In Washington, D.C., RFK Stadium was home to the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins for 36 seasons, from 1961 through 1996.
More than a few outsiders have wondered how this huge, crucially-situated property could sit vacant for over a quarter of a century. The site has long been recognized by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) as a vital stretch of land that could serve as a dramatic gateway to Washington.
The answer (as with so many of the District’s problems), lies with the federal government.
The RFK Stadium structure itself is now owned by the city, but it sits on land leased to the District of Columbia by the federal government for stadium use only.
Now, on September 20, 2023, a new bill puts real hope on the horizon for finally redeveloping and revitalizing this vitally important property.
That was when Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released her statement for the markup of Chairman James Comer‘s (R-KY) and Norton’s bill to direct the federal government to lease the RFK campus to D.C. for 99 years.
This would allow D.C. to use the land for stadium redevelopment, commercial and residential redevelopment, or other public purposes.
Norton previously introduced legislation to allow the federal government to sell the land, which at 174 acres is the largest unused track of land in the District, to D.C. for fair market value.
“This committee has a long history of working in a bipartisan manner to redevelop unused and underutilized federal land in D.C.,” Norton said.
Photo courtesy of the Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Throughout her career in Congress, Norton has prioritized transferring unused federal land to D.C. or the private sector, enabling the redevelopment of neighborhoods, generating tax revenue and bringing much-needed space to the District.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton:
Committee on Oversight and Accountability Markup
H.R. 4984, the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act
September 20, 2023
“I thank Chairman Comer for his leadership on introducing the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act and for working closely with me on this bill. This bill would allow the District of Columbia to revitalize the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium campus, which is 174 acres of underutilized federal land in D.C. At least as far back as 2006, the National Capital Planning Commission, the central planning agency for the federal government in D.C., called for the revitalization of the RFK campus.
D.C. currently leases the RFK campus from the federal government, but the campus may be used only for recreation, a stadium and open space, and the lease expires in 2038. Currently, the RFK campus primarily consists of parking lots, a stadium that is being demolished, and sports fields. This bill would direct the federal government to lease the RFK campus to D.C. for up to 99 years and permit the campus to be used for commercial and residential development, recreation, a stadium and open space.
This committee has a long history of working in a bipartisan manner to redevelop unused and underutilized federal land in D.C. For example, I partnered with then-Oversight Committee Chair Tom Davis on a bill that transferred, among other things, Reservation 13, which is next to the RFK campus, from the federal government to D.C. The 67-acre Reservation 13 is now being turned into a mixed-use development. I also worked with then-Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa on a bill that enabled the Wharf, a 3.5 million square foot development on the Southwest Waterfront.
I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.”
1988 photo of the RFK Stadium site by MSGT Ken Hammond via Wikipedia.