DC's RFK Stadium demolition approved, passes environmental review

The National Park Service announced Thursday that the District can demolish RFK Stadium in Northeast D.C.

RFK Stadium hasn’t been used for an event in five years, and it’s been falling apart longer than that. In December 2022, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser held a ceremonial removal of the final stadium seat. At the time, the mayor said the stadium would be torn down by the end of 2023.

But — although asbestos abatement was completed, and seats and artifacts were removed — actual demolition stalled while the National Park Service (NPS) conducted an assessment of the demolition's potential effects on the environment.

That assessment is now complete, and in a statement, the NPS announced that it recommends approval of the demolition.

“In addition to the permit, the NPS and the District will sign an agreement that confirms the District’s continued use and demolition of the property will follow the 1957 District of Columbia Stadium Act’s requirements,” the NPS' release said in part.

While D.C. owns the stadium, the NPS owns the land on which it sits.

The stadium opened in 1961 and was home to Washington's NFL team until the late 1990s, when the team moved to Maryland. RFK also served as a temporary home for the Washington Nationals and hosted other events.

The site has been in consideration for a possible new Commanders stadium.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in February that would pave the way for the transformation. The legislation would extend the District's rent-free lease on the land for another 99 years, but the bill still needs Senate approval.

"It's one thing for us to be able to take it down," Bowser said. "Then it'll just be 170 acres still empty and still not productive. So our goal is to to be able to control and invest in RFK."

Prior to the Commanders' change in ownership, the organization had voiced support for D.C.'s control of the site.

A spokesperson for Events DC, which operates the stadium, told us: "With the National Park Services’ issuance of the FONSI [Finding of No Significant Impact], Events DC is one step closer to demolition of RFK Stadium. We are completing the final phases of testing the stadium concrete to identify demolished stadium concrete that can be re-used as backfill on the RFK site. Once this work is completed, and NPS issues a permit, structural demolition will begin."

While this news is definitely a step forward in the future of RFK and the stadium site, its fate still rests with the Senate and whether they'll approve extending the lease for the District. Then it will be up to the Commanders' ownership on whether they'll want to move the team back to D.C.

This is a developing story. Stay with News4 for updates.