I join the many D.C. residents with fond memories of NFL games at RFK and would like to see the Commanders come back. But I can’t support the current RFK redevelopment plan, which provides generous subsidies and development rights to the team, purports an economic boom for the city — yet no direct investment in the needs of surrounding communities and residents living in Ward 7. For my support, that imbalance must change. “I cannot support an island of opulence and wealth surrounded by a sea of poverty and crumbling communities.”
Washingtonians see a rare occurrence, where a winning major sports franchise can relocate, with a new stadium, back into the city, seemingly bringing all the bells and whistles of status, team spirit, economic and retail growth, the accompanying business development, local and international investment, tourism, federal support, and not to mention, an influx of new and paying residents for the city’s tax base. The Commanders team owners, of which the great Magic Johnson is one, the mayor, some D.C. Council members and many Washingtonians, from all races and backgrounds, support this opportunity. The opportunity can only be realized with a combination of taxpayer dollars and team ownership dollars paying for it. Taxpayer dollars: close to $1 billion; team ownership dollars: more than $2.5 billion. Unless … there’s another path.
Budget Austerity?
Against this backdrop have been major federal budget cuts that affect EVERY state, including D.C., resulting in the mayor and D.C. Council members calling for austerity on D.C. spending, even while the federal administration pressures D.C. to spend its own D.C. money on the deal. The mayor’s proposed budget indeed makes cuts to D.C. Medicaid, the D.C. Healthcare Alliance, Emergency Rental Assistance Programs, TANF and other social safety net programs that activists, like me, say are needed to keep families and children from completely falling into the abyss of poverty, despair and subsistence. The D.C. Council has pushed back, restoring some of the funds for programs, but LEAVING MANY CUTS IN PLACE. While the mayor included in her budget the nearly $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for the proposed new Commanders stadium, the D.C. Council did not remove it or re-appropriate those dollars to make up for other social safety-net program cuts. The recently adopted federal budget will mean thousands of residents losing Medicaid, SNAP and other benefits. D.C. residents will suffer, and the District finances will be strained even more. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who was initially opposed to the use of taxpayer dollars for a stadium, is now emphasizing the need to scrutinize the deal and see if a better one can be reached.
Where We Really Are
The mayor’s/Commanders’ plan is to build a domed stadium, to hold a Super Bowl, and at least 200 other entertainment events, build office buildings, a hotel, housing (not clear how affordable — or not), a sports complex (like the one in Prince George’s County though not as large), restaurant and retail spaces, and 30% green walkable environmental space. The plan also includes 8,200 parking spaces in above-ground garages, some near the back yards of Kingman Park residents. Some of this would be developed outside the stadium site, built over the next seven years, much of it controlled by the Commanders, likely to include those restaurants, hotels and housing. While the deal is specific on timing for the stadium and parking, the other development has no guarantee for its timeline, and union jobs are not guaranteed throughout. There are First Source and CBE caveats in the legislation (Ward 7 and 8 residents COMBINED only getting 20% of the jobs and businesses getting only 10% of the CBE contracts — for the stadium). That does NOT include surrounding retail and restaurants.
According to the mayor’s CSL RFK Economic Impact Analysis, the stadium and surrounding development will bring 14,000 jobs for stadium construction (three years) and 16,000 total jobs, including the remaining surrounding development over seven years. There will be more than 6,000 units of multifamily housing (at $37.14 per square foot — one-bedroom: $2,300-$2,500), more than 375,000 square feet of restaurant and retail, 520,000 square feet of office, 800 hotel rooms, and more. All of that development would mainly financially benefit the Commanders. The city will receive almost $1 billion in new spending over the three-year construction period (but not in Ward 7), and more than $800 million per year starting in 2030 (but not in Ward 7). The D.C. Council legislation “The Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of 2025,” provides authorizations for the mayor, exemptions from certain taxes (why?), several financial “funds,” to, for example, pay the bond debt service, and other things such as paying for youth, amateur and professional sports in the wards. Indeed, it IS a sweet deal — the land is practically being given away, and after all is developed, said and done, the land BY ITSELF will be worth more than $6 billion — not bad for a $2.5 billion Commanders investment.
Bittersweet
That shiny new stadium for the Commanders would be built in Ward 7 (on 180 acres), where direct investment in the community’s well-being has been virtually nonexistent, with tragic outcomes. For decades, Ward 7:
- Received the fewest dedicated development dollars, over the last half-century.
- Has the highest illiteracy rate in the city.
- Has the fewest sit-down restaurants in the city.
- Has the fewest full-service grocery stores in the city.
- Has the second-lowest high school graduation rate in the city.
- Has the second-highest unemployment rate in the city.
- Has the second-highest rates of some chronic diseases in the city.
- Has the second-highest poverty rate in the city.
While there are many things I love about Ward 7, strengthening and building up the weak parts has been a goal of myself and many other leaders in the ward. Clearly up to two-thirds of Ward 7 residents won’t be able to afford the retail, housing and Commanders ticket costs. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the family median income for Ward 7 is $49,814. Twenty-four percent live below the poverty line. I love walking with my 11-year-old son in my neighborhood. My wife and I are part of his school’s PTO. I have many friends who are elected commissioners and activists. My friend and Council member, Wendell Felder, is fighting hard to “bring home the bacon” to the ward. But if the mayor and other Council members don’t bring the “bacon” to the meal, there’s only so much he can do. At a recent Ward 7 Leadership Council meeting, he laid out an impressive set of budget wins for the ward.
A Grand Plan
Who is this project REALLY for? Can some Ward 7 and 8 residents afford a game, a family meal at a family restaurant and other amenities — sure. But not most. According to the DMPED report “Economic Impact of the District’s Major Sports Teams and Facilities,” of the sports fans that visit District sports events combined, only 12% are District residents. That’s basketball, soccer, tennis, and hockey combined. Building a pristine stadium and restaurants, retail and other Navy Yard-style development at ONE site on the west side of the ward is just NOT enough, especially when other surrounding communities are crumbling. A grander plan is needed. When the mayor appeared at Eastern High School, I asked her if she would be willing to embrace a “grand plan” for Ward 7. Her public response was “yes.” Because plans are still in formation, I have no reason to doubt her at her word. Council member Felder has created a stadium task force, with members that I know well and have worked with, and their task is to synthesize all the suggestions and ideas from around the ward into a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). But that CBA must be tied directly to the legislation and term sheet, or it may wind up as a promise made, but not kept — again (see Walmart). My anxiety is that, as the mayor has touted the project around the region, the language of a grand plan — and with it, additional investments in Ward 7 communities — has notably been missing. How many Ward 7 youth will get jobs at the stadium? How many Ward 7 residents/businesses will get retail and restaurant ownership opportunities? How many Ward 7 construction workers will be put to work?
Ignore the Background Noise and Become a Community Ally
Some progressives that are mainly white and based west of the river, are backing campaigns urging Council members and residents to say “no” to giving the Commanders a sweet stadium deal, that the money can be better spent on programs, housing, free bus rides and other social safety net programs. And I might have been persuaded to agree about the better use of money. But these so-called progressives have never organized for, nor called on the city, mayor or council to make major life-changing investments in Black communities for the benefit of those communities. Groups like Homes Not Stadiums, making statements that are not backed by the sentiments of most Ward 7 and 8 residents, like they know what WE need more than WE know it, amounts to hubris and blind white privilege. Other efforts from WIN, EMPOWER DC, and No Billionaires at least call for more Ward 7 support and investments. We need real allies across the city to back OUR communities up. Additional investments are needed to address the unacceptable Ward 7 outcomes highlighted above.
A Way Forward
At Eastern High School, I was very specific in my question, asking for firm commitments — including the refurbishing of Langston Golf Course, enhancing Kenilworth Park Track and Field as a sports destination, building a stronger stadium farmers market (like Eastern Market), and renovating the D.C. Armory to resemble the NYC Armory, where Olympic runners ran in national AAU meets. Additionally, there needs to be a Business Improvement District and/or a Greater Ward 7 revitalization fund with revenue coming from sales, taxes, a TIF, or another source to continue building around the ward. While the draft Community Benefits Agreement from the Ward 7 Stadium Task Force was strong on benefits for youth, workforce development, green space, community land trusts, etc., it fell short of specific support for these and other community locations that remain unsupported. The task force’s funding suggestions I predict, will not be supported by this council. All of the above-mentioned projects could generate revenue for the ward and city, and don’t even include the numerous other suggestions put forward by other Ward 7 leaders and residents.
The D.C. Council should amend their legislation to include:
A Greater Ward 7 Revitalization Fund — funded by: a) rescinding the exemption of the stadium and garages from property taxes; b) rescinding the exemption of the personal seat license sales tax; c) rescinding the exemption of garages from the parking sales tax; d) committing the taxes in a, b, and c above directly into the fund; e) committing $75 million-$100 million each year from the fiscal 2028, fiscal 2029 and fiscal 2030 D.C. budgets in the fund. In this way, the rebuilding/refurbishing of surrounding communities will be in the timeline for the RFK site development.
The mayor and D.C. Council should carve out 25% of the remaining development land as a Community Land Trust for the financial benefit of Ward 7.
As I stated, I WILL NOT SUPPORT the creation of “an island of opulence and wealth surrounded by a sea of poverty and crumbling neighborhoods.” It is my hope that the mayor and the D.C. Council will create a “good deal for the Commanders that is also a good deal for the community.”
Ambrose Lane Jr. is chair of the Health Alliance Network and a Ward 7 resident, father and community leader.