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Victor MacFarlane, the San Francisco-based real estate magnate, has sold his share of D.C. United to partner Will Chang, another San Francisco real estate executive. Chang now owns 98% of the team, with former Dukies Christian Laettner and Brian Davis splitting the rest. Chang and MacFarlane bought the team in 2007 and have been particularly active in pushing new stadium developments in both Poplar Point and outside the District in Prince George's County. While the initial reaction may be panic — Red Bulls supporters could be heard chanting "St. Louis United" tauntingly after last night's D.C. win — there is a belief out there that MacFarlane's demands went beyond a stadium to include an entire complex. Either way, the next few months may hold some very interesting developments in the future of the club in the D.C. area.
UPDATE: WaPo's Steven Goff spoke with Chang around lunch time; when asked about where he stands on the issue of a new stadium for the team, Chang had the following to say:
I'm not looking for a big real estate deal as part of a stadium project. I'm looking for a bread-and-butter stadium [without ancillary elements]. I'm not looking for a Poplar Point project [with mixed-use development]...My first and foremost priority is to find a home in the D.C. area. I have not been approached by anyone in any official capacity from any other city. We want to stay here.
Such words certainly alleviate some of the threat of the team moving elsewhere; however, Chang also openly admits that he "was not directly involved in the stadium discussions in the past." It will certainly be intriguing to see in what direction Chang's influence (or lack there of) will push United's quest for a replacement home.
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Good riddance, Vic. As was pointed out in other blogs, McFarlane was only using DC United as a tool to make inroads into a sweet DC development deal. Hopefully the other owners will be more interested in the TEAM versus their own wallets. Not that the owners shouldn't be able to turn a buck, but do it the right way fer chrissakes.
No panic whatsoever from this United fan. It's long been thought that MacFarlane was just in this for a land grab - while Chang played 'good cop'. Now we'll see what Chang's intentions are - and how he can work with Fenty.
They could share the baseball stadium with Nationals and alternate playing between innings, since both teams' combined draw couldn't fill out this stadium. They can share the naming rights bounty too. What's this field called again?
St. Louis can have the Nats too if they want but they already have a pretty good AAA affiliate in Louisville
Or, United and the city can agree on *fair* terms to build a 25,000 seat stadium w/ appropriate ancillary development in a neighborhood that could use it (Anacostia, Trinidad - towards H St, Brentwood?) - thus giving the city a medium sized outdoor stadium that can attract more events into the city - concerts, international soccer, NCAA championships, X Games, etc. Instead of losing such events to other cities.
But they can go with your helpful suggestions too.
Trinidad seems more excited about the Capital City Diner than another albatross