RFK Stadium, ready to be shuttered for the winter. Photo by Pablo Maurer.
By DCist contributor Becky Little
With things moving forward on the D.C. United stadium at Buzzard Point, the spotlight is back on the future of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and the 190 acres of land that surrounds it.
On Wednesday night, the city’s convention and sports authority, Events DC, held the second of two town-hall-style meetings about what should be done with the site. D.C. United’s upcoming vacancy has left many wondering if the Washington Football Team will return to RFK, especially considering Mayor Muriel Bowser’s involvement with the soccer stadium, her new arena deal for the Washington Wizards and Mystics at St. Elizabeths East—and the fact that she’s already broached the possibility of returning to D.C. with the team.
The concern hung heavy in the air Wednesday night as a group of 80 residents discussed what to do with the stadium campus, which includes DC Armory, Maloof Skate Park, and the Festival Grounds. Residents suggested that they would like to see things like farmers’ markets, parks, and educational centers. Almost everyone who spoke made clear what they don’t want: a new NFL stadium for the Washington football team.
One resident said that the new stadium space should be multi-use, rather than something “used once a week, [or] eight times a year”—a reference to the Washington Football Team’s eight home games, which earned laughs from the crowd. Another said that he wanted the football “stadium deal off the table,” adding that “without moving past the stadium discussion, we’re wasting our time.” Over and over, others demanded that there should be “no NFL” at RFK. The only resident to suggest that the football team could move there said that it would first have to change its name from a racial slur.
The concerns voiced last night mirrored those at Events DC’s first public meeting on the subject last month, which was held specifically for residents who live near RFK. Over 150 people attended and they overwhelmingly opposed the idea of a new NFL stadium, The Washington Post reported.
“We have not talked to the mayor or the [Washington Football Team] about the study,” said Gregory O’Dell, president and CEO of Events DC, when pressed about whether the mayor was talking to the team about moving to RFK, and whether it would impact Events DC’s study of possible uses for the campus. “We are not aware about what the discussions are between the mayor and any team.”
The Department of the Interior said earlier this year that it wouldn’t allow the team to return to RFK unless it changes its name, and Bowser wouldn’t be able to bring the team to D.C. with federal opposition (the National Park Service owns the land under the stadium.) Still, the issue of whether the team would return was the most passionately discussed on Wednesday.
Second only to concerns about the football team were worries about the environmental impact of development at RFK. Many residents said that they wanted the city to design something that would benefit the community in a sustainable way, and they asked Events DC to conduct environmental impact studies before finalizing proposals for how to use the campus.
Events DC hopes to have its proposals ready to present to the public by January, and to submit them to the mayor and the City Council later next year. As the microphone went around the room on Wednesday, residents impassionately asked Events DC to, as one man put it, “prioritize the community and the youth over millionaire sports people” when making its proposals.
“We do hope you don’t just talk the talk,” he said, “but that we see [you] walking the walk a year from now.”
