Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about two miles (3 km) due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the west bank of the Anacostia River and next to the D.C. Armory. Opened in 1961, it was owned by the federal government until 1986.[4]
Not to be confused with John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) or John F. Kennedy Stadium (Bridgeport).Former names
District of Columbia Stadium
(1961–1969)
2400 East Capitol Street SE
Washington Metro
at Stadium–Armory
Metrobus: 96, 97, B2, D6
District of Columbia
TifGrand Bermuda grass[1]
July 8, 1960[2]
October 1, 1961
September 15, 2019
2023–
RFK Stadium was home to a National Football League (NFL) team, two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, five professional soccer teams, two college football teams, a bowl game, and a USFL team. It hosted five NFC Championship games, two MLB All-Star Games, men's and women's World Cup matches, nine men's and women's first-round soccer games of the 1996 Olympics, three MLS Cup matches, two MLS All-Star games, and numerous American friendlies and World Cup qualifying matches. It hosted college football, college soccer, baseball exhibitions, boxing matches, a cycling race, an American Le Mans Series auto race, marathons, and dozens of major concerts and other events.
RFK was one of the first major stadiums designed to host both baseball and football. Although other stadiums already served this purpose, such as Cleveland Stadium (1931) and Baltimore's Memorial Stadium (1950), RFK was one of the first to employ what became known as the circular "cookie-cutter" design.
It is owned and operated by Events DC (the successor agency to the DC Armory Board), a quasi-public organization affiliated with the city government, under a lease that runs until 2038 from the National Park Service, which owns the land.[5]
In September 2019, Events DC officials announced plans to demolish the stadium due to maintenance costs.[6] In September 2020, the cost was estimated at $20 million.[7] Demolition of the surrounding area began in 2023, however, demolition of the stadium itself has not begun as of 2024.[8][9]
As of February 2024, there is an active bill in the U.S. Congress[10] to extend the lease by 99 years.[11] This bill passed the House on February 28, 2024, and is pending before the Senate.[12]
History[edit]
Planning[edit]
The idea of a stadium at this location originated in 1930 when plans were developed by the "Allied Architects of Washington, in cooperation with the Fine Arts and National Capital Park and Planning Commissions and the Board of Trade."[13] Plans were further developed in 1932 when the Roosevelt Memorial Association (RMA) proposed a National Stadium for the site[14] and Allied Architects, a group of local architects organized in 1925 to secure large-scale projects from the government, made designs for it.[15] A "National Stadium" in Washington was an idea that had been pursued since 1916, when Congressman George Hulbert of New York proposed the construction of a 50,000-seat stadium at East Potomac Park for the purpose of attracting the 1920 Olympics. It was thought that such a stadium could attract Davis Cup tennis matches, polo tournaments and the annual Army-Navy football game. A later effort by DC Director of Public Buildings and Parks Ulysses S. Grant III and Congressman Hamilton Fish of New York sought to turn the National Stadium into a 100,000-seat memorial to Theodore Roosevelt, suitable for hosting inaugurations, possibly on the National Mall or Theodore Roosevelt Island. This attracted the attention of the RMA, which suggested the East Capital location. This would allow the Lincoln Memorial, then under construction west of the Capitol, and the Roosevelt memorial to become bookend monuments to the two great Republican presidents. The effort lost steam when Congress chose not to fund the stadium in time to move the 1932 Olympics from Los Angeles.[16]
The idea of a stadium gained support in 1938, when Senator Robert Reynolds of North Carolina pushed for the creation of a municipal outdoor stadium within the District, citing the "fact that America is the only major country not possessing a stadium with facilities to accommodate the Olympic Games". The following year a model of the proposed stadium, to be located near the current site of RFK Stadium, was presented to the public. By 1941, the National Capital Planning Commission had begun buying property for a stadium, purchasing the land between East Capitol, C, 19th and 21st NE.[17] A few years later, on December 20, 1944, Congress created a nine-man National Memorial Stadium Commission to study the idea.[18] They intended the stadium to be a memorial to the veterans of the World Wars. The commission wrote a report recommending that a 100,000-seat stadium be built near the site of RFK in time for the 1948 Olympics, but it failed to get funding.[19]
Ignored in the early 1950s, a new stadium again drew interest in 1954. Congressman Charles R. Howell of New Jersey proposed legislation to build a stadium, again with hopes of attracting the Olympics. He pushed for a report, completed in 1956 by the National Capital Planning Commission entitled "Preliminary Report on Sites for National Memorial Stadium", which identified the "East Capitol Site" to be used for the stadium. In September 1957, "The District of Columbia Stadium Act" was introduced and authorized a 50,000-seat stadium to be used by the Senators and Redskins at the Armory site. It was signed into law by President Eisenhower on July 29, 1958, with an estimated cost of $7.5 to $8.6 million.[18] The lease for the stadium was signed by the D.C. Armory Board and the Department of the Interior on December 12, 1958. The stadium, the first major multisport facility built for both football and baseball, was designed by George Dahl, Ewin Engineering Associates (since 1954 part of what became Volkert, Inc.) and Osborn Engineering. Groundbreaking for the $24 million venue was in 1960 on July 8, and construction proceeded over the following 14 months.[20] The existing venue for baseball (and football) in Washington was Griffith Stadium, about four miles (6 km) northwest.
While Redskins' owner George Preston Marshall was pleased with the stadium, Senators' owner Calvin Griffith was not. It wasn't where he wanted it to be (he had preferred to play at a site in Washington's Northwest Quadrant) and he'd have to pay rent and let others run the parking and concessions. The Senators' attendance figures had suffered after the arrival of the Baltimore Orioles in 1954 and Griffith then grew to prefer the less racially-defined demographics and profit potential of the Minnesota market.[21] In 1960, when the American League granted the city of Minneapolis an expansion team, Griffith proposed that he be allowed to move his team to Minneapolis-Saint Paul and give the expansion team to Washington. Upon league approval, the team moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season and Washington fielded a "new Senators" team, entering the junior circuit in 1961 with the Los Angeles Angels.[18]
Opening[edit]
The stadium opened in autumn 1961 as District of Columbia Stadium (often shortened to D.C. Stadium). The new venue opened for football even though construction was not completed until the following spring.[22]
Its first official event was an NFL regular season game on October 1, ten days after the final MLB baseball game at Griffith Stadium. The Redskins lost that game to the New York Giants 24–21 before 36,767 fans, including President John F. Kennedy.[23] This was slightly more than the attendance record at Griffith Stadium of 36,591 on October 26, 1947 (in a game vs the Bears).[18][23]
At a college football game labeled the "Dedication Game," the stadium was dedicated on October 7. George Washington University became the first home team to win at the stadium with a 30–6 defeat of VMI.[20][24]
Its first sell-out came on November 23, 1961, for the first of what were to be annual Thanksgiving Day high-school football games between the D.C. public school champion and the D.C. Catholic school champion: Eastern defeated St. John's 34–14.[25][26]
Name[edit]
The stadium opened in October 1961 named the District of Columbia Stadium, but the media quickly shortened that to D.C. Stadium and sometimes, in the early days, as "Washington Stadium".[61] On January 18, 1969, in the last days of the Johnson Administration, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall announced that the stadium would be renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, in Kennedy's honor.[37][35] The official renaming ceremony was held on June 7,[37][38] but by then many had already been referring to it as "RFK Stadium" or simply "RFK".[18] Coincidentally, following the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963, the Armory Board had directed that the stadium be renamed for him,[62] but the plan faltered when a few weeks later the Philadelphia city council passed a bill renaming Philadelphia Stadium as "John F. Kennedy Stadium".[63]
Robert Kennedy was not without connection to the stadium; as attorney general in the early 1960s, his Justice Department played a role in the Redskins' racial integration.[64] Along with Udall, Kennedy threatened to revoke the team's lease at the federally owned stadium until it promised to sign African American players.[64][65] His brother John attended the first event there and threw out the first pitch. In 2008, a nearby bridge was renamed for Ethel Kennedy, Robert Kennedy's wife.
On April 14, 2005, just before the Nationals' home opener, the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission announced an agreement with the Department of Defense under which the military would pay the city about $6 million for naming rights and the right to place recruiting kiosks and signage in the stadium. In return, the stadium would be dubbed "Armed Forces Field at RFK Stadium".[66] This plan was dropped within days, however, after several prominent members of Congress questioned the use of public funds for a stadium sponsorship.[67]
Similar proposals to sell the naming rights to the National Guard,[66] ProFunds (a Bethesda, Maryland investment company),[67] and Sony[68] were formed and discarded in 2005 and 2006.
Tenants[edit]
George Washington Colonials (1961–1966)[edit]
The other team to move from Griffith to D.C. Stadium was the George Washington University Colonials college football team. The stadium was dedicated during the October 7, 1961, game against VMI, the first college football game there, which GWU won 30–6. The Colonials were forced to play their first three games on the road to allow the stadium to be completed. In the following years, because the Senators had priority, GWU waited until October (when baseball season was over) to schedule games. From 1961 to 1964 they played road games in September, and in 1965 and 1966 they played at high school stadiums in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia.[24][20][69][70]
The Colonials had no real success at D.C. Stadium. GWU was 22–35 (.386) during its D.C. Stadium years and never posted a winning record. The Colonials weren't much better at D.C. Stadium where their record was 11–13 (.458), facing off against Army twice and against a Liberty Bowl-bound West Virginia in 1964 (all losses).[71] Perhaps their biggest win was the 1964 upset of Villanova, which came to Washington with a 6–1 record. Sophomore quarterback Garry Lyle, the school's last NFL draftee, led the Colonials to a 13–6 win.[72]
The final George Washington football game to date, and the last at D.C. Stadium, came on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1966, when the team lost to Villanova, 16–7.[73]
After the season was over, GW President Dr. Lloyd H. Elliott chose to reevaluate GW's football program.[74] On December 19, 1966, head coach Jim Camp, conference coach of the year, resigned citing the uncertainty. The next day, a member of the Board of Trustees announced that the school would drop football.[75] On January 19, 1967, the decision became official.[76] GW decided to use the football program's funding to eventually build the Charles E. Smith Center for the basketball team.[76] Poor game attendance and the expense, estimated at $254,000 during the 1966 season, contributed to the decision. Former GW player Harry Ledford believed that most people were unwilling to drive on Friday nights to D.C. Stadium, which was perceived as an unsafe area and lacked rail transit. Maryland and Virginia were nationally competitive teams that drew potential suburban spectators away from GW.[77]
Washington Redskins (1961–1996)[edit]
RFK Stadium was home to the Washington Redskins for 36 seasons, from 1961 through 1996. The football field was aligned northwest to southeast, along the first baseline.
The Redskins' first game in D.C. Stadium was its first event, a 24–21 loss to the New York Giants on October 1, 1961. The first win in the stadium came at the end of the season on December 17, over its future archrival, the struggling second-year Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins played 266 regular-season games at RFK, compiling a 173–102–3 (.628) record, including an impressive 11–1 record in the playoffs.[78]
In its twelfth season, RFK hosted its first professional football playoff game on Christmas Eve 1972, a 16–3 Redskins' win over the Green Bay Packers. It was the city's first postseason game in three decades, following the NFL championship game victory in 1942. The stadium hosted the NFC Championship Game five times (1972, 1982, 1983, 1987, and 1991), 2nd only to Candlestick Park, and the Redskins won them all. They are the only team to win five NFC titles at the same stadium. In the subsequent Super Bowls, Washington won three (XVII, XXII, XXVI).
The Redskins' last game at the stadium was a victory, as 56,454 saw a 37–10 win over the division champion Cowboys on December 22, 1996.[79][80]
In film[edit]
The stadium was featured in the climax of the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past. In the film, the stadium is damaged when Magneto uses his powers to place it as a barricade around the White House. At the end of the film, a newspaper article announces the stadium is to begin reconstruction.[248] (RFK is shown being prepped for a baseball game; however, the movie is set in 1973, two years after the Senators left for Texas.)
During the Redskins' tenure, the Washington Hall of Stars was displayed on a series of white-and-red signs hung in a ring around the stadium's mezzanine, honoring D.C. sports greats from various sports. With the reconfiguration of the stadium, it was replaced by a series of dark-green banners over the center-field and right-field fences in order to make room for out-of-town scoreboards and advertising signage. There are 15 separate panels honoring 82 figures. Nationals Park also hosts a smaller version of the display.
To the right of Panel 15 were four banners honoring D.C. United's MLS Cup wins: 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004. To the right of these banners was D.C. United's "Tradition of Excellence" banner, which honors John Harkes and Marco Etcheverry. To the left of those banners were four banners honoring D.C. United's MLS Supporters Shield wins: 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2007. Those moved to Audi Field with D.C. United.
Public transportation[edit]
RFK Stadium sits 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the Stadium-Armory station of the Washington Metro. The station is served by the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines. It is also served directly by Metrobus lines B2, D6, 96 and 97.