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July 21, 2007
Fool me twice, shame on D.C.?
The three-year-old plan to build a new stadium for the D.C. United soccer team, more or less dormant for the last six months, abruptly fell apart yesterday, with Mayor Adrian Fenty balking at the team's demand for $200 million worth of tax breaks, new roads, and free land as a condition of building their $150 million stadium. Fenty's office said the city will instead open up the Poplar Point site in Southeast Washington to competitive bidding from other developers.
D.C. United officials immediately responded by threatening to move the team, though not very far. "We're keeping our options open," a spokesperson for team owner Victor MacFarlane told the Washington Post. "We need a new stadium somewhere in the D.C. area. I can't put parameters on that."
Coming on the heels of D.C.'s total capitulation to Major League Baseball in the Nationals stadium deal, the move to play hardball with D.C. United might seem unexpected, but there are two key differences. First off, stadium-funding critic Fenty took over as mayor from Anthony Williams this January, and unlike with the already-underway Nats deal, he couldn't blame a soccer subsidy on his predecessor. And also, it's soccer, and nobody knows any songs about that sport. (Nobody in this country, anyway.)
Hey, if this was Liverpool we could all sing, "You'll Never Walk Alone". Their fans sing that all of the time.
Posted by eddie on July 21, 2007 11:33 AM
Hey, if this was Liverpool we could all sing, "You'll Never Walk Alone". Their fans sing that all of the time.
Posted by eddie on July 21, 2007 11:33 AM
Hey, if this was Liverpool we could all sing, "You'll Never Walk Alone". Their fans sing that all of the time.
Posted by eddie on July 21, 2007 11:33 AM
Actually, DC united is the one fooled several times over here. They have patiently held off on pursuing any stadium sites outside the city limits since they were "invited" to develop a stadium on that site. DC United helped lobby to get that land transferred through congress to the city. DC United helped in Fenty's plan to disassemble the AWC (independent agency) and give control of the land to Fenty. DC United was always willing to pay for the stadium, not the infrastructure. DC United was bought by land developers with the mayor's cheerful support with the clear plan that they were to build the stadium on that site with some adjacent development.
So now it's all up to open bids. That's fine. But I don't think it's accurate to say DC United was fooling anyone. DC United was the one fooled here. It's time to take MLS Cup and the team outside the city limits. Downtown is generally great and ideal for stadium placement. Under the rule of DC govt, I'd pass.
Posted by Ric on July 21, 2007 06:06 PM
Terrible news. Seems that the city of DC used United to tget the land from the government. shame
Posted by Mark from NYC on July 22, 2007 12:27 AM
Actually, it was Williams who arranged the acquisition of the Poplar Point land and spoke favorably of a soccer stadium, not Fenty. And neither mayor (nor the council, certainly) ever signed off on the $200 million in subsidies.
If D.C. United chose to roll the dice on lobbying for the land transfer on the chance that they could get their stadium deal through, that's their right. But I hardly see how they can claim to have been "used" here.
Posted by Neil on July 22, 2007 11:05 AM
This is far from over:
http://www.wusa9.com/news/columnist/blogs/2007/07/barry-to-take-on-fenty.html
Posted by Goose on July 26, 2007 05:54 PM