No News Must Be Good News... Right?

So it's been quite awhile now since we've heard any concrete information on DCU's stadium search. This could either be good or bad. This week I'm leaning towards good, and I'll tell you why...

Right now United has two solid stadium site options within two separately governed areas. This is unchartered territory for this organization since beginning this ordeal years ago, and they finally now have some leverage to use when negotiating with the D.C. government. It's a well know fact that all three of the developers bidding for master development rights at Poplar Point are in talks with Victor MacFarland and D.C. United. It's also known that all three of those developers now have officially outlined their plans with a United stadium as an option. D.C. United has gained substantial support in the D.C. council. Many members have voiced their support of a stadium and it's safe to assume that if somehow a master plan is put forth for a vote that does not include a United park, they would vote it down. It seems that anyone who is involved in this debacle has to realize that Poplar Point needs a catalyst for economic change, and the only suitable catalyst that can be seen at this time is a D.C. United stadium.

This, of course doesn't mean that a United stadium is right around the corner. No, first Victor MacFarland and Co. have to agree to a suitable timeline for the development. The Poplar Point development could possibly take over a decade to finish. A United stadium would have to be the first thing built in the development, and even before that could happen their would have to
to be an enormous effort from the city to environmentally clean the area. This also could take quite awhile. I'd like to believe that Kevin Payne and former Mayor Anthony Williams took all of this into account years ago, but with the way things have gone I really don't know. Either way it's beginning to look more and more likely that United will have it's choice of location when this is all said and done.

The bright side to all of this might actually be the fact that, for the Redskins to move back into the city, United must first vacate RFK. I don't see the district running DCU out of town to build the Snyder Dome, rather I'd like to think that this is just one more reason for the District to work with United in completing a stadium deal in Anacostia. Maybe I'm a glass half full kind of guy, but it just seems the more logical option.