2013 - DC United Relocates To ...?

Without a stadium of its own by 2013, DC United will re-locate to another city

[I don't necessarily think all of this will happen this way, and I certainly don't want things to go this way, but I can definitely see prospects for a stadium in this area dwindling to a point where the owners will have no choice but to re-locate DC United to another city- And PLEASE, talk of Loudon or Anne Arundel or Howard Counties is not realistic - Attendance would be 5K max in these locales and everyone knows it]

Washington DC
The current mayor, Fenty, will not go out his way to approve infrastructure for ANY sports team in the city - RFK grounds need only minor upgrades for a possible move of the Redskins back into DC under Snyder, but these are only upgrades and not brand new roads, ramps and utililies as would be necessary at Poplar Point - Support for DC United and help at Poplar Point is strong amongst the fans and Anacostia businessmen but not anywhere else - No one else in the city cares and Fenty realizes this - And there is already one big push in Anacostia for upscale retail and commercial property and thats around the former St Elizabeth's grounds - All the emphasis on helping Ward 8 will be on that project, and with the current economic doldrums there won't be enough more money to do anything even to help Clark Realty proposal to get off the ground - Add to this all the delays of Env Impact Statements and USDI approval and timely development of Poplar Point seems more and more unlikely - Poplar Point will remain a brown-field across the river from the real emphasis in the city: Nationals Stadium - And there really isn't any difference between Poplar Point and any other possible site within DC

Greenbelt/PG County
The current economic doldrums also wreaks havoc with state budgets - Even though the Greenbelt station has been re-zoned for expansion, there just won't be the necessary money for several years thats needed improve the infrastructure - Local opposition will become stronger as politicians cite the need to spend what little tax revenue there is on other priorities: schools, existing commercial areas, etc - Development of Greenbelt would be good, but just feasible in the near future - It will remain underdeveloped with possibly on some minor warehouse industry going in that won't need upgrades to infrastructure - And thats all that will be needed to keep the locals happy

MacFarlane/Chang
They're not local guys like Snyder (Redskins), Leonsis (Capitals), Pollin (Wizards) or Lerner (Nationals) - And they're businessmen and investors - Sure they like posing with San Fransisco Giants players like Barry Bonds, and like schmoozing with the Brava - But how many times with DC United players? - Sure they were a major presence at last years Fall Awards ceremony - But they were also a HUGE absence at this falls ceremony - They may like sports and to some extent soccer, but they like investing money in real estate and commercial and commercial/housing developments more - A stadium was basically a foot in the door onto Poplar Point, and DC United was only a foot in the door to a stadium - "No Poplar Point" and "No Greenbelt" means no stadium in DC area - The owners will just not accept lost revenue streams from not having their own stadium - They'll put up with it while negotiations and plans and construction takes place, but if there's not real progress, they will move or sell - And there won't be any other takers in the DC area - That means either re-locate the team themselves or sell to another owner in a city that lost out on the MLS expansion lottery

By 2013, we could be VANCOUVER UNITED or THE HABS UNITED or MIAMI UNITED - And we'll all be incredibly depressed - Maybe I'll retire to Canada after all

 

yes - well - it could very well be QUEENS UNITED !!

gosh - this is so very wierd on so many different levels