Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium
Washington D.C., Washington, United States of America
Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington D.C., United States of America — opened 1961, 3 rugby league games hosted, home of Washington Redskins (NFL, 1961-1996); Washington Senators (MLB, 1962-1971); D.C. United (MLS, 1996-2017).
Sourcing caveat: Rugby League Project's own records show three matches at this venue (matching our directory's count and top-crowd figure of 6,500), but two of the three -- both dated 16 March 1996, both a 12-14 USA loss -- may in fact be a single match recorded twice under different opponent designations ("Ireland" vs "Ireland A"). We could not confirm from any independent source whether two genuinely separate matches were played that day, so this is published as Rugby League Project's database currently records it, with the likely duplication flagged rather than silently resolved.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1961 (Opened 1 October 1961 as District of Columbia Stadium; renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium on 18 January 1969, honouring the assassinated senator. Demolition was approved by the National Park Service in May 2024 and deconstruction began in January 2025; we could not confirm an exact demolition-completion date.) |
| Home club | Washington Redskins (NFL, 1961-1996); Washington Senators (MLB, 1962-1971); D.C. United (MLS, 1996-2017) |
| Demolished | Demolition approved May 2024; deconstruction began January 2025 |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 3 |
| Top recorded crowd | 6,500 |
| Capacity | 43,500-56,692 (varied by sport/configuration) |
| Years used | 1995–1996 |
| Location | Washington D.C., Washington |
Name history
- District of Columbia Stadium — 1961-1969
- Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium — 1969-2025 (demolition began January 2025)
Rugby league history
RFK Stadium hosted rugby league only through the "Saint Patrick's Day Test" (also called the Donnybrook Cup), an annual USA vs Ireland international arranged 1995-2012 by promoter John F. Morgan to bring a Rugby Football League-sanctioned Ireland touring team to the United States. Two of these fixtures were played here: 16 March 1995 (USA lost 22-24 to Ireland A, attendance not recorded, broadcast live on ESPN2) and 16 March 1996 (USA lost 12-14, broadcast on delay). Rugby League Project's own venue records list the 1996 game twice -- once as "USA vs Ireland" (attendance 2,500) and once as "USA vs Ireland A" (attendance 6,500) -- both dated the same day with an identical 12-14 scoreline. No secondary source we found confirms two separate USA-Ireland matches on 16 March 1996, and only Rugby League Project's database shows the 6,500 figure at all; this looks like the same physical match has been split into two database entries, possibly reflecting a mid-match change in how individual players' international eligibility (full cap vs "A" status) was recorded, rather than two genuinely separate games.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
← Rugby League · Champions list · All-time records · Grand Final results · World Cup · All competitions · Teams · Players