- Admin
- #1
New home for United a distinct possibility (2 August 2004)
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber has told D.C. United they need a soccer-specific stadium, if they are ever to break away from the shackles of their landlords at RFK Stadium - a Major League Baseball team!
As tenants, D.C. United are completely at their mercy and, in a meeting with the Washington Post, Garber emphasised, "We can't continue to play back seat to baseball and have to figure out our future based on what Major League Baseball decides is going to happen. We've been here since 1996; we've been the major tenants at RFK. We've got a great relationship with the mayor and with the sports commission, but we've got to get a deal done as quickly as possible."
Now, with the possibility of the Montreal ‘Expos’ also moving to Washington next season, D.C. United will find it increasingly difficult to schedule games at the 55,000-seat RFK Stadium.
"We would have real challenges making RFK work," Garber continued. "That being said, we've got to evaluate all our options and figure out what we can do to ensure that this team continues to be successful here."
Garber would ideally like to see the construction of a 25,000-seat, soccer-specific stadium and discussions have already taken place between United’s President Kevin Payne and Mayor Anthony A Williams. Possible locations for such a stadium include the parking lot at RFK Stadium and an area near South Capitol Street Bridge, at Poplar Point, on land that is part of the city's Anacostia Waterfront Initiative.
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber has told D.C. United they need a soccer-specific stadium, if they are ever to break away from the shackles of their landlords at RFK Stadium - a Major League Baseball team!
As tenants, D.C. United are completely at their mercy and, in a meeting with the Washington Post, Garber emphasised, "We can't continue to play back seat to baseball and have to figure out our future based on what Major League Baseball decides is going to happen. We've been here since 1996; we've been the major tenants at RFK. We've got a great relationship with the mayor and with the sports commission, but we've got to get a deal done as quickly as possible."
Now, with the possibility of the Montreal ‘Expos’ also moving to Washington next season, D.C. United will find it increasingly difficult to schedule games at the 55,000-seat RFK Stadium.
"We would have real challenges making RFK work," Garber continued. "That being said, we've got to evaluate all our options and figure out what we can do to ensure that this team continues to be successful here."
Garber would ideally like to see the construction of a 25,000-seat, soccer-specific stadium and discussions have already taken place between United’s President Kevin Payne and Mayor Anthony A Williams. Possible locations for such a stadium include the parking lot at RFK Stadium and an area near South Capitol Street Bridge, at Poplar Point, on land that is part of the city's Anacostia Waterfront Initiative.
