Events DC says it is willing to make stadium improvements
Facing the end of another season with little to no movement on securing a new stadium of its own, there are signs D.C. United is exploring a new tactic to improve its situation at RFK Stadium in the meantime.
At Wednesday’s 50th anniversary celebration of the stadium, D.C. United president and CEO Kevin Payne offered no new details on the team’s pursuit of its own building or deep-pocketed additions to its ownership group that might facilitate a move in that direction.
But steadfast in his assertion that D.C. United eventually will sever its ties with RFK and the District if there are no changes to his team’s current situation, Payne said the team has asked to sit down with its landlord, Events DC (formerly the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission), and look at the two parties’ current financial arrangement.
“It’s probably not that precise, but we recognize that there will be a moment [when the team will leave],” Payne said. “There’s a lot of factors in it, including whatever our terms are here, which right now are very poor and have to be improved. From an expense standpoint, we have the worst stadium deal in the league.”
According to team officials, D.C. United’s per-game expenses amortized over the course of a season come out to $140,000, well above the league average of $80,000. However, as a tenant United takes in no revenue from concessions and has limited opportunities to earn money through premium seating because RFK does not have corporate suites.
While Events DC has committed to spend money on some RFK improvements, to go further D.C. United may have to reconsider the game-to-game lease that has been in place since 2008 and also pledge itself to the venue it has long been desperate to leave.
“Being realistic, it’s such an old facility that it’s limited in terms of dollars you can spend and have it make sense,” Events DC president and CEO Gregory O’Dell said. “Certainly, there are a couple things, for example at the club level, that we can enhance. There’s restroom upgrades we can do. Those things we are absolutely going to do. But when you get into very large, multimillion dollar projects, then you have to weigh whether it makes sense or obviously trying to pursue a new stadium.”
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said from a feasibility perspective there are challenges to putting together a stadium deal but insisted he didn’t simply expect D.C. United to stick around.
“It isn’t so much that people like me don’t think they will leave,” Gray said. “It’s not complacency. It’s more saying, ‘Gee, I hope you can stay, but how are we going to make this work?’ Again, the United has been an important part of the professional sports landscape here in this city, and we’d love to be able to find a way to help them stay.”
