Demolition of old RFK site won’t be implosion, Events DC says

You can see a live video feed of Events DC’s RFK Stadium demo here.

The work to demolish what’s left of the old RFK Stadium, which started last month, won’t involve an implosion, D.C. leaders said during a town hall about the future of the site Thursday night.

Steven Johnson, executive vice president of Events DC, said instead, the process will be methodical and happen in sections to make sure the amount of dust is controlled.

The work is expected to last between 18 and 22 months.

“We’ve been very methodical, and particularly in terms of what we do, we’ve taken our time as a part of this project,” Johnson said. “It would not be an implosion.”

During the meeting at Eastern High School, Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled her vision for the future of the site. It includes an NFL stadium for the Commanders, a sportsplex, retail and housing, among other things.

While that plan is contingent on the franchise agreeing to relocate from Landover, Maryland, Bowser said the city is planning to redevelop the 174 acres of land, regardless of whether the team plays there.

Events DC put together a plan that was submitted to the National Park Service and went through a series of steps to make sure the environmental safety and regulatory requirements were met, Johnson said.

Several small local businesses are involved in the project, he said, and the organization hired a third-party contractor to ensure requirements are met.

“Some of those things that we’ve done have included making sure that we have noise control, make sure that there’s air quality that’s constantly being conducted throughout the entire process, rodent control, not just at the beginning, but throughout the entire process,” Johnson said.

“I want to highlight and note that there’s no rodent infestation at RFK, and we’re very pleased about that.”

There are security cameras at the RFK site to ensure the area is safe, Johnson said, and the footage feeds back into the control center, which is monitored. There’s a fence around the area too.

Water cannons will be deployed to ensure dust is controlled and limit and the impact on the community. D.C.’s Department of Transportation approved a traffic control plan, “just to make sure that we had those construction vehicles that are limited mainly on the major arteries, as opposed to the neighborhood roads. That was something that was very, very important to us.”

Events DC has a live webcam focused on the demolition on its website, allowing viewers to watch in real time.

“That’s very important in terms of opening transparency,” Johnson said.

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