Washington, DC: No room for RFK Stadium in the future

source: Archpaper.com / WashingtonPost.com / BizJournals.com; author: michał

Washington, DC: No room for RFK Stadium in the future The fate of Washington Redskins is still unclear but it seems there won’t be any stadium on the site of current RFK Stadium in the long run.

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After over 55 years in operation, RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington DC is nearing its final days. Not just yet but in a few years from now. Currently it’s still used by DC United (until they move to Buzzard Point in some 2 years) but extremely unlikely a site for Washington Redskins, the place will be transformed into the American capital’s major leisure zone.

RFK Stadium

Events D.C., the city’s semi-independent convention and sports authority, has unveiled plans to replace the ocean of surface parking that fronts the soon-to-be-demolished stadium with recreation space and a food market. The whole scheme, pictured in the gallery above, is designed by New York–based OMA.

RFK Stadium

The estimated $500 million proposal includes three sports fields (two for baseball, one for youth soccer), a 350,000-square-foot (32,500 m2) recreation and sports complex, and a 47,000-square-foot (4,360 m2) market selling groceries and concessions.

According to the Washington Post, the sports center will host bowling, go-kart, and video-game facilities; a memorial to Robert F. Kennedy will be installed nearby, as well. To tie the programming together, three pedestrian bridges will connect the site to Kingman and Heritage islands.

RFK Stadium

“The RFK Stadium Armory-Campus—currently under-utilized—is poised to be transformed into a vibrant place that connects D.C. to the Anacostia River,” OMA partner Jason Long told the Washington Business Journal. “Working together with Events D.C., we have formulated a plan that strategically locates new facilities that will draw people to and through the site, while refining the vision for larger redevelopments in the years ahead.”

As the 190-acre site is owned by the federal government, federal and local agencies must approve the plan before any shovels hit the soil. Half of the project will be funded by Events D.C. while the city, hotel tax revenue, and team leases will pay for the rest.

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