Demolition crews tearing down the former RFK Stadium in D.C. will be working on the project for roughly 18 to 22 months before the structure fully comes down, according to Events DC CEO Angie Gates.
“We are well on our way with the project,” Gates told WTOP.
Structural demolition officially began last month after the National Park Service approved regulatory requirements and issued a letter of authorization to Events DC, granting permission to proceed.
Events DC, which manages the stadium, serves as the District’s convention and sports authority.
“There will not be an implosion,” Gates explained. “There will not be a movie scene like you’re on the set of a movie.”
Current demolition efforts are primarily focused on selective sections of the stadium’s interior, which Gates described as being carried out in a “very meticulous” manner.
“There are some historic artifacts,” Gates said. “You would be amazed the things that you can find when you’re in the process of a construction project.”
Among the artifacts uncovered are original tickets and concession signs, for example.
“It’s an array of items,” Gates said. “We inventoried those items, and they are properly stored.”
Gates described the experience of standing inside the hollowed-out structure: “It always feels epic. It’s almost like you can hear the roaring of the stands even in its state of emptiness.”
Interior demolition will continue, and the public will receive advance notice when large sections of the exterior begin coming down, which could happen as early as this summer.
The long-vacant stadium, which has sat unused for years in the heart of the District, last hosted Washington’s NFL team in 1996, and the D.C. United soccer team played its final game at the stadium in 2017.
On Tuesday, the D.C. Council voted to approve the transfer of the RFK Stadium site — owned by the federal government — to the city’s control, affirming legislation passed by Congress in December that granted D.C. authority over the land.
Some hope the site will eventually be home to a new football stadium to lure the Washington Commanders back to the city. However, the D.C. Council, which has the final say on development plans, has not committed to building a stadium there.
After Tuesday’s vote, Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated, saying in a statement that D.C. can now “control its destiny at the RFK campus.”
“We have the opportunity to put the land back to productive use for our city,” Bowser said. “Let’s get to work!”
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