It’s a new year. That means lots of things are coming up; other things are coming down. Let’s start with the stadium in Ward 7.
Activity around RFK Campus was set to ramp up starting Monday, Jan. 13, Events DC’s contractors are remobilizing in preparation for the initial phase of the demolition of RFK Stadium (2400 E. Capitol St. NE).
It comes in the wake of a stunning 11th hour deal with Congress in which DC was granted a 99-year lease on the property. The lease also allows the District to do more things on the site. Under the previous lease, between the National Park Service (NPS) and DC, RFK Campus could only be developed for recreational or stadium uses. The new terms allow for commercial or residential development but set aside 32 acres to protect the river, and another 30 percent, or 42 acres, for park use. That leaves about 100 acres.
DC has moved slowly on this demolition, which was supposed to have been completed by 2021. An initial contracting process ending in 2020 was contested and restarted. Bowser said demolition was delayed due to the pandemic and is expected to re-start shortly. The site has since been prepared for demolition; they’ve gutted much of the interior, selling off seats. Hazardous materials abatement and selective demolition of interior of the stadium were previously completed.
Over the past several months, NPS and Events DC checked off regulatory boxes, getting the permits they need. DC now has permission to move forward with structural demolition.
The actual tear down of the building will begin slowly late this month, starting with what Events DC calls selective sections of the interior of the stadium and the exterior cladding. “We will take all necessary precautions to minimize the impact of these activities on the community and will continue to provide updates as the demolition process progresses.”
Now as for the site: Events DC has been working on plans for the site since at least 2016. In 2022, Mayor Muriel Bowser set aside $60 million for a 100,000 square foot indoor recreation center at the site. The indoor sports complex has been included in various iterations of planning for the site. Bowser said it would accommodate an Olympic-sized swimming pool, indoor gymnastics, track & field and boxing.
The Mayor’s budget also included $18 million for bridges connecting the camps to Kingman and Heritage Islands. Both elements are part of plans drafted for the site in 2017. Financing has not yet been earmarked for another element, a market hall. The first phase of the plan, The Fields at RFK, opened in 2019.
The last element of plan was never finalized. Events DC discussed three potential “anchor facility” scenarios: a 20,000-seat arena, a National Football League stadium, or an open-air multi-purpose space.
Now, of course, all that is up in the air.
But Bowser has made her feelings clear —she’d love to see an NFL stadium at RFK. Somewhat unusually, former Ward 7 Councilmember Vince Gray agreed with her. But newly sworn in Ward 7 Councilmember Wendell Felder has been more circumspect, during the election he said he’d follow the desire of the community. Felder has made the development and improvement of community economic corridors a key element of his campaign. In his speech as he was sworn in earlier this month he said that “we can redevelop the grounds of RFK in a manner that makes Ward Seven the envy of the region.”
In the wake of the sale of the Commanders to Josh Harris in 2023, Bowser told area residents that all things are possible on the site, which she estimated at 174 acres.
But in a recent look at the site, Greater Greater Washington Board Member Nick Sementelli argues that it is nearly impossible to meet the current NFL standard on that footprint. The average NFL Stadium has 60-80,000 seats and about 20-25,000 parking spots. To host a super bowl, the NFL requires a minimum of 35,000 parking spots near the stadium. If about 150 spots fit on an acre, that’s between 100 and 300 acres for parking alone. Parking can be dispersed in lots in the neighborhood, but that’s less likely in Hill East, where there are few empty lots.
According to GGWash, to accommodate 25,000 parking spots, DC would need to build up to fifty acres of five story garages —half the site. It would take some bravery on the part of the District to build an NFL stadium on the site with dependance on metro, although the site is adjacent to Stadium Armory Station.
That’s all setting aside the question of the fate of the highly popular Fields at RFK.
It also doesn’t deal with who would pay for a a stadium —Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) has opposed public funding; meanwhile, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D), who represents neighborhoods west of 15th street, has opposed an NFL stadium on the site since 2018, when he kicked off the Hail No campaign, arguing the site should be used for additional housing, business, and river access. Felder, who has said he wants to develop economic corridors in Ward 7 and to put the nearby State Highway 295 underground (an idea included in a study initiated by DDOT in 2024), is sure to weigh in.
It’s something to watch as the DC Council and the adjacent Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) reconvene throughout 2025.
