A festival will bring dogs, beer, food trucks and live music to an event space near Union Market next month.
Barkly, a professional dog-walking service, and The Big Bad Woof, a pet supplies company, will host the second annual Woofstock at the DC Pavilion (1399 5th St. NE) on Saturday, Aug. 6 from 3-7 p.m.
The event will have craft beer from Raven Brewery, local food trucks, giveaways and a special animal adoption event.
“People in D.C. are hungry for dog-friendly events,” Barkly co-founder Dave Comiskey said.
Around 350 people attended last year’s Woofstock event despite dismal rainy conditions, Comiskey said. This time around he’s expecting “well over 1,000 guests” to attend, weather permitting.
Locals can snag a free ticket online to attend the event.
Photo via Washington Human Society-Washington Animal Rescue League
Two local organizations are looking for help to spruce up the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail next week.
Events DC and the Anacostia Watershed Society are seeking helpers to remove litter along the path Monday evening. Volunteers should register online and meet at RFK Stadium’s Parking Lot 6 (575 Oklahoma Ave. NE) at 5:30 p.m. The cleanup ends at 7 p.m.
“The area surrounding RFK stadium sees a lot of use by members of our community,” a webpage on the cleanup says. “By volunteering with us you’ll be a vital part of restoring, maintaining, and cleaning up the beautiful Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.”
Organizers require volunteers to wear closed-toe shoes. They also recommend long pants to avoid poison ivy contact and insect bites. Water coolers will be available for helpers with reusable bottles.
Photo via Twitter/Anacostia Watershed
Kingman Park residents and Little League players across the Capitol Hill area will soon have a new place to practice.
Batting cages are set to be installed sometime this spring on the empty lot at the intersection of 19th and C streets NE beside Eliot-Hine Middle School. Events DC, which manages the land, partnered with Capitol Hill Little League to install the cages. Capitol Hill Little League offers baseball and softball instruction for D.C. children age 6-16.
Events DC president and CEO Gregory O’Dell said that the cages are part of an effort to find short-term uses for the area around RFK Stadium while Events DC explores permanent redevelopment options.
“Events DC is excited to partner with Capitol Hill Little League, enabling us to enhance community and family-friendly programming on the RFK Stadium-Armory Campus,” he said. “We look forward to welcoming the batting cages this spring for District residents and our city’s youth to benefit.”
The cages are slated be open year-round for Little League practice and community use.
Photo via Google Maps
The organization managing the RFK Stadium campus wants members of the public to weigh in on two plans to redevelop the site.
That organization, Events DC, has put out the call for feedback on its website, as first reported by WTOP.
The organization managing the RFK Stadium campus last night officially revealed what it might do with the property in the coming years.
Events DC announced it has three general ideas for the 190-acre site:
- Build a 65,000-seat National Football League stadium for the Redskins.
Another anchor scenario 4 Stitch concept w NFL stadium w flexible community serving amenities #RFKCampusFuture pic.twitter.com/VgQTcOsTYS
— Events DC (@ConventionsDC) April 4, 2016
- Build a 20,000-seat sports arena that could host the Wizards and Capitals, replacing the Verizon Center.
Closer look at N-S concept that features 20K arena anchor w supporting multipurpose programming #RFKCampusFuture pic.twitter.com/e6BVYjxYUH
— Events DC (@ConventionsDC) April 4, 2016
- Build no professional sports facilities, but construct a concert hall, aquarium or other cultural attractions.
Which redevelopment plan do you support? You can weigh in through the poll and in the comments.
Photo via Wikimedia/MSGT KEN HAMMOND
Events DC, the group that operated the RFK Stadium campus, will hold its third citywide meeting on the future of the stadium campus this evening near the Benning Road Metro Station in Ward 7.
The meeting, which will be held at St. Luke Center at 4923 50th St. SE from 6:30-8:30 p.m., will follow the same format as previous meetings at the Convention Center and St. Coletta of Greater Washington.
Representatives from Events DC will explain the planning process for the site before giving residents an opportunity to say what they would like to see at the site.
“We’re going to provide an opportunity for residents to give us feedback and look at the 190-acre Stadium-Armory campus as a blank slate and let us know what they would like to see,” Events DC’s Director of Communications and Marketing Pete Kirschner said. “Ideas we’ve heard already are anything from amphitheaters to access to the river.”
Today’s meeting will be the first meeting on the RFK Stadium campus to be held East of the River, though residents from any part of the D.C. area are welcome to attend.
“This area is not just for one part of the city,” Kirschner said. “The way we’re approaching this is by engaging various user groups from all across the region and looking at this very holistically.”
Those interested in attending the meeting can RSVP online or go online to watch videos from previous meetings on the RFK campus.
Photo via Wikimedia/MSGT KEN HAMMOND
The construction of a playground on an empty lot near Eliot-Hine Middle School moved closer to reality last night.
ANC 6A unanimously approved a proposal to transform the vacant property at 20th and C streets NE into a park for children. The decision came after Events DC, which manages the land, spent months trying to solicit support from locals.
“Our ANC is supporting installation of a playground at this location because we believe our neighborhood can be best served by providing additional space for children and families to play and gather,” ANC 6A chairman Phil Toomajian wrote in a letter he plans to send to Events DC on behalf of the commission. “In addition, residents in our ANC living near this location have expressed support for the proposed new playground.”
Events DC has yet to discuss any possible features for the park, which still needs the approval of the organization’s senior officials before construction can begin.
“Just because you guys will provide a letter of support does not necessarily mean this is going to happen,” Events DC spokesman Peter Kirschner told ANC commissioners. “But it’s certainly a help and push in that direction.”
With or without the new park, Events DC still plans to maintain the nearby Oklahoma Avenue NE playground, which also is on property the organization manages. But Events DC may demolish that playground to make way for future development.
Andrew Harrington, Events DC’s director of venue operations, said in August the Oklahoma Avenue property is “sort of a high priority area for whatever is going to be there down the road.”
Hill Now periodically publishes opinion pieces from our readers. Have something you want to share with the Capitol Hill community? Email us at [email protected].
by Chan Han
Here is a question I do not think anyone has asked as of yet, especially Events DC: What is the current NFL design standards for a stadium today and can the city handle it?
Let me start off by saying that I used to work at a architecture firm that designed football stadiums for several teams, such as the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and the Minnesota Vikings. I can assure you, a standard does exist.
For example, new stadiums must be able to seat between 60,000 and 100,000 people. A minimum of 80 to 100 acres of undisturbed land must be dedicated solely to the stadium itself. No eminent domain, no easements and no wetlands issues must be present. To accommodate the traditional tailgaters, it is preferred to have at least an additional 100 to 120 acres for dedicated parking.
So now you are talking 180 to 220 acres of land for a current, up to date, modern stadium. The RFK site only has 190 acres total, which is on the low end of what the NFL standards for new stadiums demand. The fact that it is mostly wetlands only diminishes the usable amount of land for a stadium.
Now comes the question, do we just renovate RFK? The problem is RFK can only hold 49,000. FedExField can hold 79,000. That’s 30,000 possible season ticket holders unaccounted for, a huge loss in revenue.
The other issue is the age of RFK Stadium. To upgrade the stadium itself will be astronomical. The stadium and all of its utilities will have to be upgraded to meet today’s building codes. Honestly, it will be cheaper to build a new stadium from scratch. The average price for a new stadium today with amenities can range from $700 million to $1.5 billion.
Another question: Has anyone even asked Dan Snyder if he will seriously consider moving back into D.C.? If the owner of the Redskins is not even considering moving back into the city, why are we wasting our time and resources planning for it?
And my last question: Has anyone read the development report made by the National Capital Planning Commission on the RFK Stadium grounds? Most of its findings are very logical and thorough, not to mention, along the lines of what the Kingman Park neighborhood is looking for.
Given all of this info, RFK realistically can no longer be used as a stadium. We should put our efforts into developing a plan which would benefit the neighborhood and the city.
Han is an architect and a contractor, who lives in Kingman Park.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Hill Now.
Photo via Wikimedia/Ben Schumin
(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) Locals are calling on city officials to “focus on District-wide priorities, not football” for the RFK Stadium campus as D.C. works to redevelop the area.
A group called “Prioritize DC” has started an online petition to urge Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council to add playing fields and other green spaces to the RFK grounds, but not a new Redskins football stadium, which the petition says is a “misplaced priority.” The organization says it supports “good decisions for the District.”
“As residents of D.C., we oppose any proposed plan to build a new football stadium for Dan Snyder and the Washington Football Team,” the petition says. “The reason for the opposition is simply a matter of priorities. Football stadiums are very expensive and, unlike baseball and other sports stadiums, used only a handful of times each year. There are much more important and impactful ways to spend a billion or more dollars.”
The petition came after two community meetings in which residents blasted the prospect of the Redskins returning to the RFK campus and pushed for more green space within the property in the future. In a Hill Now poll on what the area should have in the future, more than half of the respondents said as of this morning they want green space, but no professional football.
Events DC, the host of the meetings, is working on recommendations for the land’s redevelopment. The organization, which oversees RFK Stadium, the D.C. Armory and surrounding grounds, is expected to reveal its recommendations for the 190-acre space by January.
“Our goal is to ensure that any future development at the RFK site will benefit District residents, create quality jobs, and spur economic opportunity and amenities for the entire community,” Bowser spokeswoman LaToya Foster said in an email. “We look forward to reviewing the RFK study upon its completion and working with Events DC to ensure the future use of the RFK site serves the needs of District residents.”
But the mayor has told ANC 6B commissioner Brian Flahaven that she is planning to put a new football stadium on the RFK campus and Events DC’s recommendations for the land will serve as a contingency plan.
Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6 has rallied against a new Redskins stadium on the property, encouraging locals to speak out about what they want for the RFK grounds.
“I don’t believe that putting an NFL stadium at the site of RFK is in the best interest for our city,” Allen said, drawing large applause this week at Events DC’s most recent community meeting.
So far, the petition has secured more than 100 supporters.
Photo via Wikimedia/Ben Schumin
Two key players in any decision to bring the Redskins back to the RFK Stadium campus have not spoken with the District’s events authority after locals blasted the possibility of professional football in the area during a meeting with the organization last month, its leader said last night.
Neither the Redskins nor Mayor Muriel Bowser, who would have to sign off on the team returning to RFK’s grounds, have had talks with Events DC since the events authority met with locals on Sept. 16 to solicit their ideas for the land, said Gregory O’Dell, the organization’s president and chief executive officer. Events DC, which manages the RFK Stadium campus, is expected to reveal its recommendations for the area by January.
“Nothing’s changed from our perspective,” O’Dell told dozens of locals at a community meeting yesterday evening. “We have not talked to the Redskins or the mayor about the study. The mayor is aware obviously that we’re doing this study . . . and she fully expects us to exhaust this process to get feedback and make recommendations on our options.”
Bowser told ANC 6B commissioner Brian Flahaven before the Sept. 16 meeting that she is planning to put a new football stadium on the RFK campus and Events DC’s recommendations for the land will serve as a contingency plan.
Neither a representative of the mayor’s office nor the Redskins was immediately available to comment.
During the two community meetings, locals suggested turning the the RFK campus into athletic fields, parks and other green spaces. But many residents have spoken out against having the Redskins at RFK again.
“Prioritize community benefits first over big sports arena facilities,” Rosedale resident Rob Stephens, 51, said last night. “Make the community the priority, not an afterthought.”
Photo via Wikimedia/MSGT KEN HAMMOND
The organization managing the RFK Stadium campus is scheduled tomorrow to host its second meeting with the public on what to do with the land in the coming years.
The gathering, set for 6 to 9 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (801 Mt. Vernon Place NW), is intended to give locals another opportunity to share ideas about what they would like to see on the RFK grounds in the future.
Events DC, which oversees the stadium, D.C. Armory and surrounding property, also held a meeting earlier this month soliciting suggestions for the land. Many locals pushed for green space, including athletic fields and parks.
But the organization has not ruled out a proposal to bring the Redskins back to the property despite significant resistance from residents who live near the area.
What should the RFK campus have in the future? You can weigh in through the poll and in the comments.
Photo via Wikimedia/MSGT KEN HAMMOND
(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) The organization managing the RFK Stadium campus has not ruled out a proposal to bring the Redskins back to the property despite significant resistance last night from locals who live nearby.
Events DC, which oversees the stadium, D.C. Armory and surrounding grounds, still is reviewing plans for a professional football stadium, along with other suggestions for the area, organization officials told dozens of residents at a community meeting. The D.C. events authority is expected to reveal its recommendations for the space by January, said Gregory O’Dell, president and chief executive officer of Events DC.
“There will be other options that will not include a stadium as part of the concepts,” O’Dell said, after several locals expressed displeasure with a Redskins return.
The meeting came a week after Mayor Muriel Bowser told ANC 6B commissioner Brian Flahaven that she is planning to put a new football stadium on the RFK campus and Events DC’s recommendations for the land will serve as a contingency plan. Events DC hasn’t been included in any discussions with Redskins officials on the property, O’Dell noted.
But in order for the Redskins to make their home on the RFK Stadium grounds again, the team would need approval from the National Park Service, which owns the land. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who oversees the agency, told Bowser earlier this year that the Obama administration isn’t inclined to let the Redskins build a new stadium on the property unless the team has a new name.
During the community meeting, many locals suggested converting the RFK campus into green space, including athletic fields and parks.
RFK community joining together to bring ideas to the table. pic.twitter.com/CaSjJVQgFc
— Events DC (@DCSportsEnt) September 16, 2015
But some of them feared that their ideas for the area won’t be taken seriously.
@OConnellPostbiz so far, no one has advocated for football. Given strong opposition, why does @MayorBowser support the idea?
— Denise Rucker Krepp (@kdrkrepp) September 16, 2015
Sounds like @DCSportsEnt is committed to coming up w/ an NFL Stadium alternative even if community says "no thanks" #rfk
— Brian Flahaven (@BFlahaven) September 17, 2015
Events DC is scheduled to have another community meeting on the future of the property Sept. 30.
Photo via Google Maps
Free tickets to this Friday night’s football game between Howard University and Hampton University at RFK Stadium are now just an email away for Capitol Hill residents.
Locals who live near the stadium can get complimentary tickets to the AT&T Nation’s Football Classic, billed as the “battle for the Real HU,” by emailing Events DC official Pete Kirschner. In their emails, RFK neighbors must include their names, addresses, phone numbers and how many tickets they’re requesting. Residents can receive up to four tickets per person.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.. But several events are set to happen on Friday before kickoff.
The Pepsi Fan Festival in Parking Lot 8 will give fans a chance to see a “stroll off” between Hampton and Howard Greek organizations, the Washington Informer Drumline Showcase and musical performances by 2 Chainz and Tink.
Events DC and Pepsi also have donated 1,000 tickets to area organizations, including D.C. Public Schools and DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp.
Photo via AT&T Nation’s Football Classic
Capitol Hill area residents will get a chance to weigh in on the future uses of the RFK stadium campus at a community meeting next week.
Events DC, which manages the property, is holding the meeting to give residents a better understanding of the redevelopment process and give them a chance to voice their preferences for the campus, which includes the stadium, the Armory and the surrounding lot. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 at St. Coletta of Greater Washington (1901 Independence Ave. SE).
Officials from Brailsford & Dunlavey, a property management company hired to help plan future redevelopments at the stadium will also be at the meeting.Pete Kirschner, a spokesperson for Events DC says that Brailsford & Dunlavey are tasked with coming up with short and long-term plans for the future of the site.
“We’ve tasked them with getting a better understanding of what this community wants and what this market can bear,” he said.
Representatives from Events DC say they hope to use the meeting to give community members a better understanding of the redevelopment and planning process, which is limited by restrictions on the property’s lease. The property, which is owned by the National Parks Service, is under a 50-year lease to the District which requires that the land be used for public spaces.
However, Kirschner also stressed that the event is not only an informative meeting for community members, but also a chance for community members to voice their wishes directly to the company in charge of future plans for the site.
“We’ve always had an ongoing conversation with the neighbors and we definitely have an open-door policy with them,” he said. “We’re more than willing to take their suggestions because they’re the ones that are actually in this area.”
In the past, neighborhood groups have voiced support for putting sports fields at the property or using some of the parking lot space to set up a weekend market. Pete Kirschner, a spokesperson for Events DC, says that they hope to find a balance between these smaller projects and larger, more long-term plans for the site.
Next week’s meeting will be the first of two meetings to discuss the future of the stadium area. Those interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP online.
Photo via Google Maps
Skateboarders from across the the country are expected to ride into a skate park near RFK Stadium for a championship this weekend to determine who will represent the United States in an international competition.
World Skateboarding Grand Prix’s U.S. finals are scheduled for Saturday at Maloof Skate Park at East Capitol and 22nd streets NE, according to Events DC. The competition, which will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., is the first-ever U.S. championship for the international skateboarding organization.
The U.S. finals will feature 11 skateboarders who won contests across the country this summer, according to the World Skateboarding Grand Prix. The winner of the U.S. championship will receive $36,000 and the the opportunity to compete at the organization’s world championship in South Africa later this year.
Photo via Events DC
