A group of D.C. activists have “launched an effort to block the construction of an NFL stadium at the defunct RFK site,” marking the “most organized pushback yet against the prospect of a taxpayer-financed stadium and the Washington Commanders’ potential return to the District,” according to Jenny Gathright of the WASHINGTON POST. Their plan “would put the stadium question in the hands of D.C. voters in next year’s local elections.” Although D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser “has been clear about her desire to lure the team back,” organizers of a campaign called “Homes Not Stadiums” are “seeking a question on the ballot that would prohibit the construction of any professional sports stadium or arena on the 174-acre waterfront campus in Northeast Washington.” Without a stadium, more land would be available for “other priorities,” like affordable housing. The initiative “injects a new element into the public debate over the future of the site,” which Bowser argues is “spacious enough to deliver myriad uses to D.C. residents” -- not just an NFL stadium, but also affordable housing, a sportsplex for D.C. families and retail space for local businesses. Bowser, who has said that she “would not rule out” using taxpayer money to build an NFL stadium, “has framed the site as a once-in-a-generation economic development opportunity for D.C.” Meanwhile, “opponents of a stadium” have “expressed opposition” on two grounds: some “don’t want public money to subsidize the team’s wealthy owners,” others say the city “so desperately needs more housing that it shouldn’t waste land building a stadium” (WASHINGTON POST, 4/16).
D.C. stadium plans face pushback over public funding, housing needs
