On December 13th, Sports Fans Coalition, in partnership with the National Consumers League launched the #MonumentalDisaster campaign to oppose the publicly financed move of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals to Alexandria. Nearly 3,000 sports fans signed our petition telling lawmakers to oppose the deal. Shortly thereafter, we partnered with the Coalition to Stop the Arena (STA) to support a powerful, growing grassroots movement to push back against a billionaire, the local political machine, and the Governor. 

Earlier this week, House Republicans introduced HR 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. They hope these tax cuts will stimulate the economy. Within in the bill is a provision, Section 3604, that effectively eliminates the federal tax subsidy for sports stadiums. When we received the news, we were happy to see lawmakers addressing this wasteful practice. The section is based on a standalone bill we've been advocating for called the "No Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act." This bill has bipartisan support from several Democrats and Republicans. 

But there’s still a lot of game time left.

Not too long ago, we asked you, the fans, to write your congressmen asking them to co-sponsor HR. 811 or S. 1342. These bills aim to eliminate the federal tax subsidy of sports stadiums. Right now, teams are exploiting you as taxpayers to finance construction of new sports stadiums. Over the past couple weeks, SFC climbed Capitol Hill, ran the labyrinth of the office buildings, and advocated on your behalf. Why should you subsidize a stadium you may never visit? Across the political spectrum, the people were sympathetic to the cause.

Let's take a trip down memory lane. In 1997 the Redskins came after Maryland’s taxpayers.

Public financing of sports stadiums is corporate welfare. Period. Billionaire owners benefit from our taxpayer dollars and fans rarely get a good deal.

Redskins fans are known to be among the most passionate in the NFL. This season, though, they’ve channeled that passion into the Danifesto. We just surpassed the 2,000 signatures mark in DC, Maryland, and Virginia and we couldn’t be more happy with the fans of the DMV.

The Oakland Athletics may have finally figured out where they want to put their new stadium, but building it is going to be no small feat. The team’s desired spot is a choice chunk of land in central Oakland, overlooking beautiful Lake Merritt and right next to Laney College. Actually getting the land will require convincing its owner — the Peralta Community College District — to sell, as well as getting the city of Oakland to help out with infrastructure upgrades. But, for the A’s, all that trouble may be very much worth it. The team is going to privately fund its new stadium, and it believes the Peralta location is its best bet to do so.

Coming off a loss to the Eagles last week, Dan Snyder continued to lose when the Danifesto hit DMV. Fans across the region began to express how they really felt about the owner of the Washington's NFL team.

Dan Snyder and the Redskins have expressed interest in moving out of FedEx Field in 2027. While construction might be far in the future, negotiations are beginning and sports fans need to weigh in now.