Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

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Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
RFK Stadium
Image:RFKStadiumLogo150.PNG
Image:RFK Stadium aerial photo, 1988.JPEG
Location 2400 East Capitol Street Southeast
Washington, D.C. 20003
Broke ground 1959
Opened October 1, 1961
Owner District of Columbia
Operator D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission
Surface Grass (Prescription Athletic Turf)
Construction cost U.S.$20 million
Architect George A. Dahl; Osborn Engineering
Former names District of Columbia (D.C.) Stadium (1961-1968)
Tenants Washington Redskins (NFL) (1961-1996)
Washington Senators (II) (AL) (1962-1971)
Washington Whips (USA/NASL) (1967-1968)
Washington Darts (NASL) (1971)
Washington Diplomats (NASL, USL1) (1974-1981, 1991)
Team America (NASL) (1983)
Washington Federals (USFL) (1983-1984)
D.C. United (MLS) (1996-present)
Washington Freedom (WUSA) (2001-2003)
Washington Nationals (NL) (2005-2007)
Capacity 45,596 (2005 Baseball)
56,692 (2005 Football & Soccer)
Field Dimensions
Left Field: 335 ft (102 m)
Left-Center: 380 ft (116 m)
Center Field: 410 ft (125 m)
Right-Center: 380 ft (116 m)
Right Field: 335 ft (102 m)
Backstop: 54 ft (16.5 m)

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, better known as RFK Stadium or RFK, is a professional sports stadium in the United States. Opened in October 1961 as District of Columbia Stadium (D.C. Stadium for short), RFK was the home of the NFL's Washington Redskins for 36 seasons, from 1961 through 1996. The Redskins moved to FedExField in suburban Maryland for the 1997 season. RFK Stadium also served as the home to the expansion Washington Senators of the American League from 1962 through 1971. For the 1972 season, the Senators moved to Arlington, Texas and were renamed the Texas Rangers. The Montreal Expos relocated to Washington as the Washington Nationals and played at RFK from 2005 to 2007. RFK has served as the home of Major League Soccer's D.C. United since 1996. Concerts featuring renowned rock bands and performers also take place at the stadium. It has hosted soccer matches in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, 1996 Summer Olympics, and 2003 Women's World Cup.

The stadium was renamed in January 1969 for U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in Los Angeles the previous June. As Attorney General, Kennedy's Justice Department played a role in the racial integration of the Redskins. Along with Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, Kennedy threatened to revoke the team's lease at the federally-owned stadium until it promised to sign African American players.

A complex conversion is necessary, at a cost of $40,000 per switch, to convert the stadium from a soccer/football configuration to baseball and back again. This includes rolling the 3rd-base lower-level seats into the outfield along a buried rail, dropping the hydraulic pitcher's mound 3 feet into the ground, and laying sod over the infield dirt. RFK was the first major stadium designed specifically as a multisport facility for both football and baseball. Subsequent facilities were adjusted for this problem so the seating configuration could be changed much more quickly and at a lower cost. In 2005, the conversion was made more than 20 times.

During the Nationals' tenure at the stadium, it was the fourth-oldest active stadium in Major League Baseball behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium.

Contents

[edit] History

RFK Stadium was home for 36 seasons to the Redskins, whose return to prominence as a football power began the same year (1960) the baseball Senators left the city. The Redskins' first game in D.C. Stadium was a 24-21 loss to the New York Giants on October 1, 1961. The team's first win in the stadium was over its future archrival, the Dallas Cowboys on December 17, 1961. This was the only win in a 1-12-1 season, and it came on the final weekend of the regular season. The Redskins' last win at RFK was a 37-10 victory over the Cowboys on December 22, 1996.

The stadium's design was nearly circular, attempting to facilitate both football and baseball, the so-called "cookie-cutter" approach also used by (Philadelphia, New York, Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis, San Diego, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh). The design was not ideal for either sport. As the playing field dimensions for football and baseball vary greatly, seating had to accommodate the larger playing surface. In the case of RFK Stadium, this resulted in the first ten rows of the football configuration being at field level, making it difficult to see over the players. As a baseball park, RFK was a particular target of scorn from baseball purists, largely because it has no lower-deck seats in the outfield. The only outfield seats are in the upper deck, above a high wall.

The stadium was the first to use the design where blocks of seats along the baseball baselines are rolled around to flank the sidelines for football. But at RFK only the seats along the third-base line were rotated. The first-base seats are permanent. In some of the other facilities listed above, both sets of seats rotated.

During the years when the stadium was used only for Redskins games, the rotating seats remained in the football configuration. If a baseball game was scheduled, the left-field line was only 250 feet from home plate, and for some exhibition baseball games, a large screen was erected.

Some of RFK's quirks endeared the venue to fans and players. The large rolling bleacher section was always less stable than other seating, allowing fans to jump in rhythm and cause the whole area to bounce. Also, because of the stadium's design and the proximity of the fans to the football field, the stadium was extremely loud when the usual sell-out Redskins crowds became vocal. And legend has it that former Redskins coach George Allen would order a large rolling door opened in the side of the stadium when visiting teams were attempting field goals at critical moments in games so that a swirling wind from off the Potomac and Anacostia rivers would interfere with the flight of the kicked ball.

Since the stadium is on a direct sight line with the Washington Monument and the United States Capitol, light towers were not allowed; instead, arc lights were placed on its curved, dipping roof.

The stadium hosted its first baseball All-Star Game in its first season of 1962, which was attended by Robert Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy (in whose administration Robert Kennedy served as Attorney General), and the 1969 All-Star Game, which was played in the daytime, after a rainout the night before. It turned out to be the final MLB All-Star Game played during the daytime hours.

Another memorable baseball moment occurred in a Cracker Jack Old Timers game in 1982, when 75 year-old Hall of Famer Luke Appling hit a home run. Although he had a .310 lifetime batting average, Appling only hit 45 home runs in 20 seasons. However, because the stadium had not been fully reconfigured, it was just 260 feet to the left-field foul pole, far shorter than normal.

In its tenure as the Senators' home field, RFK Stadium was known as a hitters' park. Slugger Frank Howard, a six-foot-seven-inch tall, 255-pound left fielder, hit a number of tape-measure home runs in his career, a few of which landed in the center field area of the upper deck. The seats Howard hit with his home runs are painted white, rather than the gold of the rest of the upper deck. Howard also hit the last home run in the park's original tenure, on September 30, 1971. With one out remaining in the game, a fan riot turned a 7-5 Senators lead over the New York Yankees into a 9-0 forfeit loss. However, in its tenure as the Nationals' home field, RFK has been known as a pitchers' park. While Howard hit at least 44 home runs for three straight seasons (1968-70), the 2005 Nationals had only one hitter with more than 15 home runs, Jose Guillen with 24.

With its revival as a major league baseball facility, RFK Stadium now displaces Dodger Stadium as the fourth-oldest major league ballpark, behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Yankee Stadium (which was significantly remodeled in 1974-75, re-opening in 1976). D.C. Stadium's first baseball game was the day before Dodger Stadium's first game, and it was opened for football the previous fall. The final baseball game at RFK Stadium was September 23, 2007 when the Nationals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 5-3.

From 1993-1999 and 2001-2004, former rock radio station WHFS held its annual HFStival rock concert at RFK Stadium.

[edit] Dimensions

The dimensions of the baseball field were 335 feet down the foul lines, 380 feet to the power alleys and 408 feet to center field during the Senators' time. The official distances when the Nationals arrived were identical, except for two additional feet to center field. After complaints from Nationals hitters it was discovered in July of 2005 that the fence had actually been put in place incorrectly, and it was 394.74 feet to the power alleys in left; 395 feet to the right-field power alley; and 407.83 feet to center field. The section of wall containing the 380 foot sign was moved closer to the foul lines to more accurately represent the distance shown on the signs but no changes were made to the actual dimensions.

[edit] New developments

On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball announced its intentions to move the Montreal Expos to Washington, D.C. and rename them the Washington Nationals. RFK Stadium has undergone a $13 million renovation, and is planned to be used for a total of three years for the new baseball team, while a $611 million dollar state-of-the-art stadium is built one block north of the Anacostia River at South Capitol Street. Their first regular-season home game at RFK for the Nationals was April 14, 2005, vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On April 14, 2005, just before the Nationals' home opener, the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission announced an agreement with the Department of Defense under which the military would pay the city about $6 million for the right to place recruiting kiosks and signage in the stadium. In return, the stadium would be dubbed Armed Forces Field at RFK Stadium. This plan was dropped within days, however, after several prominent members of Congress questioned the use of public funds for a stadium sponsorship. Similar proposals to sell the naming rights to the National Guard, ProFunds (a Bethesda, Maryland investment company) and Sony were proposed, but no agreement was ever finalized.

One of the details that was contingent on the Expos relocating to Washington was the development of a new ballpark. Consequently, RFK Stadium was never intended to be the permanent home of the Nationals, but hold the team over until construction on a new facility was complete. Nationals Park, which will be located on the Anacostia River, broke ground on May 4, 2006 and is scheduled to be opened by Opening Day 2008.

On November 15, 2006 local news outlets report that there have been preliminary, informal talks between members of the government of the District of Columbia and Redskins owner Daniel Snyder about tearing down RFK Stadium and building the Redskins a new domed stadium on the site after the Nationals and D.C. United move to new stadiums in the city in 2008 and 2010 respectively. Reports say that Snyder would sell off the FedExField site and use that money to build the new stadium which would seat between 90,000 and 100,000 fans.[1] It is speculated that this plan interests Snyder because a domed stadium would almost guarantee the NFL would someday pick Washington, D.C. as a Super Bowl host city.

[edit] Memorable games and moments at RFK Stadium

Image:RFK.jpg
D.C. United winning the Eastern Conference championship to go to the MLS Cup

[edit] Washington Hall of Stars

During the Redskins' tenure, the Washington Hall of Stars was displayed on a series of white-and-red signs hung in a ring around the stadium's mezzanine, honoring D.C. sports greats from various sports. With the reconfiguration of the stadium, it was replaced by a series of dark green banners over the center field and right field fences in order to make room for out-of-town scoreboards and advertising signage. There are 15 separate panels honoring 82 figures.

To the right of Panel 15 are four banners honoring D.C. United's MLS Cup wins: 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004. To the right of these banners is D.C. United's "Tradition of Excellence" banner, which honors John Harkes and Marco Etcheverry.

[edit] Public transportation

RFK Stadium is within a half-mile and easily accessible from the Stadium-Armory station of the Washington Metrorail. The station is served by both the Blue Line and the Orange Line. It is also served directly by Metrobus lines B2, D6, E32 (at Eastern High School), 96, and 97.

[edit] Food vendors

RFK is home to such eateries as:

  • Forescore Grill
  • The Diamond Club
  • Burrito Brothers
  • Dominic's of New York
  • Stars and Stripes Brew
  • Red, Hot & Blue BBQ
  • AR Seafood
  • Cantina Marina

[edit] Racing Presidents

Main articles: Presidents Race

During every Nationals game, RFK Stadium hosts a race of the Presidents of the United States who are engraved on Mount Rushmore. The promotion began in 2005 as a scoreboard animation. However, in 2006, the race began taking place on the field, with four people wearing caricature heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt entering the field through the right field fence in foul territory, and racing to the area behind home plate. The race has become a fan favorite in Washington. Most likely, this is inspired by or a homage to the popular Milwaukee Brewers' Sausage Race promotion and Pittsburgh Pirates Great Pierogi Race.

A running gag in the races has featured Roosevelt's continuing inability to win, having been (among other things) blocked by other Presidents, becoming disoriented and running into the outfield, and disqualified for using a golf cart.

[edit] Stadium tenants

[edit] Current

[edit] Former

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Coordinates: 38°53′23.13″N, 76°58′18.51″W

Washington Redskins
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FranchiseHistorySeasonsPlayersFirst-round Draft picksDivision2007 season
Stadiums: Griffith StadiumRFK StadiumFedExField
Culture: HogettesWashington Redskins CheerleadersChief ZeeHail to the Redskins
Super Bowl Appearances: VIIXVIIXVIIIXXIIXXVI
Lore: The HogsThe RivalrySlingin' SammyThe Fun BunchThe Over-the-Hill GangThe Diesel
League Championships (5)
19371942198219871991
Notable Coaches
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Preceded by
Griffith Stadium
Home of the Washington Redskins
19611996
Succeeded by
Jack Kent Cooke Stadium
Preceded by
Griffith Stadium
Home of the Washington Senators
19621971
Succeeded by
Arlington Stadium
Preceded by
Fenway Park 2nd Game
Host of the All-Star Game
1962 1st Game
Succeeded by
Wrigley Field 2nd Game
Preceded by
Astrodome
Host of the All-Star Game
1969
Succeeded by
Riverfront Stadium
Preceded by
Home of D.C. United
1996
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Olympic Stadium
Home of the Washington Nationals
20052007
Succeeded by
Nationals Park
de:Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

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