Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, better known as RFK Stadium or RFK, is a professional sports stadium in Washington, D.C., USA. 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 starting with the 1997 season. RFK Stadium also served as the home to the expansion Washington Senators of the American League from 1962 through 1971. Starting with 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, pending the planned opening of a new stadium in 2008. 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 had been 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 has been the fourth-oldest active stadium in Major League Baseball behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium.
