Stadium News and Speculation XXIV: Where Newbies Go to Get Flamed

Re: Odds on relocation?

Unless I hear otherwise, I think the odds are pretty high that DC will end up moving, maybe even further away than Baltimore.

As for me, I'm just going to go to as many games as I can while I can. I've been through all of this before (Dips).

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

Right now I'd probably say the odds are 1 in 4 that United will move. Each season there is no movement on the Stadium will increase those odds.

It is incredible to me that we have gone, what, 14 YEARS and are still looking for a stadium, any stadium in the entire Washington area. I believe the financial fiasco with bringing the Expos to DC have killed any chance of building a stadium in DC itself.

As much as we all like Will Chang as a owner who loves the team, at the end of the day, its still a business and at some point as a businessman he will have to put an end to the financial drain.

Pulling the plug might be sooner than later. Will Chang is not a local investor so his connection with the area is diminished and would make that decision tipping point come earlier.

At one point I really thought that having a strong Washington club was critical to the League's survival, I believe, that's no longer the case and just shows how far MLS has come and how far the League has passed DC United.

Moving forward I am hopeing that United can get at least a minimal no frills stadium in place in one of the suburbs or close in to DC. Unfortuanately even that hope is questionable in the harsh light of economics. Why would a club owner take a minimal deal in the Washington area against a terrific deal in another location?

Cherish this team because soon we may ONLY have traddition to look back on.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

You can't expect Uncle Will to accept ongoing heavy financial losses without the promise of a new soccer specific stadium deal. At present, United is being stiff armed by Adrian Fenty, the District's mayor, and was humiliated, last year, by the Prince George's County Council. I've heard of no rumors of any prospect for a stadium in Montgomery County. Apparently, there have been discussions with governments on the far fringe of the Northern Virginia suburbs. Of course, the economy has cratered but if Baltimore or St. Louis comes up with a feasible stadium proposal I guess you'd have to ask why Uncle Will would want to stay . . .

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

Either we move, or we stay. So lemme do the math....

50/50 chance.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

Did you fail math? Outcomes are not the same as probabilities. of an outcome

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

Not from my experience. And speaking as a physicist, if you don't know the equivalence of fractions and percentages, I wonder about your math teaching!

The likelihood of moving is 0% if we get a reasonable stadium deal, and 100% if we don't. That's been made clear to us. So the only question is, what's the limiting timeframe, and what's the likelihood of getting a reasonable stadium deal within that timeframe? And nobody here knows the answers to those questions.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

3 words: "Maryland Stadium Authority" They want professional soccer & they will build an 18K seat soccer only stadium to bring United to Maryland. MSA loves international soccer even more and they are committed to being in the World Cup rotation when it swings back to the U.S. This plan is already in play but will take 6 months to be finalized i.e. press release early 4th Qtr 2010. D.C. has no money and no investor base & Virginia has no interest. Maryland Stadium Authority knows fans will travel on the train or take buses to the Inner Harbor to watch United play; plus M&T & Camden Yards are proven facilities - Baltimore will win this deal - and they already have! New name will be simply "United" Eagle is the logo | not much will change just location and crab cakes w/National Bo cold one to chase it home. 2012 is the target year for moving in to the new stadium. Go United Go hun and aint that Lincoln Phillips and the Baltimore Bays gettin ready to be honored by El Diablo!
I think Mr. Goff is sitting on the story afraid to release the "micro-burst" storm that this will cause around town... Santino comes home in 2012 & see you all in Fells Point for pre-game warm ups.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

...which should end the thread, but won't.

So I'll keep it going.

I think nick p has a point regarding the Maryland Stadium Authority. Only I'm not sure about Baltimore as the location. Done right politically, and with transit centered development in mind, I'd look for PG County to be in play again.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

The sad part is the rest of the country appears to be warming up to soccer. DC did much to keep MLS from failing. Now it looks as if the franchise will be moving.

Whether DC fans like to admit to it or not, Daniel Snyder will not be crying about DC losing its United. I would not be surprised in Snyder has his stadium built where DC United was going to have their's built. DC government just wants United to get out of town which they will in short order.

What MLS and US soccer need to do is to make sure DC never gets another National Team match and when the World Cup is awarded, DC is not a host city.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

No kidding. I predict at least three more goofy posts like the one before yours.

To the original poster, here's my response: it's 43.48526 +/- 0.00108 % likely that DCU will relocate.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

...or like my PG County prediction.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

I'm sorry. I'm not trying to say anyone is dumb or smart, and I apologize if I'm giving *that* impression. But asking the odds of relocation feels like asking people here exactly how many pieces of kibble my dog will leave in his bowl at dinner tonight: for pretty much everyone here (except me), it's just about a blind guess.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

D.C. United owner Will Chang
aid he has begun to search for investors not because he faces any financial challenges but because he believes the addition of new partners with ties to D.C., or strategic interests in the team can assist the franchise in its effort to build a new stadium and other initiatives.
“I bought [my partner] out because I had a vision of what the ownership structure ought to look like,” Chang said. “I still believe in the franchise, and I’m now in the process of restructuring the ownership group to bring the franchise forward.”
By adding new partners, Chang hopes to construct an ownership group similar to the one behind the San Francisco Giants, which he co-owns with 29 other partners. The Giants are owned primarily by individual investors with local ties, but there also are investors who live outside the Bay Area and companies like the local Fox affiliate, KTVU, and local sports radio station KNBR.
Chang doesn’t have a timeline for when he would like to add new investors nor has he decided how many investors he wants to add. He said he hopes to keep the group relatively small and added that he plans to remain the club’s majority owner.
“I’m under no pressure,” he said. “I’m going to wait and be patient and do a thorough search for strategic partners who can help with the success of the franchise.”
Group ownership is not uncommon in MLS. The San Jose Earthquakes are owned by Lew Wolff and John Fisher; Real Salt Lake is owned by SCP Worldwide and Dell Loy Hansen; and Seattle Sounders FC is owned by Joe Roth, Adrian Hanauer, Drew Carey and Paul Allen

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

I have 2 concerns with what your saying. First, this sounds so much like conjecture and speculation not fact - it certainly hasn't made the rounds of people who would know and I usually get a measure of inside knowledge.

Second, as has been shown in multiple surveys United is very reluctant to move that far. The club will lose the majority its current fan base which is in Northern Virginia.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

I predict a lot more than that, before it's all over.

United have said that they're going to keep quiet about what they're up to until they have something more certain to announce -- having learned something, it appears, from the PR mistakes of the PG County debacle. That's good, by and large, but one consequence will be that there will be more of a vacuum for speculation.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

And to prove you both right...

Vacuums suck!

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

Yay! I started a math geek fight!

*checks that off my "to do" list for the week*

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

If that's what it takes to keep that maddening stadium thread from reappearing, more power to you.

 

Re: Odds on relocation?

Should I stay or should I go?