Do you have a macro that randomly capitalizes words in the middle of setences or do you actually think that through?
Spining a longer view- what if Dan Snyder & co. decide that a vacated RFK is ripe for redevelopment and a return of his team to the city? What happens then with his Fedex field site, where United has fielded at least 2 competitions that I'm aware of? Another possible consideration-Can/ would Mr. Snyder envision a new stadium concept sharing with a soccer team, eyeing the benefit of more international competition revenue, as well as potential WC/USMNT site? What sort of revenue compensation would that mean for United's management? Would such an arragement result in a miserable pitch, or has the pitch at Fedex been of better quality? This consideration brings to mind the other simpler route- a move to Baltimore could allow for RFK to be razed to the ground, and a SSS brought up from its ashes. A move to Baltimore could conceivably result in either possibility, and that's after a lot of money and redevelopment takes place, but.... it could end up not only relocating United back to DC, as sole tenant or sharing a newly built RFK, or Landover, but opening the door to an expansion side coming into Baltimore, if a prospective investor could be found to take advantage of having found a palpable market in Charm City.
I've had "DCUdiplomat96" on ignore since he/she first showed up here and started spewing utter nonsense last year or whenever it was. But you guys keep quoting him/her.
My Uncle lives in the Inner Harbor, so this will work. No more Rosslyn Holiday Inn. Although I've won Daytona Tickets staying there via promotion due to United. I sold those tickets for plenty down here in Atlanta. The concession is the name must change. Baltimore is a proud town.
Given the hissy fit PG officials had about the idea of more gameday traffic from a United stadium, I don't think the FedEx site holds much promise in the long term. The only situations where an MLS team sharing a stadium with an NFL team has worked financially is if the teams are owned by the same guy. That's the case in Seattle and in Boston. Even with that, you still need to solve the issues of atmosphere and disparate fan base sizes. Again, Seattle's done this pretty well so far - New England, not so much.
baltimore and DC is Not like New York where you have two teams in one large Market, Baltimore has its own thing going,same goes with DC, i often see alot of coverage of the two cities media covering both Baltimore teams and DC teams.
Well, to be fair, you also live IN DC...I don't live IN Baltimore, and haven't lived specifically in DC either...I haven't the same problem with a regional team in one city or another within that region versus a city team. In fact, I think United better exemplifies a regional team than a city one, anyhow, and the name kinda goes along with that, in my view. After all, there are still plenty of O's fans in the DC/VA side of the region. Yours is an entirely valid and understandable sentiment, but different strokes for different folks, I suppose. I'd rather support a regional top league team a few miles out of my way and enjoy the sport than I would no top league team at all. The atmosphere of the lower division games just isn't the same.
And driving speeds. It typically takes me 35 minutes to get home from RFK That's the time measured from the final whistle. It usually takes me about 30 min. from the Inner Harbor. Of course, I drive like a bat out of hell. All bets are off on weeknights.
Absolutely -- and I don't mean to suggest that everyone else needs to feel the same way. Heck, it would nonsensical for someone coming to RFK from Glen Burnie to take my POV. I'm just describing how I'd feel.
Very well said. That is how I see too. And in the non-too-distant future Baltimore may actually become a suburb of DC.
From your Carolina perspective I can understand this statement. But it is not like that locally despite cross coverage for some sports teams. It's like Greensboro and Durham, most local news exists in it's own bubble and there are notable differences.
True dat. It takes an about an hour to get to Charm City from my place in Mt. Pleasant and that's if the traffic gods are kind. The traffic gods are rarely kind. And then there's the whole parking thing. There is train service, which I frequently use when going up for a session in Bawlmar, but while somewhat efficient the schedule is not that good on weekends (Amtrak only) and it's significantly more expensive than Metro/Taxi. If this thing happens there's no doubt XXXXXXX United would lose a lot of DC Metro area fans. I love our northerly neighbors and our local football club but the reality is I couldn't be a season ticket holder if the team moved to Baltimore. Now if there was regular high speed rail....................
Agreed. I certainly wouldn't go to games as frequently. Season tickets would probably be out. Now, if the stadium were to be located close to a MARC line, and MARC were to substantially increase their service frequency, hours of operation, and so on (to be more like Metro, or like better commuter rail services you'll find in New York), that might change the equation a bit. In an ideal world, I think it would be cool to have a top tier team in both Ballmer and DC.
Im only stationed here in Bragg, But often I go thru the RDU and Greensboro,Nice areas and growing , with the right people im sure the traiangl can get another major pro franchise...
I'm just kind of surprised that there's talk of United moving to a completely seperate city, and people are arguing about driving logistics. I think my cliche for the day is "fiddling while Rome burns"
Bootsy's comments on a page or so before this one exactly sum up my thoughts on this sort of move. I live in DuPont Circle and it takes me forever just to get to 495 via Beach Drive/16th Street/Silver Spring. After I get to the Beltway it's probably about 20-25 mins to Baltimore. Not gonna do it. It's probably faster for folks in Virginia than people who live in the central portion of DC to get to Baltimore.
Real world traffic times are random. I tried to get to a weeknight game at RFK and left my house in Rockville at 5:15 for a 7:00 kickoff. At 7:20 I was at the Rt. 29 exit from the Beltway. So I decided to turn around and go home. I got home at 7:38 and could still see the end of the first half on TV.
Who's arguing about driving logistics? I'm still comin' either way...NOW people are arguing about sentiment/emotional attachment.
Considering that most of the Barra Brava is from VA, I'd like to know how that's going to affect the fanbase. Theres very few peeps from bmore making DC games. it's a long ride. ONe thing for sure, Baltimore got some crazy peeps. DC did too much to cater to suburban crowd and Salvadoreans. I totally agree that more should have been done with DC area. Alot more. DC could have held a seasonal tournament of FUTBOLITO on Basketball courts (as is the common place in most of South America) with decent prizes. Soo much DC United could have done with the community. I don't blame the city for not doing anything. I mean, holding a rally or two isn't going to do crap. Get into the community. Our MARKETING DIRECTOR NEEDS TO GO. SERIOUSLY! The latino festival at RFK was not a LATINO festival. It was a Salvadorean festival. I'm cool with Salvadoreans, but if DC UNITED is going to label a festival as LATINO, then more then one country has to participate. THe DC area is rich with QUatemalans, Hondurans, Peruvian, Colombian and Bolivian people. The only food offered was from El Salvador, and the only entertainment was from ES. Food was good, but obviously the variety was missing. Plus, I hate the fact that a UNITED EMPLOYEE came up to me two-three years ago and asked if I was Salvadorean. He was giving all Salvadoreans a gift certificate. NEW MARKETING DIRECTOR ASAP P_L_E_A_S_E!! IF this dude knew anything about stats and Co-efficients of Determination, he would have allocated more money towards DC COMMUNITY, and we'd have a higher probability of getting a Stadium in DC.
It would be pretty awesome if they got the MARC running on weekends. I'm a long-time United supporter but moved to Baltimore 3 years ago. The commute to RFK sucks, but the public transportation in Baltimore sucks even more. I do think United would do very well here in Baltimore, locals tend to really stick behind their teams (say what you want about the Orioles but they're still big here) and Baltimore is a traditional soccer city with Greektown, Little Italy, and a lot of Polish and Ukrainian citizens here. I also coach a high school here in the city and these kids have major talent, just no fields or coaching. United here in Baltimore would be awesome to get some of the inner-city youth involved and interested in the game.