RFK Stadium the last two years has attracted few events and is costing DC $2M annually for maintenanceGETTY IMAGES
DC plans to tear down RFK Stadium by '21, and city officials said that the move is "driven by a need to save money and not to advance any plans for the Redskins to build a new football stadium there," according to Robert McCartney of the WASHINGTON POST. Events DC is "seeking bids by Oct. 25 from contractors to demolish the facility." After DC United left the facility in '17, RFK has "attracted few events and is costing the city" $2M a year for maintenance, security and other services. Events DC President Gregory O'Dell said that the demolition also will "make it easier" for the city to "move ahead with plans over the next five to seven years to build" a $500M recreational and event space. O'Dell and other DC officials "pushed back against speculation that the city was bulldozing RFK to pave a path for the Redskins to replace it with a new stadium." Redskins Senior VP/Communications Tony Wyllie said the team's only comment on the RFK demolition is, "We support the mayor's decision." The current RFK lease "allows the site to be used only for sports and recreation." The Redskins could "seek to build a new stadium in Northern Virginia or the Maryland suburbs, but those prospects appear to have dimmed" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/6).
