WASHINGTON, D.C. — Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau, D-Ward 1, issued the following statement regarding the proposed RFK stadium deal negotiated with the Commanders.
I have opposed, from the start, the use of taxpayer dollars to support a stadium for a private organization, owned by billionaires, that will make them billions of dollars. The more the deal is analyzed, the more resolved I am in my position.
We have learned that the $4.4 billion we are being asked to spend on the stadium over 30 years will return only $1.3 billion to the city. And that the city would take in more tax revenue over 30 years by developing the entire parcel for mixed-use rather than dedicating 16 percent of it to parking garages and a stadium.
We learned that without the stadium, the land would support nearly double the number of housing units – 5,000 more than the anticipated 6,500 in the current deal. This at a time when D.C. faces a housing crisis and an affordable housing crisis.
And the deal does not include a timeline to build that housing. Without the guarantee of expedited housing development, there is no economic advantage to a stadium.
And we learned that subsidies are not needed to make this private venture viable.
None of this is surprising – every piece of evidence, including decades of studies around the country, shows that football stadiums are net revenue losers for cities, as counterintuitive as that may seem at first.
The massive development would sit alongside a beautiful and recovering section of the Anacostia River and protected lands on its edge. But the plan lacks guarantees for sustainable and green development worthy of a world-class stadium project, and assurances about stormwater management, energy efficiency, and more.
The Council took six months to negotiate a solid deal with the Nationals back in 2004. Now, on a deal that is five times bigger, we are being asked to approve a massive proposal in less than three months, and vote on the latest version of it a week after it was revealed, and two days after more than 400 residents are expected to testify. All while the Council has been working on a challenging budget and a significant piece of housing legislation.
I love that the team is under new leadership, righting past management and cultural issues, and rebuilding the team with a winning record. The team wants to be in D.C. and will do very well financially without handouts from D.C. taxpayers. The city does not owe it to this private organization to subsidize its profits with residents’ money.
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