While DC faces deep budget cuts, Mayor Bowser offered $2.2 billion for a stadium at RFK – the largest subsidy in US history! We must stop this bad deal and billionaire giveaway!

“This [ RFK] is a tremendous opportunity. Please don’t blow it on a Billionaire’s playground.”

Today, RFK is home to highly used recreational fields, a farmers’ market, a popular skate park, and a playground. Mayor Bowser has not committed to keeping all of them.

Instead, she has offered the Commanders nearly all of the land at RFK. That includes exclusive right for commercial development beyond the stadium, with rent starting at $1/year. That’s worth more than $6 billion!

Meanwhile, Kingman Park residents would see their community turned into Kingman Parking, with 8,000 parking spaces and no investment in Metro. In this deal, the parking is guaranteed, but the housing is not.

Tell the Mayor and DC Council:  
RFK should be developed for the community, not a billionaire’s playground!

DC residents overwhelmingly want RFK to be developed for the community – with housing, recreation, local retail, and green space – yet Mayor Bowser met with NFL billionaires behind closed doors and offered them whatever they wanted, while the community and even the DC Council were shut out.

Now it’s our turn to demand a better deal and respect for the community!

We Oppose Mayor Bowser’s RFK Billionaire Giveaway

An NFL stadium will take public funds from schools, housing,
public transportation, housing and more. Mayor Bowser’s budget included deep cuts : rental aid, paid family leave, environmental programs — but there’s no cuts for NFL billionaires.

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Kingman Park would become Kingman Parking. The plan for 8,000 parking spaces would dominate the site, equal to 13 of the Nats Park garages. There’s no plan for a new Metro station. RFK neighbors are outraged.

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The plan is a sweetheart real estate deal for the Commanders.  The team would get the right to develop land outside the stadium – with rent starting at $1/year. That’s worth $6 billion or more!


DC shouldn’t subsidize a billionaire & profitable NFL franchise! In many large cities, teams have paid for their stadiums. In Los Angeles, SoFi Stadium was 100% paid by the team owner. In DC, the subsidies reach $7.5 billion by one estimate!

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DC would pay but get nothing in return: DC would own the stadium and parking, but the team would keep all revenue from tickets, merch, ads, food, and parking. Sales taxes would be used for stadium upgrades, not for DC resident needs.

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An NFL stadium is the wrong kind of economic development. Studies show stadiums do not raise incomes or create good jobs. Instead of a stadium used a few times a year, we need a neighborhood used all year long. DC should explore alternatives that better serve the community and DC economy.

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“This [the RFK site] is a tremendous opportunity. Please don’t blow it on a Billionaire’s playground.”

-RFK neighbor, in an anonymous survey