The saga over the fate of Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Memorial Stadium took another turn this weekend as the US Senate unanimously voted to approve legislation that transferred the ownership of its land from the federal government to the District of Columbia for a 99-year period.
The DC Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act passed the House of Representatives and was part of the into the Continuing Resolution that was needed to keep the federal government funded through mid-March. RFK Stadium has fallen into disrepair and not been used since 2019; the National Park Service has approved its demolition. The legislation was designed to encourage the District of Columbia city government to build a new stadium at the site and develop commercial and residential properties while creating new open spaces.
However, the Continuing Resolution was abruptly pulled from consideration by House Speaker Mike Johnson after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the coordinators of President-elect Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, objected to much of the contents of the 1,500-page Continuing Resolution – Musk took to X stating that taxpayers should not pay for a new stadium, even though the legislation did not involve federal funding for a new stadium.
The measure was withdrawn from the Continuing Resolution, which passed on Friday.RFK
The impetus for the bill was to encourage the Washington Commanders to return to the District of Columbia. The team now plays at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland – however, the team did not publicly lobby for the bill’s passage.
Photo: Duane Lempke / Wikimedia Commons