Freedom Will Help With Stadium Plan (Brian Straus, Post, 4/10)

[CHICO13]

Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks, a principal investor in the WUSA and the owner of the Washington Freedom, has commited to help finance a new soccer stadium in the District, Freedom General Manager Katy Button said yesterday.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A999-2003Apr9.html

[TEConnor]

shaweeet. More the merrier. More political pressure, the more the better for all.

[GoDC]

No problem with that.

[Sachin]

WOW! This is the first real movement on a stadium since... I don't know when.

This is also interesting on the WUSA side of things. Perhaps the investors (or at least Hendricks) really are in it for the long haul.

But back to the stadium, this could be key for everyone. It would lessen St. Phil's contribution while increasing the overall private sector investment.

Sachin

[Jose L. Couso]

It is good news indeed.

[neilgrossman]

My big worry is whether the WUSA will still be around to help when this stadium is built. But, with the WNBA close to taking the season off and WUSA corporate sponsorship finally improving a bit, the WUSA's temporary future looks a little brighter.

[seahawkdad]

What, no 'women can't play soccer' diatribes???

I am amazed and impressed.

Maybe us United fans are more sophisticated than others on these boards.

I am still wondering, though, what's in it for the Washington DC stadium authority in ultimately having no tenants in RFK.

[uniteo]

Originally posted by seahawkdad
I am still wondering, though, what's in it for the Washington DC stadium authority in ultimately having no tenants in RFK.

Well, short term it can help bring baseball to town, an existing stadium with no regular tenants to provide scheduling conflicts. While waiting they can still have special events, without having to worry about the playing field (concerts, monster truck rallies, etc...)

Long term it's got to be quite costly to maintain RFK...if they knock it down and have a smaller stadium there, there is the possibility for economic development activities in a part of town that has little commercial development

[Sundevil9]

Originally posted by neilgrossman
My big worry is whether the WUSA will still be around to help when this stadium is built. But, with the WNBA close to taking the season off and WUSA corporate sponsorship finally improving a bit, the WUSA's temporary future looks a little brighter.

As long as their check clears before they go under...... :)

[DCUEagles]

This could be interesting !

[RobtheAggie]

Yeah!

One question about the possible stadium. If this was a perfect world, would both stadiums, Baseball and Soccer be built at the present RFK site?

[Sundevil9]

All indications are that the baseball stadium (if there is one) will be someplace you really can't get to in either DC or VA.

The soccer stadium talk tends to center around the current Lot 8 parking area.

[RobtheAggie]

Thanks!

[rocketeer22]

One of AEG's companies would probably sell the naming rights and have it become Discovery Park.

[Claymore]

The Hendricks are definitely in it for the long haul. They also provided the majority of the funding for the MD Soccerplex in Germantown. In fact, the indoor facility out there is called The Discovery Sports Center.

Great news!

[RobtheAggie]

Originally posted by rocketeer22
One of AEG's companies would probably sell the naming rights and have it become Discovery Park.

I could live with that.

[mpruitt]

Originally posted by Sundevil9
As long as their check clears before they go under...... :)

ding. 2 pts for a correct answer on that one.

[TEConnor]

First off, women can't play soccer at all. Whoever got the opposite impression due to the fact that us fans of the men's game want their money, is quite off base.

Now that we have that cleared up, this could just be a good investment regardless of the long-term stability of the WUSA. This could become a major venue for future Women's WC matches and qualifiers. If the District is willing to part with the land for a reasonable fee (free sounds about right to this Maryland taxpayer), then investing in a stadium like this is a no brainer. If you happen to own a team like the Freedom that might seriously benefit from the lower operating costs, dramatically increased cut of the concessions and parking, and would play in a place that didn't make 6,000 screaming girls seem like annoying insects in a sewer drain, then I can't see how not to invest. In addition, it gives you a tangible, long-term investment in a very attractive structure regardless. I'm sure there is some study that will be done, but here is my back of the envelope 5 year plan:

1 MLS Cup
1 MLS All-Star Game
2 Men's World Cup Qualifiers
8 Men's International Friendlies/Tourneys
70 Regular Season MLS Matches
10 International Club Exhibitions
10 (hopefully) MLS Playoff Games

1 WUSA Founder's Cup (is that actually what they call it?)
1 WUSA All-Star Game
2 Women's WC Games (it could happen)
2 Women's WC Qualifiers
4 Women's International Friendlies
60 Regular Season WUSA Matches
8 WUSA Playoff Matches

15 Concerts
2 Tractor Pulls
1 Partridge in a pear tree.

If you assume 70% occupancy for each of these matches/events and that each butt spends $25 in total that the owners/investors will see, that's a grand total of $90 million over 5 years. If you assume 80 % occupancy and $35 for each headcase, you've got an upperbound of $140 million for 5 years. That's $27 million / year. That's a good investment considering that the operating expenses of DC United and WUSA combined likely approach $5 million / year (Wild Butt Guess there).

[Note: I forgot to mention that at a construction cost of, say, $50 million, you've got a three year payback, not to mention the tax shenanigans available for writing off portions of major capital investments.]

Cheers,
Tim

[mellon002]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A999-2003Apr9.html

Now we might be getting somewhere.

[CHICO13]

You had me right up to the part about the tractor pulls. :rolleyes: