Photo by PoPville flickr user mosley.brian
From Council Member Tommy Wells:
Today, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells released the following statement on the announcement that the District of Columbia and D.C. United Soccer have struck a tentative deal to keep the team in the city:
“I’m thrilled with the announcement to keep D.C. United at home right here in D.C.,” said Tommy Wells. “The Council spoke overwhelmingly in support of keeping D.C. United in the District of Columbia and urged the Mayor to work with stakeholders and ensure our soccer team remained in the District.”
On March 6, 2012, The Council approved the resolution, authored by Councilmember Wells and titled the “Sense of the Council in Support of D.C. United Soccer Remaining in the District of Columbia Resolution of 2012.” The resolution urged the city’s executive to develop strategies and proposals to keep the team in the District.
“The new stadium further solidifies our Anacostia Waterfront as a center for sports and culture – bridging our communities and bringing our city closer together,” added Wells.
Buzzard Point, the site of the proposed new soccer stadium, is located in Ward 6, in Southwest, along the Anacostia River.
You can see a map of the proposed site here.
Update from Mayor Gray:
“Today, Mayor Vincent C. Gray and the ownership group of four-time Major League Soccer (MLS) champion D.C. United announced the signing of a public-private partnership term sheet to build a 20,000-25,000-seat, world-class soccer stadium in the Buzzard Point area of Southwest. The new stadium, to be located adjacent to the Fort McNair Army base, will be bounded by Half Street and Second Street SW, between R and T Streets, is anticipated to be complete in time for the 2016 season.
The Mayor also announced that the deal anticipates a creative development plan, including a series of land swaps to support the approximately $300 million project and spur additional development without having an impact on the District’s debt cap.
Under the provisions of the term sheet, the District anticipates that it will swap District-owned property, including the Frank D. Reeves Center for Municipal Affairs, to assemble the stadium site parcels. The plan calls for Reeves Center tenants as well as District agencies currently in leased space to relocate to a new municipal facility in Anacostia near the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road SE. This facility would be developed and funded using a model similar to the District’s recently completed 200 Eye Street SE building.
“This is an exciting plan that moves the District forward in two areas about which I’m passionate — economic development, particularly in the East End of the District, and sports,” said Mayor Gray. “The new soccer stadium is the final piece in the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative puzzle that, when complete will create the most vibrant and sustainable sports-and-retail district in America.”
The term sheet calls for the District to act as a horizontal developer and assume the cost of land acquisition and infrastructure (approximately $150 million), while D.C. United would construct the stadium (approximately $150 million). (more…)
