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

Shannon Steene
Mike Gilles
Stefania Di Mauro-Nava
Kate Denson
Michael N
Anne Phelps
Hilary Johnson
LaShawn Potts
Ben LaRocco
Kathy Trickey
Tom McSorley
Frances McGaffey
Jeffrey Dickson
Victoria LeBeaux
Jud Nirenberg
Maria Helena Carey
Megan Newman
David Wagner
Jen DeMayo
Shelby and Jesse Shelby & Jesse
Alex Horowitz
Jacob Beaver
Tom Pino
Corey Holman
Daniel Ridge
Isaac Nelson
Lane McFadden
David Grosso
4,004 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Shannon Steene
    signed 2018-12-14 11:59:56 -0500
  • Mike Gilles
    signed 2018-12-14 11:59:49 -0500
  • Stefania Di Mauro-Nava
    signed 2018-12-14 11:59:16 -0500
  • Kate Denson
    signed 2018-12-14 11:59:03 -0500
  • Michael N
    signed 2018-12-14 11:58:51 -0500
    This would be a huge waste of a valuable resource!
  • Anne Phelps
    signed 2018-12-14 11:58:34 -0500
    There are so many better uses of public funds and so many better uses for this area.
  • Hilary Johnson
    signed 2018-12-14 11:58:24 -0500
    Put this money into the community!
  • LaShawn Potts
    signed 2018-12-14 11:58:20 -0500
    LaShawn Potts
  • Ben LaRocco
    signed 2018-12-14 11:58:11 -0500
  • Kathy Trickey
    signed 2018-12-14 11:57:37 -0500
  • Tom McSorley
    signed 2018-12-14 11:57:28 -0500
  • Frances McGaffey
    signed 2018-12-14 11:57:20 -0500
    DC needs more affordable housing, not more subsidies for billionaires.
  • Jeffrey Dickson
    signed 2018-12-14 11:56:34 -0500
  • Victoria LeBeaux
    signed 2018-12-14 11:53:17 -0500
  • Jud Nirenberg
    signed 2018-12-14 11:52:23 -0500
  • Maria Helena Carey
    signed 2018-12-14 11:51:51 -0500
  • Megan Newman
    signed 2018-12-14 11:47:04 -0500
    I am offended that millions of DC taxpayer dollars would go to fund something that brings no public good to DC residents when we have so many other needs to address as a community.
  • David Wagner
    signed 2018-12-14 11:44:52 -0500
  • Jen DeMayo
    signed 2018-12-14 11:44:46 -0500
  • Shelby and Jesse Shelby & Jesse
    signed 2018-12-14 11:42:29 -0500
    Jeanne T Mattison
  • Alex Horowitz
    signed 2018-12-14 11:40:32 -0500
  • Jacob Beaver
    signed 2018-12-14 11:33:24 -0500
  • Tom Pino
    @MasePino tweeted link to this page. 2018-12-14 11:29:20 -0500
    Sign the petition: Hail No to a New Stadium at RFK - Add Your Name Below https://www.hailnorfk.com/?recruiter_id=1193463
  • Tom Pino
    signed 2018-12-14 11:29:01 -0500
    No support for a billionaire’s boondoggle that has a racist name and is a modern bloodsport.
  • Corey Holman
    signed 2018-12-14 11:27:49 -0500
    There are ways to do this right (or, at least, less wrong). And there’s the route the Mayor is taking. Build more city, build more housing, build more transit options, build a giant riverfront park.
  • Daniel Ridge
    signed 2018-12-14 11:26:45 -0500
    I am the current ANC for 6B09, on the Anacostia, and I oppose a pro sports venue at RFK. I favor affordable housing and retail and office space that support that housing.
  • Isaac Nelson
    signed 2018-12-14 11:16:33 -0500
    I am a lifelong Washingtonian and Redskins fan and I cannot support public money wasted on a stadium that will sit empty most of the year. We have an affordable housing crisis, so I don’t like seeing money and land that can go towards affordable housing being used for such a waste. In addition to that, I also don’t support the owner Dan Snyder because he is a contemptible man who has run the team into the ground. I refuse to give him any more money until he sells the team.
  • Lane McFadden
    signed 2018-12-14 11:14:20 -0500
  • David Grosso
    signed 2018-12-14 11:14:08 -0500
  • Vincent Frillici
    @vincefrillici tweeted link to this page. 2018-12-14 11:12:42 -0500
    Sign the petition: Hail No to a New Stadium at RFK - Add Your Name Below https://www.hailnorfk.com/?recruiter_id=1217614