The long-simmering RFK Stadium demolition has reached a new phase, with interior work completed and the exterior–including the iconic roofline–set to come down over the next year.
As you can see in the above screencap, the RFK Stadium demolition work has reached the exterior framework and the ironic roofline, with all the interior demolition work complete. Events DC and the District of Columbia have taken a very deliberate approach to tearing down the stadium. Instead of an imposition that would have potentially spewed some problematic building materials–like asbestos–into the surrounding neighborhood, the decision was made to take down the facility one piece at a time.
Leaving us with the exterior supports and the roofline. If you’re in the area, you don’t need to rush over today or tomorrow to grab a photo of the roofline: because of the slow pace, the roofline should be there a little while. In fact, the RFK Stadium demolition isn’t set to be finished until fall 2026, to eventually be replaced by a new Washington Commanders NFL stadium.
Planned in the late 1950s at a time when professional baseball and football was significantly expanding across the country, D.C. Stadium–renamed in 1969 for the late Robert F. Kennedy–was explicitly designed as a multipurpose, reconfigurable venue for the NFL’s Washington Redskins and the expansion Washington Senators II. Over the years it also hosted a number of high-profile sports and events, including MLS’s D.C. United and the Washington Nationals after a Montreal relocation and before the opening of Nationals Park.
Screencap from Sept. 6, 2025 from Events DC demolition camera.
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