DC United is exploring privately held sites in its quest to find a location to build its own soccer specific stadium, according to the Washington Business Journal. With previous attempts to work with the city failing due to the red tape and resistance involved (in no doubt made worse by the recent construction of an expensive baseball stadium), it seems that purchasing land not controlled by public interests is the way to go.

The particular site in question, which WBJ reports United contacted real estate development firm Akridge about, is Buzzard's Point, a location in Southwest less a mile from two subway stops. Labelled 100 V Street by Akridge, the site is close to the Nationals new ballpark on the Anacostia waterfront.

Here's map of the area courtesy of Akridge's 100 V Street website. Nationals Park is number 6 on the map, with Buzzards Point represented by the "V".



DC United belongs in the city, so this news comes as a welcome development. With Will Chang as the majority owner now that Victor MacFarlane has pulled out of the team, the sense is that a stadium deal will be much simpler. Chang does not have a mixed-use development in mind for United's stadium as MacFarlane did, making the possibility of finding a site and securing support from local authorities much more likely.

Also mentioned in the Washington Business Journal piece is other sites Akridge controls that United may have some interest in (or could). Most intriguing is the writer's notion that could DCU acquire air rights and build a stadium adjacent to Union Station. While that strikes me as prohibitively expensive option, it is fun to think about. Even better that Union Station is easily accessible by Metro and has a vibrant urban setting.