After D.C. United were eliminated from the MLS playoffs this season, President and CEO Kevin Payne consoled goalkeeper Bill Hamid. (Francis Chung)
D.C. United announced today that Kevin Payne, the club’s president and chief executive, will be leaving the club after 17 years in the team’s front office. A source within Major League Soccer confirmed to DCist earlier in the day that Payne is leaving to accept the role of president at Toronto FC.
“They say the only constant in life is change,” Payne said in a statement released by United. “For me, D.C. United has been like my child. We brought the team into the D.C. and national sports world 17 years ago and every day since—good and bad—has been a labor of love. This team has provided many great memories of championships and historic accomplishments, but I will best remember the people I’ve had the chance to meet, to work with, strive with, celebrate with, and sometimes to share disappointment with.”
Payne’s departure comes as a bit of a shock to some United fans, though a closer look at the situation makes the news a bit less surprising. With the team on the brink of finalizing plans for a new stadium and performing well on the field as well, Payne, who’s been with United since the team’s inception in 1995, likely needed a new challenge. Toronto FC fits the bill perfectly.
The “Reds” are MLS’ least successful franchise, having never made the playoffs since entering the league in 2007. Toronto’s impassioned (yet disenfranchised) fan base have long yearned for more front-office experience—they made their distaste for their current front office known by staging a widespread protest during United’s match in Toronto earlier in the year. In Payne, Toronto may finally have the leadership they’ve needed for so long.
Feelings among the United faithful have always been mixed about “KP,” and we’ll look at his legacy a bit more thoroughly tomorrow. One thing is for sure: He always kept things interesting. Payne was more involved in the day-to-day and on-field operations of United than most of his peers in Major League Soccer, and was often fined by the league for spouting off to reporters in the locker room about bad calls.
In his conversations with DCist, the fans and well-being of the club were always among the first things he spoke of. After the snow-related postponement of United’s Eastern Conference semifinal game against the New York Red Bulls, Payne told me, “Every club in this league likes to say that they have the best fans. But United really does. We’re the most successful team in MLS history and we have the fan-base to prove it.”
