DC United's stadium efforts continue, perhaps slightly refocused with the departure of Victor MacFarlane from the team's ownership group. Loudoun, a suburban hotbed and one of the fastest growing counties in the country, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for a stadium.
Today, the Loudoun Extra section of the Washington Post has posed the question of United's stadium possibly landing their in the "Living in LoCo" blog.
I profiled Loudoun briefly in my "United Stadium Location Roundup" post, and while I believe the county is far from ideal, it may represent United's best shot to get something done in the DC Metro area. Distance is an issue; Loudoun is thirty miles or more outside of the District, hardly the place for a vibrant soccer environment. Public transportation, or rather lack thereof, is also a problem. Many of United's ardent supporters prefer to use public transportation to get to matches, and Loudoun County does not currently have a nearby metro station.
Work is beginning on an extension of Metro's Orange Line to Dulles Airport, which sits predominantly insides the Loudoun County borders; but the locations of the stadium will determine if even shuttling fans back and forth is feasible.
The Washington Post Extra post adds little to the knowledge we already have. The author was unable to get a comment out of either United or the local authorities, and I wouldn't expect there will be one for quite some time. United is certainly going to leave no stone unturned, and Loudoun is certainly on their list; but a comment from either side will only come when a deal is in place.
These stories, from Loudoun or other locals, will continue to trickle out for the foreseeable future, and while they are not necessarily newsworthy in and of themselves, they at least show that the subject is on the minds of the community.
Share you thoughts, especially you United fans and DC readers: Is Loudoun a good place for the stadium to be, or does it matter at this point (meaning, just getting a stadium is enough)?
I just realized that "Loudoun" is misspelled on the map I'm using for this post; I "borrowed" the image, so it's not my mistake. Just in case you were wondering.
