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Soccer Stadium by 2009? City and D.C. United Differ
A stadium is planned for Poplar Point, but the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. has yet to hire a master planner to create a redevelopment plan for the area.
(By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)
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Goldsmith's staff is considering two options to pay for a stadium. Under one scenario, United would finance the project and be awarded control of the surrounding development. Under the other, the city would keep control of the development and use tax money generated from the site to pay for the stadium. Either option would amount to public financing, because the city would be giving up assets that could otherwise pay for other city services.
The Anacostia Waterfront Corp. has scheduled a public hearing for Jan. 20.
Mayor-elect Adrian M. Fenty (D) has expressed general support for the redevelopment of Poplar Point, but he has not said how he expects the project to be financed. As the Ward 4 D.C. Council member, Fenty was a chief opponent of public funding of the baseball stadium.
Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) first opposed the soccer stadium, but he now supports the project.
United could remain at RFK, but team officials balk at the prospect of playing in the cavernous 45,000-seat building. New, medium-sized stadiums have become a trend in Major League Soccer as a way to create a more intimate environment and, in turn, increase attendance.
United, which is in the process of being sold to an ownership group that has said it would build the stadium, has been working on designs with HKS Inc., an architecture firm based in Dallas.
Team President Kevin Payne reiterated recently that he expects the stadium to be ready by 2009.
"It's not going to be an easy task," Payne said. "There are a lot of things that have to be done. These things always take longer than you think they are going to. . . . But it can be done, and we're not willing to concede that it's not possible to open it by 2009."
