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

Christopher Britt
Sharon Hannon
Julia Stevenson
Daniel Quintela
Stephanie Prymas
Ashley Nunes
David Rolfes
Sapna Mirchandani
Peter Engel
Jd Humphrey
Qiana Hooker
Larry Janezich
Shauna Steele
Sarah von der Lippe
Carolyn P Serfass
Karen Amy
Monique Park
Rick Bardach
Patricia Moore
Mary Karimi
Graydon Forrer
Eric Rubin
Nancy Doellgast
Charles Lane
Adam Martin
David Wyman
Roberta Shapiro  and Jerry Glandon
Paul Piho
Gail Stettler
Mark Cassell
4,003 SIGNATURES
4,000 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Christopher Britt
    signed 2024-05-12 21:08:02 -0400
  • Sharon Hannon
    signed 2024-04-28 20:12:12 -0400
  • Julia Stevenson
    signed 2024-04-16 13:47:25 -0400
  • Daniel Quintela
    signed 2024-03-07 10:32:20 -0500
  • Stephanie Prymas
    signed 2024-03-07 10:25:31 -0500
  • Ashley Nunes
    signed 2024-03-06 22:01:57 -0500
  • David Rolfes
    signed 2024-03-05 10:18:01 -0500
    No stadium when the city budget is already unable to appropriately fund schools, basic maintenance of DC properties/facilities, basic services, and is seemingly stretched to address crime. The priority should be our children, not a sports team. If you want to promote sports, allocate funds in the budget for more sports in schools to address child development and crime as it will give teenagers something to do.
  • Sapna Mirchandani
    signed 2024-03-05 08:29:47 -0500
  • Peter Engel
    signed via 2024-03-05 07:06:05 -0500
  • Jd Humphrey
    signed 2024-03-04 07:33:50 -0500
  • Qiana Hooker
    signed 2024-03-04 06:03:23 -0500
  • Larry Janezich
    signed 2024-03-03 17:58:31 -0500
  • Shauna Steele
    signed 2024-03-03 15:51:11 -0500
  • Sarah von der Lippe
    signed 2024-03-03 14:36:17 -0500
    The Fields at RFK have been so wonderful and we cannot lose that incredibly resource. In addition, the Anacostia river and all the critters it supports MUST be nurtured. Recently I have been thrilled to see all sorts of new wildlife along the banks of the river. We cannot allow a huge stadium construction project to set back the progress in cleaning up the Anacostia.
  • Carolyn P Serfass
    signed 2024-03-03 14:28:03 -0500
  • Karen Amy
    signed 2024-03-03 13:37:45 -0500
  • Monique Park
    signed 2024-03-03 11:06:28 -0500
  • Rick Bardach
    signed 2024-03-03 09:39:36 -0500
  • Patricia Moore
    signed 2024-03-03 09:39:23 -0500
  • Mary Karimi
    signed 2024-03-03 09:26:29 -0500
  • Graydon Forrer
    signed via 2024-03-03 09:24:45 -0500
  • Eric Rubin
    signed 2024-03-03 09:05:43 -0500
  • Nancy Doellgast
    signed 2024-03-03 08:49:21 -0500
  • Charles Lane
    signed 2024-03-03 08:23:29 -0500
  • Adam Martin
    signed 2024-03-03 08:16:51 -0500
  • David Wyman
    signed 2024-03-03 08:10:25 -0500
    Acres of asphalt parking is unacceptable. If you want to build a sports complex, it — and any parking — must be restricted to the “donut” bordered by 22nd, Independence and C St — without exception. The economic engine of revitalizing this area will be businesses and residents who build on the rest of this land. Don’t waste this generational opportunity to build something special in this corner of the city along the banks of the increasingly beautiful and thriving Anacostia that the city has invested so greatly to bring back to life. We can build another Navy Yard. But Navy Yard wouldn’t exist with acres of asphalt parking.
  • Roberta Shapiro  and Jerry Glandon
    signed 2024-03-03 08:10:16 -0500
  • Paul Piho
    signed 2024-03-03 08:07:49 -0500
  • Gail Stettler
    signed 2024-03-03 07:45:20 -0500
  • Mark Cassell
    signed 2024-03-03 07:27:27 -0500