Soon, there will be no more rooting for DC United at RFK. Photo by María Helena Carey
As the old RFK Stadium crumbles to dust, we have an incredible opportunity to grow our city in innovative ways. The RFK complex occupies something on the order of 190 acres on the Anacostia river, easily accessible to transit, and is a tabula rasa for the entire city.
There’s so much we could do with it. Much of the site is flood plain, and would be an excellent choice to accommodate playing fields that for the already cramped sports leagues and growing population of kids in our neighborhood and surrounding areas. We could add an in-fill metro station along Oklahoma Avenue, and build more city to help accommodate the District’s growth without displacement. Nearby Kingman Island and the Anacostia River bring a bit of the wild into our urban lives and can be complimentarily incorporated into any design. And a well-crafted plan can help connect Hill East, Kingman Park, and Rosedale with our neighbors across the river in Ward 7, from whom we are currently divided by parking lots and highways.
But –and this is a huge BUT– none of this can happen as long as the city keeps pushing a football stadium. We need this idea dead, and not just dead, but stabbed through the heart, set on fire, drawn and quartered, burned again, and have its ashes spread to the winds. Realistically, a football stadium crowds out any other possibility for the site. As long as it’s touted, the thought of it prevents the city from coming together to begin the heavy lifting and planning for real development: development that serves the people of the District of Columbia– not Dan Snyder.
This is what we need from you:
- Come Out Tonight to the Convention Center where we make our views known to the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission. Let them know that whatever else, we want No Stadium!
- Hit the Phones (and email, and twitter, and smoke signals): I mean, all us Ward 6 folks should call Charles Allen of course. He loves to hear from you. Lives for it, I imagine. But what we really need is the rest of the Council to pay attention. This isn’t about Capitol Hill; it’s an opportunity for all of us. Call the at-larges, contact the mayor. Those of you who live in other Wards, PLEASE call your CMs.
- Share This Post and other news on the topic. We don’t want this slid in while people are distracted by squirrels or something shiny. We need focus, and we need people paying attention. Darkness breeds contempt, by which I mean a billion dollar gift to Dan Snyder.