WITH NEGOTIATIONS TO BUILD a stadium for D.C. United in the District stalled, officials in the Old Line State have taken a big first step that could lead the team to move to the Maryland suburbs. As The Post's Ovetta Wiggins reports, the Maryland Stadium Authority has decided to spend $75,000 to study a potential relocation's economic impact and tax benefits.
Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson initially pressed the stadium authority to help the county steal the team from the District. Writes Wiggins:
United has shown interest in two locations in College Park. But David Byrd, deputy chief administrative officer for the county, said Johnson wants the team to build a stadium near the Metro stations in New Carrollton or Greenbelt, where it could anchor a mixed-used development.Talks between United and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty to build a new soccer stadium at Poplar Point broke down last summer.
Continue Reading "Md. Looks at Impact of Relocating D.C. United" »
THE CLUB THAT HAS BEEN one of Major League Soccer's most consistent over the past four seasons now is in a state of flux, and, while Friday afternoon's draft likely won't offer many solutions, D.C. United appears to be on the verge of answering several questions about the makeup of its 2008 roster.
"It's not easy," GM Dave Kasper said of an offseason that has seen the loss of goalkeeper Troy Perkins (to Norway), defender Bobby Boswell (to Houston) and midfielders Brian Carroll (to Columbus) and Josh Gros (injury).
In addition, veteran attackers Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez are unsigned, and Argentinean legend Juan Sebastian Veron — rumored to be D.C.'s big international target — teased United before opting to stay in Buenos Aires.
Continue Reading "Sports Talk: D.C. United Is a Team in Flux" »
AT A GATHERING of city officials, developers and community members in Ward 8 last night, D.C. Council member Marion Barry reiterated his desire to see a soccer stadium built at Poplar Point, a sprawling space on the banks of the Anacostia River opposite the Nationals' new ballpark in Near Southeast. Under two proposals put forward by developers at the meeting, a stadium for D.C. United is in the mix, but only as an optional element, not the centerpiece of the site as had been originally planned before negotiations between the sports team and the city broke down earlier in the year.
As The Post's David Nakamura reports, the four proposals for the site presented to a packed house include everything from a museum complex to a movie multiplex to housing to an amphitheater to a new campus for the University of the District of Columbia. Writes Nakamura:
Each proposal features 4 million to 6 million square feet of development and includes the 70 acres of parkland required by the federal government, which is in the process of transferring control of Poplar Point to the District.The mayor's office hopes to pick a master developer by next month.
» "Visions of Vibrancy" [WaPo]
Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
GREENBELT OR NEW CARROLLTON could be potential new homes for D.C. United, which is looking to build a new stadium. As discussions broke down this summer between D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and the Major League Soccer franchise for a new stadium at Poplar Point in Anacostia, United officials began looking across the Maryland border for a potential new home.
As The Post's Rosalind S. Helderman reports preliminary discussions have started, and United owner Victor MacFarlane has expressed interest in New Carrollton and Greenbelt, sites the team had considered a few years ago.
Why those sites? They're both Metrorail accessible and have room for mixed-used development with a stadium as its anchor, which is what United was looking for with the Poplar Point site. Additionally, Prince George's County has a large Latino population, which forms a critical foundation for the team's fan base.
All this comes at a time when District officials are trying to figure out what to do with RFK Stadium — United's current home and until recently, home to the Nationals — which will move into a new stadium in Near Southeast in the spring. As The Post's David Nakamura reports, the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, which operates the facility, is looking for $2.5 million in public money, to cover a budget shortfall, "largely the result of the Nationals' ending their annual $2 million rent payment at RFK ...."
» "Would They Call It P.G. United?" [WaPo]
» "Drain Feared As Nationals Leave RFK" [WaPo]
Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post
D.C. UNITED FURTHER ESTABLISHED ITSELF as the undisputed kings of Major League Soccer's regular season, becoming the first club to feature the league's MVP in consecutive years. In 2006, it was playmaker Christian Gomez, and, in 2007, it is Luciano Emilio, who beat out New York striker Juan Pablo Angel and the Chicago Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco for the honor.
The Brazilian, who joined D.C. this season from Honduran club Olimpia, scored a league-leading 20 goals - the most by an MLS player since Dallas' Carlos Ruiz netted 24 playing for Los Angeles five years ago. Emilio tallied four game-winners and also scored four in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Most impressive was that none came on penalty kicks (Jaime Moreno's specialty), while five of Angel's 19 were from the spot.
Although the Colombian newcomer clearly improved the Red Bulls, Emilio's ruthlessness in the run of play apparently made the difference to the players, coaches, GMs, and media who voted.
Continue Reading "Sports Talk: Emilio Wins MVP With 20 Goals" »
WHEN THE VISITING Colorado upset Chivas USA last weekend, ensuring that D.C. United would clinch the best regular season record, the Supporters Shield and a berth in next spring's Champions' Cup for the second straight year, Saturday's finale against Columbus was rendered mathematically meaningless- but just mathematically.
"You can say the game doesn't mean anything this weekend. Essentially, it doesn't. But it's amazing what happens when you put 11 grown men against 11 grown men," D.C.'s Ben Olsen said.
United coach Tom Soehn faces an interesting choice. The MLS playoffs begin Nov. 1, and D.C. already has played 40 matches this year across five competitions.
On the other hand, the momentum behind a 13-game league unbeaten streak may prove key on the way to the Nov. 18 MLS Cup final at RFK.
Who Soehn chooses to play on Saturday, and who he chooses to rest may wind up being just as scrutinized as in any other game.
Continue Reading "Sports Talk: United Focused On Staying Hot" »
IF MARYLAND COMPTROLLER PETER FRANCHOT wants to lure D.C. United away from the District, he better learn the ins and outs of how to refer to the team. True fans never use the word "the" — as in "the United — when referring to the team, just "D.C." or "United" or "D.C. United." It's a sensitive point that easily irks United media folks and the team's biggest supporters.
As as we learn from The Post's David Nakamura, Franchot has asked the Maryland Stadium Authority to consider using its resources to entice United to leave D.C., where the city government's negotiations with the Major League Soccer team to build a new stadium have ground to a halt. According to Franchot's letter:
In the wake of these developments, I would strongly urge the Maryland Stadium Authority to meet with representatives from the United to learn more about its proposal and explore potential opportunities to bring this great franchise to the State of Maryland.Yes, "the United." That's a no-no.
» "Md. Mulls Luring D.C. United Away From District" [WaPo]
Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post
FOR ALL THE GAUDY NUMBERS associated with D.C. United this season-Jaime Moreno's 112 career goals, Luciano Emilio's league-leading 20, Troy Perkins' 1.07 GAA- the most impressive might be attached to unheralded defensive midfielder Clyde Simms: 11-1-4.
That's D.C.'s record when the three-year vet starts an MLS game. Over the past two seasons, it's an astounding 19-2-8 when Simms is in the first XI. "The one thing we do when Clyde's on the field is we win," coach Tom Soehn has said. No wonder then that he's been a fixture in the lineup since August.
"I was fortunate not to be spoiled with a lot of minutes early on," Simms said. "It's helped me to not take my time on the field for granted and I think ultimately that's helped me."
Undrafted, Simms started his pro career with second-division Richmond in 2004 but really caught D.C.'s eye the following year, when he was the only player retained following a U.S. national team camp composed of minor leaguers. He's been in and out of the lineup since, usually playing second fiddle to Brian Carroll. But Simms' growth this season now has him in the forefront.
Continue Reading "Sports Talk: When Simms Is in United Wins" »
FOR THE FOURTH TIME THIS YEAR, D.C. United will have about three days to get over its elimination from a significant competition and refocus on its MLS schedule.
Friday's task in Kansas City eerily mirrors the first, when D.C. fell to Chivas Guadalajara in the CONCACAF Champions Cup before heading north to Colorado, where it lost the first of three straight to open the MLS season.
Chivas victimized United again on Tuesday, knocking it out of the Copa Sudamericana with a 1-0 win in Mexico. Now, with three games left in the regular season and the Supporters Shield and accompanying 2008 Champions Cup berth within reach, D.C. (16-6-5) can't afford another letdown.
Defender Greg Vanney, who was on that Rapids team that beat United six months ago, doesn't think it'll happen.
Continue Reading "Sports Talk: For United, Time to Refocus on MLS" »
JOSH GROS DIDN'T MANAGE to get his name on the score sheet in D.C. United's 4-2 thumping of New England last weekend, but that was of little concern to a player who, just two weeks ago, feared he might never again appear in an MLS lineup.
The versatile defender-midfielder left the Aug. 18 game in Columbus in just the ninth minute, having suffered what he thought was yet another concussion after merely heading the ball.
Blurred vision, headaches and vomiting followed, and Gros, who estimated he'd suffered nearly 20 such episodes, was seeing neurological specialists and contemplating the end of either his season or his career.
Luckily for both the player and the club, the symptoms were caused by a type of migraine, not bruising of the brain. Gros was cleared to play, and he ran the flank for 90 minutes last weekend sporting his trademark headgear.
"I think he could have gone another 90," United coach Tom Soehn said.
Continue Reading "Sports Talk: Gros' Return Adds More Depth" »
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