible to DC residents.
  • Ryan Terry
    signed 2018-12-14 13:02:34 -0500
  • Ben Podnar
    signed 2018-12-14 13:01:50 -0500
  • Noreen Lyday
    signed 2018-12-14 13:00:27 -0500
  • Lila Jaafar
    signed 2018-12-14 13:00:15 -0500
  • Monica Swintz
    signed 2018-12-14 12:59:08 -0500