I’m sorry I missed you over the phone, but since you had expressed interest in learning more about our new stadium, I wanted to make sure we could connect. This Thursday, April 27th, D.C. United will be hosting an event at our Audi Field Preview Center. This event will allow fans to get an exclusive look into our future home through augmented reality and 3D technology, as well as detail how they can secure their priority inside our brand new stadium. Not only is admission is free, you will also be able to meet one of our starters who will be in attendance! Please see below for further event details. If you’d like to RSVP, please respond either via e-mail or my direct line at 202-587-5457. Please be aware that spots are limited. Event Timeline: · Check-In: 6:00pm to 6:30pm · Event: 6:30pm to 7:30pm Address & Directions · 500 Penn St NE, Washington, DC 20002. (Note: Look for "Maurice Electric Supply LLC") · Parking: There is a small fenced in lot in front of the building · Metro: the NOMA Station (Red Line) is about a 10 minute walk. I look forward to hearing from you soon! Until then, enjoy your evening. Take care,
Hopefully DCU will be successful enough after a few years to do a similar thing with the west side of Audi Field. Quite a bit of demolition involved in Portland's renovation as well. I wonder how long it will take.
The west side is severely constrained by Second Street. Double or triple-decking the west side probably would require closing, or at least building over, the roadway.
Take a look at What they have in Portland. It's the same. They've built a stadium over the roadway in Madrid.
Unable to build any higher on any side. DC height limits. Remember we can't dig down due to Provo easement *PEPCO
They could do a second level on each end with no roof, which equals the max height of the endline Jumbotron and lighting, unless those elevations are excluded from zoning restrictions. Modern stadiums have integrated lighting in the roof, so those structures could be eliminated. The heights in the renderings make it seem as if the upper level of the east stand and an imaginary second level on the north end could be connected over the current empty space. I'm not sure if the easement restricts all building or just under a certain height, but visually it seems like a possibility.
The West is significantly lower than the other stands. It already will be over the west property line too.
This stadium capacity or lack thereof issue is silly. It might be worth considering if the line waiting to purchase 5 year commitment season tickets stretched around the mall but is there even a solid commitment to sell out what they have? After 20 years of employing a North Korean TV crew (just show the happy smiling faces not the 35,000 empty seats) the last thing the business side of DCU wants are empty seats that they can't give away. If they have the patience to endure the shit-world of DC building politics for decades a couple of years charging all they can get for season tix must seem to be Karma working in their direction.
Too all of you pointing to power lines and height limits. It can be done. It costs money, but it can be done. You have an ownership group in Portland that is committed. Admittedly, the remodel decision is easy for them because they have a waiting list of 13K, but which ownership group would you rather have? I'll take the one that figured out how to build a large waiting list. Maybe we'll get ones after a few years of the new stadium. I would also agree that moving the power lines now, before building the stadium, is a better option, but you can re-route and decommission for $. You can ask the city for a variance on the height change as has been don in other parts of the city. Just look over at the SE/SW waterfront to see much taller buildings.
I still don't believe the height to be a great problem. Ambition has always been the greatest problem. The default positions from the start was that the site is constrained due to the easement. It's not. It was restricted by an unwillingness to do anything about the line.
Here is the height law. Section 5 of the Height Act, as amended, provides in pertinent part: (a) No building shall be erected, altered, or raised in the District of Columbia in any manner so as to exceed in height above the sidewalk the width of the street, avenue, or highway in its front, increased by 20 feet (6.1 m); but where a building or proposed building confronts a public space or reservation formed at the intersection of 2 or more streets, avenues, or highways, the course of which is not interrupted by said public space or reservation, the limit of height of the building shall be determined from the width of the widest street, avenue, or highway. (b) No buildings shall be erected, altered, or raised in any manner as to exceed the height of 130 feet (40 m) on a business street or avenue . . . except on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 1st and 15th Streets Northwest, where an extreme height of 160 feet (49 m) will be permitted. (c) On a residence street, avenue, or highway no building shall be erected, altered, or raised in any manner so as to be over 90 feet (27 m) in height at the highest part of the roof or parapet . . . (d) The height of a building on a corner lot will be determined by the width of the wider street. . . . . (f) On blocks immediately adjacent to public buildings or to the side of any public building for which plans have been prepared and money appropriated at the time of the application for the permit to construct said building, the maximum height shall be regulated by a schedule adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. (g) Buildings erected after June 1, 1910, to front or abut on the plaza in front of the new Union Station provided for by Act of Congress approved February 28, 1903, shall be fireproof and shall not be of a greater height than 80 feet (24 m). (h) Spires, towers, domes, minarets, pinnacles, penthouses over elevator shafts, ventilation shafts, chimneys, smokestacks, and fire sprinkler tanks may be erected to a greater height than any limit prescribed in this subchapter when and as the same may be approved by the Mayor of the District of Columbia; provided, however, that such structures when above such limit of height shall be fireproof, and no floor or compartment thereof shall be constructed or used for human occupancy above the top story of the building upon which such structures are placed; and provided, that penthouses, ventilation shafts, and tanks shall be set back from the exterior walls distances equal to their respective heights above the adjacent roof; and provided further, that a building be permitted to be erected to a height not to exceed 130 feet (40 m) on lots 15, 804, and 805, square 322, located on the southeast corner of 12th and E Streets Northwest, said building to conform in height and to be used as an addition to the hotel building located to the east thereof on lot 18, square 322; and further provided, that the building to be erected on lots 813, 814, and 820, in square 254, located on the southeast corner of 14th and F Streets Northwest, be permitted to be erected to a height not to exceed 140 feet (43 m) above the F Street curb; and provided further, that the building to be erected on property known as the Dean Tract, comprising nine and one-fourth acres, bounded on the west by Connecticut Avenue and Columbia Road, on the south by Florida Avenue, and the east by 19th Street, and on the north by a property line running east and west 564 feet (172 m) in length, said building to cover an area not exceeding 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2) and to be located on said property not less than 40 feet (12 m) distant from the north property line, not less than 320 feet (98 m) distant from the Connecticut Avenue property line, not less than 160 feet (49 m) distant from the 19th Street property line, and not less than 360 feet (110 m) distant from the Florida Avenue line, measured at the point on the Florida Avenue boundary where the center line of 20th Street meets said boundary, be permitted to be erected to a height not to exceed 180 feet (55 m) above the level of the existing grade at the center of the location above described; and provided further, that the design of said building and the layout of said ground be subject to approval by the Fine Arts Commission and the National Capital Planning Commission, both of the District of Columbia; and further provided, that the building to be erected by the Georgetown University for a hospital as a part of the Georgetown University Medical School on parcels 28/31, 28/36 and 28/37 located on the south side of Reservoir Road Northwest in the District of Columbia, approximately opposite 39th Street, plans for which building are on file in the Office of the Inspector of Buildings of the District of Columbia, be permitted to be erected to a height of not to exceed 110 feet (34 m) above the finished grade of the land, as shown on said plans, at the middle of the front of the building. — D.C. Code Ann § 6-601.05[5]
I ended up going. It was a good event, and I'm still more jazzed than not about going to games next year, though I was disappointed there was no discussion of a safe standing section at current time. Of course that does mean that, should their hoped-for sellouts and waiting list materialize, there's a slam-dunk way to increase capacity and not screw with either the vertical or horizontal dimensions of the stadium. Also, that goofy building by the easement in the corner will now have a general admission 'party deck' (my term, I forget what they called it) on top of it. (I think that was originally planned to be exclusive to club members, but the required retail additions they put into the stadium created a different club-level deck). This would likely make it fairly easy to sell some SRO tickets to get a few extra people in (SKC does this; their stadium officially seats 18,500, but they routinely draw 20,000 or so). They are still projecting firmness on a date just before or after next year's WC break (~14-28 Jun), and I think they are also aiming to have WC viewing parties at the new stadium. MLB's All-Star Game was also mentioned. They didn't say it, but I'm thinking DCU is looking at that as an opportunity to have some satellite events and get their name out there. It will be 10 July. So basically, there will be a shit ton of incentive to have the stadium ready to go next summer, and I'm told the design will be pretty quick to build, and some of it is being pre-fab built in North Carolina as we speak.
Pre fab in NC? Would have preferred to try harder to keep the jobs reward local in DC, MD and VA. And keeping it more union friendly, since the local construction unions helped us politically.
I think what has happened in Atlanta shows us what a solution could be if Audi gets delayed - postponing whichever games necessary to midweek or international break weekends to (even) later in the season,
Will they start removing banners with negative numbers then? or do we start all over? Serious question for those in the know. The road in the middle of the "live" cam is going to be removed, correct?
The difference is that they played home matches, at that point if we get delayed we still haven't played 1 home match. Lots of talk in ATL about the new stadium, and they are still have problems with the moveable roof. Might be some games at the Georgia Dome this fall for throwball.
Next season is going to be a freaking disaster on the field if United has to play the first half of the season on the road. I don't want to hear one goddamed word about how bad the coaching is if that happens. I'm looking at you, @morrissey.