Yeah, and some percentage of those folks that flock to the new thing will fall in love with the fan culture, the game and the experience and will become true fans of the team. That's how you grow your fan base. Several of my friends had never been to a soccer game until I brought them to one and we stood with the SE. Some of them never came back, but several of them go to 3 to 5 games a year. People wanting to go to United games is undoubtedly a good thing.
For those of you angry about there not being any links in this here thread: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/07/dc-united-new-stadium-proposal-mayor-gray-washington-dc/
Well, this is a good day but there is lots left to do to avoid this being scuppered. I am excited and cautiously optimistic but still too concerned about the remaining hurdles to completely exalt. That said, I feel better about this than I have in years and, perhaps, ever. Lastly, congrats are due to Levien for doing what Kevin Payne was unable to do.
OK, so, here's the plan. Once the stadium deal is finalized, we push for trolleys from and to lot 8 on game days, so we can still tailgate appropriately... Or am I getting greedy?
Given the number of moving parts in this deal, and the number of ways in which it can go south, even my optimism is pretty severely tempered. However, on the off chance that this isn't just more butt-sunshine, and something really is going to happen, I'd like to remind everyone that there'll still be some important work for the fans to do even after shovels hit dirt.
Yes, tailgating would be very limited, not impossible based on where you park, but certainly different from what is done at RFK. However, being in an urban setting would offer many more alternatives such as going to bars and restaurants before and after, locations along the riverfront that are existing and/or will be developed and also far more options for things inside of the stadium like there are at Nationals Park in the outfield concourse for pre and post-match festivities. Streets adjacent to the stadium could also be blocked off for pre-game concerts and other activities. If this does happen it would give DC United one of just three true urban soccer specific stadiums in the US (Portland's and Houtson's being the other ones) where they are integrated into the urban neighborhood as they are so often in Europe (vs being built in the suburbs with massive parking lots and nothing else around or being built in urban areas like RB Arena that aren't particularly close to anything). I hope the capacity is closer to the 25,000 as some are reporting vs the 20,000 others are reporting as that would give us one of the top three SSS in terms of capacity in the US along with Home Depot (Stub Hub) Center and RB Arena and surely would put us near the top of the list for big National Team matches and other international friendlies. Love the design too of the stadium from the images, will certainly rival any MLS stadium.
In fairness to Kevin Payne, I think Levien did have about 300 million more dollars to work with than Payne did. Any idea what sort of time table we're looking at before we know whether the deal is actually approved?
I apologize in advance if you know the person who penned that, but it has two major problems. 1. It's not a $300M stadium, which the headline clearly states 2. It raises an issue, with absolutely no discussion of the issue, so it's basically pointless. That makes it either not well thought out, or simple click mongering. There is a lot to discuss about the attendance issue, and IMO, most of the evidence is that it's not an issue-- but there's nothing further about it one way or another. Fail.
crossposting from the old thread... but these need to be in the new one... at least until this deal falls apart too:
The Nats didn't truly start packing them in until last year. Attendance this year is the first to be on pace to be over their all-time high set in 2005, their first year at RFK. I expect DCU might draw close to the max, but not every game. The most we ever averaged was 21,000 in 2001 and I'll bet there were some double headers in there. No one will be stopping you from tailgating in Lot 8 before the games. Just bring a bicycle or some fishing poles and you can party along the Anacostia to your hearts desire. I can think of at least three "stadium announcements" in the past 10 years or so. I'll wait until the shovels hit the ground to consider this a success. Even then, it could go all Metro on us after ground is broken. Thx, Jay!
Um, what? This is so, so wrong. The Nationals never averaged under 20k a season at RFK. In fact, their lowest attended year was the last, at 23,998. The first year at RFK actually averaged more fans than the first year at Nats Park (because the team in the first year at Nats Park sucked). This is DC. Unless the team is named the Redskins, fans only show up if the team wins. Having a new stadium will help, but if the team's winning at that point in time, the fans WILL stay.
People didn't " flock" to Nats Park until last season, when they started winning. Even then, you could get tickets to most games with just a little bit of advance planning. You've overstated your imaginary problem. Plus, sporting events are way better in front of a full house than when you have 40% capacity rattling around a venue.
Yeah, HKS really went all out with the stock people. Too bad whoever shopped them in didn't get any of the shadows right. Apparently the sun is at 3 different angles simultaneously. Good news though, I spotted jade1mls. Can anyone else find him/her/it?
this is true, Payne also rubbed a lot of people in the District the wrong way and by the end of his tenure had become an impediment to getting a deal done.
They probably got at least 1/3 of the shadows right. (And for DC United related performance in 2013, that's relatively outstanding.)
maybe for how they look on TV, not for actual fan experience And if you're only watching on TV, who cares about you anyway I am cautiously so excited my skin is tingly It will be interesting to hear if there is anything new to hear in the press conference. In today's world, there really seems to be no need at all for press conferences as they always leak all the info the night before. Try as I might, I cannot figure out what he restaurant or store or whatever is next to the stadium with the red lights on it - this is now all I care about, so someone with younger eyes help me out here
Probably true. Also, the influx of cash from the new ownership group probably was the most important new ingredient/non-impediment -- more so than any "proper rubbing" that needs to be done of "people in the District" -- toward getting this deal (apparently) done.