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March 24, 2010
Garber on D.C. United: Don't make me come in there!
MLS commissioner Don Garber is getting the hang of this threatening cities for stadiums thing. Asked about the D.C. United situation by reporters on a conference call yesterday, Garber replied:
"I am tired of going down [to Washington] for meetings and getting back-slapped and [attending] faux press conferences with mayors and local city officials to have them back-track because they can't get out of their own way. Quite frankly, it is frustrating, and at some point, we are going to have to do something about it."
And:
"I just can't understand why we can't make progress in D.C., and what more do we need to do to have the politicians in that community understand the relevance of that club, its deep commitment to the community. ... It's premature to say we would move it, [but] if they don't get a stadium ... that team will not be able to succeed and we would have to address what that means."
Now those are the kind of vague, unspecified move threats that get elected officials scurrying, without actually allowing anyone to evaluate whether the threat is real (since you haven't actually threatened anything specific). Good job, commissioner! A few more years of this, and maybe you'll get your own hagiography.
The threat is real. They moved San Jose to Houston for similar reasons.
Posted by Rave Green on March 24, 2010 02:02 PM
When is D.G. going to threaten Bob Kraft? :)
Posted by Kraftownzrevs on March 24, 2010 04:00 PM
Late last year, the mayor of Baltimore put together a task force to evaluate stadium options in the Charm City.
Could be interesting to see Baltimore used as leverage, since we all know DC United would be crazy to ask the Barra Brava and others to make the 40 mile trek up I-95.
Posted by Steve on March 25, 2010 06:47 PM
Lost in all the talk of the need for DCU to have it's own stadium is that it has one already.
Granted, it's not a marble and gold palace purpose built for MLS, but DCU no longer shares the facility. And if they were actually willing to spend some money ($2-5M) to reconfigure RFK (which has it's issues, no question) for soccer alone, it could be a much nicer place to play than it is - all without disturbing the present fanbase. Because RFK is a local landmark, they might even get that reno money from the local Government's
As for San Jose, they were moved because AEG wanted to sell them and no-one was interested in buying them in San Jose, much less building a stadium. Come to think of it, that's almost the case in Houston too!
Posted by John Bladen on March 26, 2010 04:09 PM
The issue is that DCU does not own or share revenue from RFK. That defeats the whole purpose.
Posted by nyrmetros on March 26, 2010 06:39 PM
So who does get the revenue, and can the lease be renegotiated if it's such a big problem? It seems pretty silly to build a whole new stadium and/or move a team just to resolve a squabble over soccer game revenues.
Posted by Neil on March 26, 2010 07:17 PM
The real issue is that people want the Skins to return to DC with a new stadium on the RFK lot. That's why DCU stadium plans keep getting held up.
Posted by nyrmetros on March 27, 2010 09:59 AM
If Dan Garber wants a soccer stadium in DC so badly, then tell Dan Garber to pony up the cash. Until that point is reach, he needs to shut his pie hole because Dan Garber has forgotten the Golden Rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules.
Since the DC council has the gold, they can tell Dan Garber to shove a thumb up his bum.
Posted by bevo on March 30, 2010 10:40 AM
If Dan Garber wants a soccer stadium in DC so badly, then tell Dan Garber to pony up the cash. Until that point is reach, he needs to shut his pie hole because Dan Garber has forgotten the Golden Rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules.
Since the DC council has the gold, they can tell Dan Garber to shove a thumb up his bum.
Posted by bevo on March 30, 2010 10:43 AM