On the front page of the Sun Gazette there is prominently displayed for eveyone to see a DC United scarf. It is worn by Arlington Board member Chris Zimmerman (he will be getting my vote!). Chris Zimmerman attended a rally for newly elected Walter Tejada. Congratulations Walter! Walter Tejada is a DC United fan. I have had the pleasure of playing in pick-up games with him on the Ellipse during lunch hour on weekdays. Walter is a very good soccer player and is in very good shape (I was telling my wife that I thought he was ten years younger than me, it turns out that I am considerably younger than Walter. It tells a lot about what shape I am in! ). It is good to see that Arlington has two County Board members who are DC United fans!
I didn't know they were DC United fans ... they now have my support. If NoVa wins the bid for the Expos (unlikely but possible) the most expensive but most preferred site is in Rossyln, VA about a block from the Rosslyn Metro--the first stop in VA. If Arlington has to buy that lot (16 acres if they buy the main lot) then it might be possible to have them build both the baseball stadium and a new SSS. I realize it's probably a pipe dream as well as a logistical nightmare, but hey, the location makes a lot of sense, and if the political support is there, why not? -Tron
Pic of Sun Gazette front page Just found it... it's on the front page of their website. http://www.sun-weekly.com/ Also, if anyone could tell me how to attach a pic to these posts, please let me know. Thanks!
Thanks for the link. To post an image just put before the property or address of the image, followed by the same with a / before img. Or you can just quote this post to see. [img]http://www.sun-weekly.com/images/arlington1.jpg I must admit that it looks much better in the printed version, as the scarf is very conspicuous.
Mr. Zimmerman is a season ticket holder and sits near me at RFK. If I lived in Arlington, I'd vote for him. At least, it's cool that he was wearing a DCU scarf at an official event. It's good to see that at least one local official supports DC United.
I am not aware of any lot of 16 acres about a block from the Rosslyn station. That would be an ideal location. Can you post a link or a map showing that location. Alternatively, if you cannot find a link can you give me approximate directions. Thanks.
I'm not crazy about the idea of a SSS being built outside of the District, but this location would be good, and maybe better than some possible sites in the District. (Although the whole idea still is a pipe dream as Tron states.) As for Chris Zimmerman wearing a DCU scarf, I have never heard of the guy, but it's awesome to see notable persons in the community wearing the DCU colors. Or even non-notable persons like myself....
I work 2 blocks from the Rosslyn Metro. I can't think of anywhere near the station that you could put a baseball stadium. Is this lot currently covered with buildings? I would love if DCU could get a SSS here in Rosslyn. Just park at work and walk over. A map would be much appreciated.
The only space in Rosslyn that I can think of that is open enough for a stadium, already has some kind of statue in it. While the view from such a stadium would be magnificent, I think you might have a problem as a bunch of Marines storm the mound to replace the statue...
I believe the land where the Riverhouse apts currently sits is the site. There's some crazy lease there where the land reverts back to the county (not sure what the time frame is). I REALLY don't see this happening in VA with all of their other tax problems. K
No, they'd leave the Iwo Jima Mem. there. It'll just make for some interesting ground rules...... As for the actual site, the Post had an article a month ago: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14608-2003Feb15.html
I saw that picture last night, and the scarf does indeed jump out of the picture. Two United fans on the board! I love it! I just wish there was some way to put a single Republican there. I HATE for the board to have 5-0 unanimity from any party. Can you imagine a wonderful world where seeing soccer paraphenalia didn't send us off on an extended discussion on the novelty of it all?
It is right next to the two very tall (30 story) silver towers that dominate Rosslyn's skyline (formerly the USA Today and Gannett towers). The lot is currently occupied by 4 residential 10 story red brick buildings plus two small shops and an in-ground swimming pool. The complex is called "River Place" and it was in the Washington Post as option #1 in a Virginia bid for the Expos. Living in Rosslyn, I can assure you it does exist. The land is in the heart of Rosslyn, just over the key bridge from DC in the hotest real estate area in the DC metropolitan area, so it's not going to be cheap. In fact, this option is the most expensive option, but it's location is fantastic. Furthermore, it's about 1 mile from Summers, and only 1 metro stop away. -Tron
Actually Riverhouse is right by Pentagon City Mall. That's not the place. River Place is the name of it, but K's right about the site. It is on a 99 year land lease--which is very common in the northeast. It's not really crazy at all, it's often used with very expensive property as buying the property is prohibitive in many cases. So, they lease it for 99 years, because if you lease it for 100 years it triggers other provisions that lay claim to sales taxes etc. Thus, the 99 year lease. The condominium cooperative that exists there is a 5 corporation entity, with each residential building being its own corporation and the 4 of them jointly operating the owners association that operates the grounds. It would be very tricky to purchase this property, but the reason has less to do with the lease than the corporate structure. The lease is set to end in the mid 2050's, so it's got quite a bit of life left. The buildings in Rosslyn have been selling/re-selling almost annually, and the price escalates quite a bit every year. All of the new construction is in the 20+ story range and maximizes every inch of real estate available. In fact, they're adding another building (approximately 20 stories high if I remember correctly) on top of the Rosslyn Metro. That's how hot this real estate market is. The property would require buying out the lease from the 5 River Place corporations (toughtest part of the deal), then probably buying the property from the land owner (unknown how difficult this might be) just to get the 16 acres. The two tall silver buildings--former the USA Today and Gannett towers--are actually one building with two towers, but it looks like two buildings from DC. It is worth mentioning that SP#125 is a Site Plan Amendment by WJLA-TV to get a special exception for the former USA Today/Gannett building. This is the Rosslyn building that Joe was looking at when he thought he'd have to relocate Summers. It is adjacent to River Place. Both the silver building (now housing two TV stations, one being WJLA-TV) are on the Potomac River. River Place has the length of its property along the Potomac. In fact, everything between the two 30 story silver towers and the Iwo Jima Memorial are owned by River Place, so it has quite a bit of river frontage. But the chances of NoVa winning the Expos bid are significantly less than DC's chances, even if Washington DC is selected as the market, which is iffy. Even then, the 3 locations are only preliminary, so who knows what the final plans would be, and who knows whether this site--the most expensive--would even be feasible. And, it's pure rampant speculation that DC United could ever weasel their way into having a stadium piggy-backed onto the baseball bid. So, it definitely is a pipe dream. -Tron