Stop DC’s Billionaire Boondoggle Budget
Washington, D.C. is on the verge of one of the worst sports stadium boondoggles in American history and Sports Fans Coalition, along with a coalition of local activists, are blowing the whistle.
The proposed deal to bring the Washington Commanders back to the RFK site is nothing short of a massive public handout to a private equity billionaire. It’s $2.2 billion in giveaways to a team owned by a man worth $9.8 billion. We’re talking rent-free land, a stadium exempt from property and sales taxes, and development rights that could enrich the owner to the tune of $27 billion over 90 years. All this while basic city services are being slashed in the D.C. budget.
This isn’t just a bad stadium deal. It’s a once-in-a-generation wealth transfer from working families to Wall Street; a billionaire’s playground funded by the very residents who are being pushed out of their neighborhoods.
The Deal is a Disaster for D.C.
This isn’t hyperbole — it’s backed by facts:
$2.2 billion in subsidies: That includes free land, tax exemptions, and revenue diversions. Meanwhile, in L.A. the Rams and Chargers paid their own way.
No accountability: The deal lacks enforceable requirements for affordable housing, living-wage jobs, or environmental remediation of the contaminated RFK site.
Bad precedent: The city would own the parking garages, but the team would keep all the revenue. It’s the same “heads they win, tails we lose” math that taxpayers have suffered under in city after city.Decades of lost opportunity: The Commanders would control development rights for 90 years, long after the stadium deal ends. Even if they pack up and leave again, D.C. would be locked out of RFK’s potential for nearly a century.
Publicly funded stadiums almost never deliver the economic boost politicians promise. Even the Federal Reserve agrees that these deals are a bad bet for taxpayers. This one is especially egregious because it occurs without a public vote, open bidding, or virtually any transparency. Instead, Mayor Bowser crammed the deal into a must-pass budget bill, even as Congress holds a billion dollars hostage.
That’s why we joined a broad coalition of community groups, environmental advocates, labor unions, and policy experts to demand that the D.C. Council reject this rush-job giveaway.
Kingman Park Deserves Better
It’s not just bad economics. It’s bad for the neighborhood. Kingman Park, which is right next door to the stadium site, is being railroaded. The plan dumps 8,000 parking spaces, equivalent to 13 Nats Park garages, into their backyard. Not one dollar is committed to Metro upgrades or transit access. And the tiny slice of land set aside for community use would be boxed in by these massive garages.
This deal isn’t about revitalizing Ward 7. It’s about delivering prime real estate to an NFL team at rock-bottom prices.
Take Action: Tell the D.C. Council to Punt the Stadium Deal
The budget vote is coming fast and we need your voice. Contact your Councilmember today and tell them to strip the stadium funding from the budget. Tell them you oppose subsidizing billionaires while basic services are being cut.
Let’s make sure this deal gets stopped on the goal line. This isn’t just about sports — it’s about priorities, justice, and the future of our nation’s capital.