DC United front office, or lack thereof

Discussion in 'D.C. United' started by NattyBo, Apr 23, 2015.

  1. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I certainly don't remember "lots of other locations that were available," especially ones with room for parking. I recall there being damned few potential sites, especially within DC. Perhaps someone can show me how wrong I am.
     
  2. pats1237

    pats1237 Member

    Oct 28, 2006
    The District
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What were the other locations that were available and possible that they rejected?

    Land acquisition and cleanup for the site was in the range of $150 million. Realistically total costs for a parking garage including land and construction would have been something like $40-$80 million? I'm not sure it's realistic to expect a big parking garage for 20-25 events a year at those prices.
     
  3. Doogh

    Doogh Member+

    Oct 5, 2019
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Where? DC is so dense that it's virtually hard to place a 20,000 seat soccer stadium elsewhere. 61 square miles.

    It was either Poplar Point or near Nats Park.
     
  4. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I was all for Poplar Point, but driving past it recently it seems no larger a site than where Audi is now, and the nearest Metro station is no closer than the two stops (Waterfront and Navy Yard) closest to AF. And where would one have parked at PP? There is so much development going on near AF that it may be feasible for someone to put in a parking garage someday. I know, you can't really tailgate in a parking garage, but hey....
     
  5. song219

    song219 BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 5, 2004
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Vanuatu
    Actually the nearest Metro station, Anacostia is a good deal closer than either of the stations to Audi Field. As for PP I'm pretty sure as long as there is undeveloped land there someone would provide parking, as long as there is demand.
     
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  6. fatbastard

    fatbastard Member+

    Aug 1, 2003
    Lincoln (ish), Va
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Except you can .... I have tailgated (in the past) on the top level of a parking garage in Chicago at the "new" soldier field.

    The place I used to park down the road from AF even let you "tailgate" as long as no fire was involved (and a few people even did, or tried to do, that).

    But anyway ....... has anyone been keeping an eye on the actual FO other than the most recent meeting with the new executive? I mean, I can bitch endlessly about AF, but this is not the best place to do so....
     
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  7. Section 107

    Section 107 Member+

    DCU
    United States
    Jul 18, 2018
    There were ([and still are) lots of options - one just has to spend the money. These owners had, and have access to, way more money than they ended up spending, not including money the taxpayers (and parking ticket payers) of DC spent. Dont cry for billionaire (or almost billionaire) owners because they went cheap instead of doing the right thing.

    I completely get it's business, it's all about the benjamins - no one is paying to provide this rather expensive entertainment out of the goodness in the heart of their bottoms.

    I am just, I guess very disappointed rather than appalled, at fans taking positions implying Leviathian and his partners are/were helpless or some sort of victims in building EagleBank Arena East and the because of that they had/have to choose to jettison the relationship with a significant portion of their customer base when it is clear they are putting it asunder by their own conscious efforts (and up until now not doing anything significant to reverse course).

    As said pretty well in an earlier post, they have decided there is more money in new customers that don't know about or want the high-touch relationship, the GFE if you will, that so many of us old-timers enjoyed for so long (up until about 7 years ago....). At least they still let us turn in unused tickets for something close to Garber bucks....
     
  8. pr0ner

    pr0ner Member+

    Jan 13, 2007
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Where are those options? That's what people are asking, and you failed to answer with the quoted post.
     
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  9. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When I Metro'd to AF I found that I don't really mind the walk. But now I carpool with a Screaming Eagle who has a parking place embarrassingly close to Audi, so my only complaints are with the shortcomings of the ballpark itself. First is (was?) the roof. Next is the few food options on the west side. If, somehow, the owners had gotten an easement that would have allowed them to build out the west wall closer to 2nd street they could have lined that side with food and drink options on both sides of the pedestrian corridor. Other than feeling a bit cramped I can't criticize much else. The sightlines are fantastic.
     
  10. Section 107

    Section 107 Member+

    DCU
    United States
    Jul 18, 2018
    There were more than 10 sites under consideration, including Poplar Point, the current location where they could have purchased more land, the Congress-critter-owned RFK campus (where the WTFs are getting their new stadium), next door in the DCG-owned DC General Hospital campus, PG offered up 3 locations including at National Harbor, one really unrealistic option in Pentagon City, Arlingtron, one in Alexandria, two or three in Montgomery County, two in Fairfax County, and a couple in Loudoun County. Several locations closer to Baltimore were under consideration

    But if you are trying to argue that we got what we got because ownership had no other choice then we simply have to disagree to disagree. I will not make nor accept apologies for folks whose consistent actions over years speak volumes about what they prioritize.

    Dang, I think this discussion just crystalized my decision for next year. uh, thanks?
     
  11. pr0ner

    pr0ner Member+

    Jan 13, 2007
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And how many of these were realistic? Poplar Point got shot down in the late aughts, and would be even harder to do in today's climate. RFK is a non-starter. Any Pentagon City/Arlington locations would have been NIMBY'd to death like the Nats Park in Pentagon City option was. PG County got shot down by PG County's government (remember the stadium that they tried to build by FedEx Field?). Not aware of any Alexandria, or Fairfax County locations, but Woodbridge and Loudoun County were suggested at one point. I remember Baltimore being considered, but that would have been a worse idea in the end than AF, and I'm glad it didn't happen, because the team would no longer be DC United in that case.

    Realistically, though, the only truly logical place for DC United was in the city limits somewhere, and given DC's own issues, realistic options were extremely limited. I'm happy that the team got something done at AF, even with the constraints of the site that the stadium ultimately went on.

    But, hey, if this discussion what causes you to truly sour on the FO and not go to games at AF anymore, or not support the team because they didn't spend enough money for your liking on the stadium, well, bye?
     
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  12. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Even though I'm happy to be at Audi Field I have some good memories from RFK, and not only from DC United. I loved going to he Dips matches and watching Alan Green; John Kerr (Sr.); Sonny Askew; Paul Cannell; Leroy DeLeon; and especially Johan Cruyff. Maybe my fondest moment was getting my 30-year old girlfriend, now my wife, into the stadium on an 18-and under ticket.
     
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  13. Section 107

    Section 107 Member+

    DCU
    United States
    Jul 18, 2018
    #4713 Section 107, Feb 26, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2021
    There is a difference between possible and preferred, and within whatever time and financial constraints - factors that the owners largely put on themselves. Many of the cons could have been overcome if the owners were willing to pony up.

    At the time a some argued the logical place was to put it nearest where most of the fans (and most/more of the suite owners) actually come from (VA). Many sports teams named for/associated with a city do not have their stadium in the actual city; heck, some are in another state (not just looking at you, metroscum).

    Where it is now was not originally the top preferred location (a VA site was) - it just worked out to be the best overall compromise.

    The discussion didn't sour me on the FO, the FO did. I am not leaving, I am just not going to continue buying season tickets.
     
  14. griffin1108

    griffin1108 BigSoccer Supporter

    Dec 5, 2003
    Virginia
    You want to talk shithole? That place in Landover was (1) a pain in the ass to get to (2) charged ridiculous prices to park in an unpaved lot (3) had sight lines far worse than Cap One. The only indoor arenas that were worse were the old Spectrum in Philly and the Cow Palace in SF.
     
  15. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    In many of the plans the stadium was right next to the Anacostia station (that already has an underutilized garage). I'm pretty sure the longest walking distances were shorter than the distance between the Navy Yard station and Nats Park.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. Doogh

    Doogh Member+

    Oct 5, 2019
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I like how they kept the roundabout in the plans for the new Douglass bridge they're constructing.
     
  17. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I didn't realize that the Poplar Point proposal would have utilized the entire Anacostia Park (as it is now called, I believe). In that case it might have worked. I thought the plan was only for a part of the unbuilt space. So what killed this idea?
     
  18. song219

    song219 BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 5, 2004
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Vanuatu
    Oh I know. The seats at the top of the arena were so far away from the court it was as if you were watching the game from Bowie.
     
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  19. song219

    song219 BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 5, 2004
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Vanuatu
    The Great Recession. The money for the stadium was dependent on development that could go up with it and when the demand for such development crashed so did the hopes for a new stadium. Also MacFarlane lost a bunch of money.
     
  20. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    The new bridge was always going to happen and some sort of circle or oval was expected to be on at least that side of the river.

    Somewhat ironically, a few years later, DC was trying to get approvals and the Commission of Fine Arts destroyed the type of bridge chosen as "little advanced from the nearby uninspired highway bridges built in the last six decades, including the existing Frederick Douglass Bridge and the recently completed 11th Street bridge." This basically forced DC to spend more money on design and make a functional project into a civic project even after years of cost and scope cutting (some original plans had it having to be some sort of moveable bridge because of the Navy Yard).
    [​IMG]

    The current traffic re-routing EOTR is... interesting. The 15 mph area is fun. The bridge is coming along though. The suspension cables to the deck are nearly 2/3 complete. A couple of weeks ago the mayor announced the bridge would be open on October 1 which may be earlier than some estimates likely due to weather being mild for years.
     
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  21. griffin1108

    griffin1108 BigSoccer Supporter

    Dec 5, 2003
    Virginia
    Thanks, I completely blanked on both the timing and MacFarlane's financial situation. There is a parcel south of Alexandria along the Potomac that was ready for development in 2008, it sat vacant until late last year and is now "for sale" again.
     
    Winoman repped this.
  22. John L

    John L Member+

    Sep 20, 2003
    Alexandria, VA
    The mayor and MacFarlane were from two different good ol' boys clubs. Then they got into a pissing match. Stadiums don't get built in urban locations unless there's a political champion like a mayor, Senator or governor. DC United never had one, and Bowser only gave us crumbs. The club really did the city a favor by finding a use for a browns field.
     
  23. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Poplar Point as envisioned might have solved many of the problems enumerated by critics of Audi Field, including, perhaps, parking (and tailgating), but I suspect it would have been an entertainment wasteland, whereas there are several restaurants/bars in the Nationals Park/Audi Field area, particularly if you walk from the Metro stops. I don't think you would see these in the freeway encircled Poplar Point site. Nevertheless, it was my preferred location and I'm sorry that it was proposed and evaluated by the wrong people at the wrong time.
     
  24. pr0ner

    pr0ner Member+

    Jan 13, 2007
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Unfortunately there were talks of gentrification and resident displacement during the original Poplar Point saga. If the team had gone back to that locale this past decade, it would have been an even larger hurdle to overcome.

    Also, the Nats Park debacle didn't help DC United in any way.

    But I agree that Poplar Point would likely lack the food and beverage options that Navy Yard now boasts, even if it was fully developed as originally planned.
     
  25. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    The walk across the bridge is not long and it will be a lot easier with the new bridge that has separated bike lanes and pedestrian lanes.

    Here is an article about the development south of the stadium. The article says construction begins in 2022. I linked to the planning documents in one of these threads so it's funny to me that the article begins with, "A new mixed-use development is coming to Southwest DC’s Buzzard Point, developer Akridge tells Washingtonian exclusively."
     

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