FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2025
RFK RESPONSE — Stadiums Versus Social Housing, “A Crisis of Priorities”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The anticipatory glint of golden shovels and the wild burgundy buzz of football fanfare came rushing to the National Press Club on Monday as D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a controversial plan to bring the Washington Football Team back to the city. [Source: Axios]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjIvmahigts
Flanked by billionaire NFL executives and DC agency staffers, Bowser revealed she had struck a deal on behalf of all D.C. residents — an agreement that may leave taxpayers funding about a billion dollars for the new RFK and turning over 180 valuable acres of riverfront public land to multibillionaire team owner Josh Harris (net worth: $9.7 billion).
This behind-closed-doors deal comes just four months after Congress transferred the RFK Stadium land back to the city — a move that was swiftly celebrated by NFL owners and executives. [Source: NFL.com]
In stark contrast —
D.C.’s Social Housing bill — a transformative initiative aimed at creating a citywide ecology of truly affordable, mixed-income, municipally owned housing — has been sacked, languishing in legislative limbo since a marathon 11-hour hearing in November 2022. That was when more than 150 residents signed up to testify in overwhelming support, yet social housing has remained inexplicably stalled in two D.C. Council committees for over two years while blowout big-ticket stadiums deals are fast-tracked in a matter of months.
The response so far —
Four of the 12 members of the council were present during the mayor’s announcement. At-Large Councilmembers Anita Bonds and Kenyan McDuffie, Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, and Ward 7 Councilmember Wendell Felder all signaled to be in favor of the project. [Source: WaPo]
While Council Chairman, Phil Mendelson, Ward 1 CM, Brianne Nadeau, and Ward 6 Councilmember, Charles Allen have expressed opposition to public funding for the stadium.
Despite these budget woes that Bowser says are a fabricated crisis created by Congress, she sees no reason why the DC Council cannot make a decision by the July deadline. [Source: WUSA9]
Meanwhile, DC residents have filed a ballot initiative to fight the RFK giveaway and are already pointedly speaking up:
“D.C. doesn’t just have a housing crisis — we have a crisis of priorities. And right now, this government’s priority is profit over people,” said Rondell “Magic” Jordan, a D.C. social housing and public land advocate.
Jordan continued:
“We’re told there’s no money to build truly affordable housing, no money to keep longtime residents in place, no money to stop the displacement crisis that is devastating Black communities. But when billionaires come knocking, suddenly the checkbook is wide open.”
Debby Hanrahan, an organizer with the Save DC Public Land campaign, underscored the broader implications:
“If the Mayor is serious about the vitality of our city, all public land — including at RFK — must be retained and used in the public interest. That starts with ensuring municipally-owned, self-sustaining, truly affordable social housing is included and at scale. Otherwise, this will just be another fleecing of the public for fleeting moments of sky-high ticket prices, $10 hot dogs, and empty promises.”
A Crisis of Priorities
As the District faces a deepening housing affordability crisis, residents are left asking:
How can anyone on the D.C. Council justify endorsing the Mayor’s plan to hand over public land and taxpayer dollars to the 280th richest person on the planet — and to the NFL — amid such economic uncertainty?
With vital legislation like the Social Housing bill stalled and entire communities facing displacement, this latest stadium deal isn’t just misguided policy — it’s a fundamental failure of ethical responsibility to the working families of D.C revealing a crisis in priorities at the top.
Press Contacts:
Save DC Public Land
socialhousing@savedcpublicland.org
202-462-2054 (Debby Hanrahan)
www.savedcpublicland.org/the1617project
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