The following remarks were delivered by DC Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) ahead of the Council’s unanimous approval of legislation completing the transfer of the RFK Campus from federal control to local control for the next 99 years.
“This is a moment that has long felt like it might never come. For a long time, RFK Stadium and the 174 acres of asphalt around it have largely sat empty, blighted, and unused.
The transfer approved today is exactly what every DC resident deserves – an opportunity to decide the future of this huge swath of land and how we turn it into more city. As members of this body, we will have an unprecedented opportunity to solve problems for our residents with the rarest resource a city has: its land.
No matter what we build here, the question of control has been settled. That’s almost hard to believe. To have a blank canvas like this just doesn’t happen in a major city. The cost of land can be the biggest impediment, and the biggest driver in what we can afford to put on it.
This is the next stage of a major public debate, but it’s no secret that a large NFL stadium is the elephant in the room. And let’s be honest, the team is fun again, but any arguments that a stadium is what’s necessary for economic development just don’t hold water.
In the roughly 268 days between the Commanders’ last home game on January 5 and when they kick off the 2025 season in September, there are just four events being held at Northwest Stadium. At other newer NFL sites around the country, it’s not much more. Compared to 200-300 events hosted per year at arenas and ballparks, it is a drop in the bucket.
I want to urge our city to think creatively about what’s possible. We shouldn’t pencil in a stadium and all the needed parking lots as our starting point. We should pencil in a huge range of housing – some large apartment buildings, some family-friendly rowhomes, and some housing specifically set aside as affordable and for seniors.
Then we should pencil in parks and playgrounds. We should pencil in space for grocery stores, restaurants, local businesses, entertainment and culture – and all the year-round jobs and economic activity that come with it.
And only then, we can draw a circle where a stadium and parking lots would go to host eight football games a year - and ask if it’s worth cutting that much away. There will be some that say this site can “do it all” - but let’s be honest with ourselves, it simply cannot. Between 30% of land set aside for parks, restrictions on what can be built on the river’s edge, limitations on what can go below ground, the need for expanded space for Metro and Streetcar connections, more than 10,000 parking spaces - we need to be clear-eyed that there will be trade-offs, and this cannot and will not “do it all.”
And yes, creating new neighborhoods of housing absolutely is an economic revenue generator. This isn’t hard. If you were going to open a local business, would you rather have it near where thousands of people wake up and live every day…or near a massive building that sits dark and empty 90% of the year? Just look at the impressive range of businesses in NoMa, Union Market, Mt. Vernon Triangle, Dupont Circle, and The Wharf. These neighborhoods are economic engines for our city. None of those neighborhoods required a stadium to be successful.
Now compare it to the businesses around Northwest Field, of which there is just one: the team store. There are no homes near the stadium. It is hardly more right now than what RFK has been since the team left.
We don’t know yet the terms of a potential stadium deal, so none of us can really say what the cost will be to residents - but it’s been hinted DC taxpayers would need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare the land for a stadium. And we know that an NFL Stadium needs tens of thousands of parking spots and this site along the river does not allow below ground parking beyond a single level - so lots of asphalt is in the future. We know these things will take up a lot of land and limit how much housing we ultimately build.
No matter what, I look forward to the debate and work with each of you as we finally can advance on transforming RFK campus into something more than an ocean of asphalt and a vision that actually serves our city and residents.”
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