A day after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Washington Commanders and the NFL announced a $3.7 billion public-private deal to bring the Commanders back to the RFK Stadium site, Southeast D.C. residents appear skeptical of the project.
Hundreds packed a meeting organized by a group opposed to the planned stadium in Ward 7 on Tuesday.
The group, called “No Billionaire’s Playground,” coincidentally organized the community forum before Monday’s announcement to bring the team back to its former location on East Capitol Street. The organization is pushing for a citywide referendum on the issue.
Before the stadium plans can be put into action, the deal will need to get majority approval from the D.C. Council.
The crowd at the Hill Center in Southeast D.C. heard from University of Maryland Baltimore County Sports Economist Dennis Coates, who said the research shows that the economics of sports stadiums with promises of long- and short-term benefits with thousands of good playing jobs never add up.
“None of it finds any sort of consistent evidence you will see job growth, income creation or tax revenue increase,” Coates said.
Coates said money that’s spent on sports facilities would be better going to community investments, including schools, grocery stores and affordable housing, especially in what residents said is an underserved Ward 7.
Niciah Mujahid of the Fair Budget Coalition criticized Mayor Muriel Bowser for wanting to spend nearly a billion dollars in city money at a time when the District’s budget is facing deep cuts. She said Commanders owner Josh Harris should pay for the entire project.
“He does not need any of our tax dollars to eliminate financial barriers to doing business. What he is doing is shopping for the highest bidder,” Mujahid said to applause.
Lifelong D.C. and Ward 7 resident Dennis Chestnut said he’s not decided whether to support or oppose the stadium plan, but it would be a huge mistake to give the Commanders the right to develop the region.
Chestnut said if the stadium is built, the District, not the Commanders, needs to be in charge of the development because it would give the community leverage over the future of the East Capitol Street neighborhood.
“There are a number of things that I have seen in the proposal that have come forward, that I disagree with,” Chestnut said. “One for specifics, turning over any development rights on the site to the Commanders. I think that would be handing over a tremendous opportunity that the city has.”
Ward 7 Advisory Neighborhood Council member Ebony Payne rejected comparisons to Nationals Park, which has created economic development on South Capitol Street .
“That is a different sport that attracts at least 80 games a year,” Payne said. “It is different from football.”
Even before the announcement was made concerning a possible relocation back into the city, Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen has been an outspoken opponent of the plan.
“You can actually be a fan of the Commanders, you can enjoy watching them and cheering for them on Sunday and still think this is a bad deal,” Allen said. “You are going to end up with a very large footprint that you helped pay for and it is going to sit dark more than 90% of the year.”
Stadium supporters dispute Allen’s contention, saying that because the stadium will have a dome, it will be a year-round facility. The planned venue could hold a Super Bowl, big-name concerts, international soccer tournaments, and the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament, which is now routinely held in a domed stadium.
Allen also said the deal relies far too much on cars to get people into and out of the stadium.
The proposal calls for 8,000 parking spaces, which Allen said would make traffic into and out of the stadium very difficult on game days. He said the project must have more money for expanded Metro rail and bus line services, instead of relying on private vehicles.
Metro General Manager Randy Clarke told WTOP earlier this week it was too soon to consider adding a second station to accommodate traffic from the stadium. He said that the transit company has talked about potentially adding a station near the Oklahoma Avenue and Benning Road area.
Allen opposes the package because he asked the Commanders if they would consider moving their corporate offices back into the District from their existing location in College Park. He claims the team has rejected that idea so far.
Allen insists his vote will be a hard no when it comes before the D.C. Council this summer.
Council President Phil Mendelson has also expressed his opposition to the proposal.
When the plan comes to a vote, at least seven D.C. Council members need to vote yes on the measure for it to pass.
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