DCU Executive Chairman Victor MacFarlane.(Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press)
Big local soccer news came in late last night: according to D.C. Wire, D.C. United has a press conference scheduled on Monday to announce that a bill will be introduced in the Maryland legislature that will allow United to move into a new stadium somewhere in Prince George’s County. The report states that executive chairman Victor MacFarlane is currently scouting three potential locations for a new 24,000-seat venue, all near Blue Line Metro stations: two at Morgan Boulevard, one at Largo Town Center.
Now, this is far from the first time that MacFarlane has threatened to move the team from the confines of the District. But the recent falling apart of the development at Poplar Point has led ownership to begin materializing its threats, regardless of their emptiness at the time of delivery. There’s a whole lot of impediments for both sides to overcome—like, you know, building a shiny new stadium in a recession using any public subsidies in a state with some severe budgetary crises—and many of the specific logistics involved in the relocation are still unknown. The team has to fulfill its lease to play in RFK Stadium for at least two more seasons, but from all vantage points, this is as close as to moving out of D.C. as the franchise has come. Of course, we’ll keep an eye on the proceedings as more details come in during the next few days.
If the move does go down, will you make the trek out to Largo or Morgan Boulevard to watch United play?