Photo by Aaron G Stock on Flickr.

We interviewed candidates for DC mayor and competitive council races for the April 1 primary, and recorded the conversations on video. Here are the discussions about a potential football stadium with candidates for all of the races we covered. See all of the interviews here.

There’s a lot of popular support inside DC for having the Washington NFL team play its games in the District instead of Landover, Maryland. But at what cost, and is that worth it?

Mayor Vincent Gray thinks so. He said,

I think it’s got economic development potential. We’ve seen it with the baseball stadium. There were those who were very skeptical about whether the baseball stadium would have any catalytic effect at all. … We can see what’s happening there and I think the stadium and the team both are a factor in that.

And then I think it’s something as straightforward as civic spirit.

There are people who believe our Washington team contribute to the psychic health — especially when they win — of the city. And all these years later, the team has been gone now 16, 17 years maybe longer, but I hear people constantly, constantly say to me, “Hey Mayor, when are we going to get the Washington football team back in to the city?”

Gray also believes locating the stadium in the city would lead to more players living in the city, as he said has happened with the Wizards and Capitals: “Far more of those players live in the city than would otherwise be the case if they were practicing outside the District of Columbia,” he said.

Jack Evans, the Ward 2 councilmember who is also running for mayor, talked about his vision to rebuild RFK stadium as a new, 75,000-seat retractable-roof stadium.

When you mention the football team, people want the team back in the city. And even people in the suburbs want the team back in the city. … What is a good location for it? Obviously the RFK site makes the most sense … keeping in mind that it is federal land. … The law states the only thing that can be constructed on that land is a stadium.

I pointed out that, in fact, the law simply says it should serve a recreational use, not necessarily professional football, but Evans still favors a football stadium.

In the metropolitan region, that is the best site for a football stadium, barring none, because of the transportation. You have the subway right on site, and a bunch of access roads. When then Nationals were playing at that stadium when the Yankees came to town, and we sold out 50-some thousand people at that stadium. We were able to get people in and out very quickly. That’s the model you would use for a 75,000-seat stadium: The access, the location, there’s so much benefit there. One could argue you could use it for something different, but if you’re going to put a stadium in the metropolitan area, that’s where you would put it.

Evans also said that the stadium would bring in development, “like we’re seeing around Nationals Stadium or over at the Verizon Center.” He called the idea a “big economic driver.”

Meanwhile, Ward 6 council candidate Charles Allen doesn’t think a stadium is the best use of the RFK site (which immediately abuts Ward 6):

I think building a stadium for 8 days out of the year is a bad idea. When you look at that site right now, it’s an ocean of asphalt.

There’s an amazing proposal called the Capital Riverside Youth Sports Park. We need to have more green space. I want to rip up all that asphalt and replace it with this concept, and have it run all the way to the Anacostia.

It’s also an environmental justice issue. Every time we have a storm, every time we pile up snow and call it Mount Fenty, we have a devastating impact on the Anacostia River.

Sketch of proposed Capitol Riverside Youth Sports Park. Image from CRYSP.

Allen’s opponent, Darrel Thompson, would like to bring the team back to DC, but not at the RFK site. “RFK is not the best site,” he said. “We should find another location. … You’ve got an awful lot of residents that don’t want to see that. We have to make sure we’ve been listening to the residents.”

But, I asked, any potential site would likely have residents opposed. Is it realistic to say the team should come back to the District but not at RFK because residents don’t want it there. “We’ve got to look at all the different options,” he responded.

At-large DC Council candidates John Settles and Pedro Rubio would like to see alternate uses for the site, possibly including housing. Settles said, “I look at RFK, and I see too much opportunity. I’d like to redevelop that. It could be a great mixed-use village that has everything from housing to entertainment space to fields to green space.”

Rubio said, “As much as I want the Redskins to play in DC, with the traffic that comes with it, the space that’s needed for affordable housing, I like them where they are right now. We can use the space for affordable housing, for nonprofits, colleges and schools.”

Brianne Nadeau, who is running for council in Ward 1, isn’t totally opposed to a stadium deal, but doesn’t see it as very realistic to find a deal that’s actually good for DC.

I don’t think we have a football team owner that’s particularly amenable to working with the District in a way that we would benefit. If that changes, I would rethink that. The other thing is with a football team, they take up a lot of space. There’s so much parking lot area. … I think we would have to be creative if we were ever going to do [a stadium]. How do we use it for the other 8 months of the year, and make sure it’s the best use of space?

Her opponent, incumbent councilmember Jim Graham, would wait and see if there is every a real proposal. He said, “Dreaming is very important. I think people should continue to have [dreams]. … When there’s something there to hold onto, let’s talk about it. There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip in that regard.”

You can watch all of the videos below.

Vincent Gray:

Jack Evans:

Charles Allen:

Darrel Thompson:

John Settles:

Pedro Rubio:

Brianne Nadeau:

Jim Graham: