Norton Announces Bill to Allow Redevelopment of RFK Stadium Site Included in Continuing Resolution

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that her bill to transfer administrative jurisdiction over the RFK Stadium campus from the federal government to D.C. for up to 99 years has been included in the text of the continuing resolution (CR), released today. If passed before Friday’s funding deadline, the CR will allow the federal government to avoid a shutdown. 

If signed into law by the president, the RFK Stadium bill would allow D.C. to use the land where the old stadium sits for redevelopment, commercial and residential development, or other public purposes. Norton has worked on prior versions of the bill aimed at revitalizing the RFK Stadium campus, which at 174 acres is the largest unused tract of land in the District, since 2017. 

“I am pleased this important bill was included in the CR, which must pass this week for the federal government to avoid a shutdown,” Norton said. “The RFK Stadium bill is a win-win for the federal and D.C. governments. As the Department of the Interior testified, it would allow D.C. to transform the crumbling, long-vacant campus from ‘acres of asphalt to a complex focused on community sports, recreation, park space and cultural amenities’ and would ‘guarantee public access to a sizeable amount of park land and outdoor recreation areas.’ Additionally, this bill would allow D.C. to create a mixed-used development and to generate significant revenue for the District.”

The bill would require D.C. to reserve 30 percent of the campus for parks and open space and prohibit D.C. from building along the waterfront.

Throughout her career in Congress, Norton has prioritized transferring unused federal land to D.C. or the private sector, enabling the redevelopment of neighborhoods, generating tax revenue and bringing much-needed space to the District.

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