DC United is desperate for a new stadium. No head way was made on a stadium in the District, and now the club's dreams have been summarily dashed by Prince George's County. Rumors abound that other options may present themselves, though nothing concrete has been reported.
With all of the issues, rumors, and confusion, I decided to lay out the picture for all of those not familiar with the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
I've put together a rough map of potential stadium locations; please keep in mind that this was quickly done, and is not intended to be an exact representation.
Although it never even made it to the exploration stage, the Prince George's County plan called for a stadium to be built just to the east of DC, somewhere along the Metro's (DC's subway system) Blue Line (location labeled "1" on the map). Although seemingly within United's sphere of influence, there were many that weren't too thrilled with the potential placement; United draw many of their fans from the western suburbs of DC, and the Prince George's location would only make their trip to matches that much longer.
After the failure of the PG Country proposal, whisperings began that perhaps other counties in the area might be interested in becoming the new home of the club. The first I heard mentioned was Frederick County, Maryland. I've labeled Frederick with a "2" on the map, and you can see, it's not exactly centrally located. Frederick may be a nice place (I'm only vaguely familiar with it), but it's no place for a club called "DC United". In fact, the rumor that the county was looking into the idea of building a stadium for United was proved false. It turns out that an assistant in the county's Office of Economic Development made a mistake when asked if Frederick was interested in luring United. While the story linked it a week old and things could have happened since then (i.e. the team contacting the county), it still doesn't change the fact the Frederick is no place for United.
Montgomery County, Marylandd, on the other hand, might yet be a viable location for United's stadium. Metro (subway) access is crucial, and Montgomery County can provide land that is convenient to public transportation. Unfortunately, Montgomery County, like Prince George's County, has plenty of people who would oppose building a stadium. NIMBY folks are everywhere, of course, and while stadiums still get built in spite of them, it certainly makes the process more difficult. While at least one councilman in the county supports talking to United, it's not necessarily a guarantee that anything will happen. Still, it's the best United fans have at the moment.
A long shot on the potential location list is Loudoun County, Virgina. Loudoun County has seen explosive growth in recent years, and is home to the Washington Redskins training facilities, as well as the former home of boom-era America Online. Loudoun is, again, not ideally located, and the no-growth crowd would be fierce opposition to a stadium. A few years ago, Loudoun was mentioned a possible location for a Disney theme park (killed by the county) as well as a baseball stadium (prior to the Expos/Nationals relocation). Loudoun is such a massive long shot that I hesitated to put it on the map, but as the county represents one of the few places that could even be considered, I thought it necessary.
A few places on the map that may look good, but are not really on anyone's radar:
Arlington County, Virginia would make sense geographically, but would never be open to the idea. They too also killed a baseball stadium plan several years ago. Rapid commercial and residential building has left the county without an obvious location for a stadium.
Fairfax County, Virginia is a odd place. All at once one of the richest counties in the country while also struggling with its demographic identity, it is also unlikely to pass any kind of stadium building plan. I suppose that a creative plan might have a chance in Fairfax, though it too is a massive long shot. I'm racking my brain to come up with a location that makes sense, and nothing comes to mind. Regardless, Metro access to Fairfax is fairly limited (in relation to its size and importance), meaning that any stadium in the county would likely be out of the reach of adequate public transportation.
There are no clear paths for United. It's difficult to see a stadium plan coming together anytime soon, and it will be worth watching what the league and United's ownership do. Without a stadium plan, the league may shortly be buying out MacFarlane, or looking to broker a deal with an owner who will move the team.
