Events DC Launches "Asphalt to Action" Campaign to Build Grassroots Support for RFK Campus Redevelopment Project

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, launched a grassroots campaign, called "Asphalt to Action," to increase awareness and support of its proposed redevelopment of the RFK Campus among the Washington, DC community. The campaign includes print and digital advertising, event activations, online petitions and social promotions. The official website of the campaign is RFKCampus.com and the hashtag is #RFKREADY.

"This project will unlock 190-acres of waterfront land for our residents and visitors to enjoy for many years to come. We are taking parking lots of asphalt and transforming them into a destination for sports, recreational activities, a food market and multi-purpose fields for generations to come, said Max Brown, chairman of Events DC Board of Directors.  All of these efforts progress in close collaboration with the residents of this important District neighborhood."

In January, Events DC presented its short-term proposal for the RFK Campus at a community meeting attended by hundreds of District residents. The short-term programmatic recommendations include five community-focused elements which will be designed and built over the next two to five years.  These short-term elements include:

• Three multi-purpose recreation and community playing fields; available to the public and useable in the evening;
• A Market Hall; conveniently located next to Kingman Park, which offers concessions, prepared food and groceries for both neighborhood residents and visitors to the site;
• Sports and Recreation Complex, housing a variety of sport programs for families, youth and amateur sports; to be developed with a partner and identified as a destination, in addition to a neighborhood amenity;
• Three pedestrian bridges that will connect the main site to Kingman and Heritage Islands, each of which fits with ease and comfort into the surrounding site for better pedestrian flow and access; and
• A memorial to Robert F. Kennedy, to be built as a replacement to the Stadium, as it is planned to be demolished.  This living monument will serve as a place to engage visitors and educate the next generation.   

"Since beginning this process over a year ago, we have heard both an outpour of support for the proposal but also that change isn't coming soon enough from the surrounding neighborhood," said Gregory A. O'Dell, president and chief executive officer of Events DC. "We hope that this campaign will channel that frustration and show our city's leaders the level of urgency that is felt in the community—that they are #RFKREADY."

In May, Events DC unveiled plans for the new Robert F. Kennedy Memorial at a luncheon with Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and members of Senator Robert F. "Bobby" Kennedy's family.  The new monument will be a living memorial, and it will be a major focal point of the new RFK Stadium-Armory Campus.  The new Robert F. Kennedy Memorial will be reimagined as an interactive destination where you can gather with youth, family and friends to learn more about the life and work of the late U.S. Senator and presidential candidate. 

Events DC will be announcing the next phases of the redevelopment in the coming months, including a groundbreaking on the multi-purpose fields this fall. Events DC is currently working on preliminary design concepts for the multi-purpose fields in collaboration with community groups such as the Capitol Riverside Youth Sports Park (CRYSP), a group of parents who advocate for converting underused spaces to athletic fields and sports facilities.

About Events DC
Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, deliver premier event services and flexible venues across the nation's capital.  Leveraging the power of a world-class destination and creating amazing attendee experiences, Events DC generates economic and community benefits through the attraction and promotion of business, athletic, entertainment and cultural activities. Events DC oversees the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, an anchor of the District's hospitality and tourism economy that generates over $400 million annually in total economic impact, and the historic Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square. Events DC manages the Stadium-Armory campus, which includes Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and surrounding Festival Grounds, the non-military functions of the DC Armory and Maloof Skate Park at RFK Stadium.  Events DC also built and now serves as landlord for Nationals Park, the first LEED-certified major professional sports stadium in the United States. The most recent addition is Gateway DC, an innovative and versatile space featuring a covered and open-air pavilion in the center of a 1-acre park, conveniently located in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.eventsdc.com or www.rfkcampus.com and find us on Facebook (Events DC), Twitter (@TheEventsDC) and Instagram (@EventsDC). 

CONTACT:  Ashley Forrester, 202-439-7109, [email protected]

SOURCE Events DC

Related Links

http://www.eventsdc.com