Traversing snowy weather, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) made her way to the White House on Monday, Jan. 6, to watch President Joe Biden officially sign the .
The bill, passed independently of a government spending package last month, transfers control of RFK campus to the D.C. government, paving the way for economic development along the western bank of the Anacostia River.
As Bowser negotiates the ²İİ®tv Commanders’ return to D.C., she continues to face questions about whether she can construct a football stadium on RFK campus while transforming the 174-acre plot of land into a hub of affordable housing, youth enrichment, and neighborhood amenities.
Shortly after the ceremonial signing, Bowser made such assurances.
“With more than 170 acres of land we can do it all – deliver housing, economic opportunity, green space, recreation, sports, and more,†Bowser’s statement read. “This moment is the result of years of tireless and strategic advocacy, extraordinary collaboration, and bipartisan leadership. We extend our gratitude to President Biden, Representative James Comer, and Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton for their crucial support in ensuring this bill’s success.â€â€™
The Real Conversations Start
The ²İİ®tv Commanders, currently experiencing one of their best seasons in decades, play their home games at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. With that lease set to expire in 2027, Josh Harris, controlling owner of the Commanders, for a new stadium.
However, Bowser said a stadium on RFK campus could be completed as early as within three years.
A couple days after the Senate passed the RFK campus revitalization bill, Bowser told reporters that she and Harris are working out a financing package to present to the D.C. Council. As outlined in the federal legislation, Bowser must operate within a set of parameters, including 30% set aside on RFK campus for parks and recreation, no development along the waterfront, and no allocation of federal dollars toward construction of a stadium.
That last provision calls into question, for many, how, and even whether, the D.C. government will finance such an endeavor.
On Jan. 2, during the D.C. Council swearing-in ceremony, as she celebrated the Senate’s passage of the RFK campus revitalization bill, Bowser encouraged her council colleagues to collaborate with her to “get big things done.â€
D.C. Council Chairman Mendelson (D) later took to the podium at the Walter E. ²İİ®tv Convention Center ballroom, stressing the need to take care of existing investments before making new expenditures. On Monday, as Biden signed the RFK campus revitalization bill into law, Mendelson doubled down on his D.C. inauguration day message, saying it applied to proponents of a new stadium as much as those who press for new social programs.
“While I think it would be great if the Commanders relocate to the city and there’s a stadium, we’re struggling to pay for existing needs,†Mendelson said. “Progressive advocates ask for a lot of money for a new program. There are council members who propose new programs. The mayor will propose new programs. And there’s always too little thought about the fact that we’re underfunding existing programs.â€
Recently installed D.C. Councilmember Wendell Felder (D-Ward 7), who counted Bowser among one of his supporters during his swearing-in, identified RFK campus as a catalyst for economic development in his ward.
However, as of late, Felder hasn’t expressed much in terms of how, or whether, to strike a balance between Bowser’s goal and that of affordable housing advocates. On Monday, he didn’t return requests for a comment.
As it relates to Bowser’s plans for RFK campus, Mendelson appeared confident that she would indeed include affordable housing. “It’s generally expected that the mayor would want a stadium proposal that includes other uses.â€
“The controversy is going to be if the city should be paying for any of the stadium,†he added.
Advocates Continue to Raise Questions
In 2023, a survey conducted of D.C. residents living around RFK campus showed that stood in opposition to a football stadium.
More than a year after Bowser spoke before residents of nearby Kingman Park about the future of RFK campus, a group of stadium opponents known as the No Billionaires Playground Coalition are preparing to circulate a petition and organize advisory neighborhood commissioners around concerns about the use of District funds and public land.
Ed Lazere, a coalition member, expressed doubt that Bowser will honor community members’ desire for affordable housing and other amenities, along with the preservation of the farmer’s market, ball fields, playground, and a longstanding skate park.
“Until the mayor explicitly comes out with a plan that lays out how much will be available for a stadium and how much for community needs, it’s hard to take seriously…that we can do it all,†Lazere said.
As of Monday evening, neither the Executive Office of the Mayor, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, nor the Department of General Services responded to an Informer inquiry about some of those issues, including protection of the farmer’s market and skate park.
As Lazere explained, the No Billionaires Playground Coalition is also gearing up for the release of a map that overlays other football stadiums on RFK campus. The visual representation, he said, shows what little is possible if the newly conferred plot of local land includes a “modern NFL stadium.â€
“We hope the map pushes the mayor to come out with a more explicit carveout for the community and related development,†Lazere said, telling The Informer that equity must continue to be part of the conversation.
“We’re concerned she will give a major profit-seeking corporation things they want, even if it conflicts with the community,†he continued. “We would lose that opportunity [to get more affordable housing] if we give that land to the NFL.â€
Ed Lazere lost each time he’s run for office for a reason. He’s not the sole voice for DC, or even much of DC when looking at the number of votes he received. There’s so much proactive complaining before anything has even been proposed for the site. What DC wants is a stadium, 30% parks and rec, and housing/retail included. Both Nats stadium and Audi Field accomplished it.
The debate about uses for the RFK parcel would be well served by an unbiased examination of the various uses and values the site can provide- from housing to flood protection. Ecosystem service valuation can provide that assessment, which can then be incorporated into a cost benefit analysis. It doesn’t make the decision on how to redevelop the land, but it can inform it.