Petition to Mayor Vincent Gray, DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and members of the D.C. Council:

Capitol Hill desperately needs athletic space for its kids AND its community. Sports organizations like Sports on the Hill and Capitol Hill Little League agree that this pressure on local fields and facilities could be greatly reduced if the city moves ahead with its plans for turning the north lot of Stuart-Hobson Middle School into a full size, turfed multi-sport athletic facility that the community, as well as the school, could and would use. The school and the community also need a reasonable solution to the existing school parking problem.

The currently available feasibility study and schematic design conclusively showed that the only way to resolve both needs was to put the athletic field over a one level parking area.

This is a facility Northeast DC, the school, and the broader Capitol Hill community urgently need--the CapitalSpace Initiative identified a deep need for such a facility in the Northeast quadrant of the city. Sports on the Hill estimates such a facility would be used almost continuously on weekends and during the week when not needed for school and after-school programs. As it is, such a facility would serve children from every single ward in the city except Ward 3, as Stuart-Hobson has students from all those wards.

We urge you to provide full funding for the project so we don't shortchange our school, our children, or our community.