D.C. United finally made some progress in its pursuit of a stadium – even if that progress is simply that the D.C. Council affirmed that the D.C. government should be committed to making progress toward keeping the team in Washington, D.C.
OK, so it is convoluted just a tad. But today the Council did pass a resolution, authored by chairman Kwame R. Brown and councilmember Tommy Wells, that called on D.C. government officials to “actively take steps” to keep the team in the District.
“DC United is much more than a business that generates revenue and attracts tourists to the District,” Brown said in a statement. “DC United is one of our city’s important partners, working with our children and promoting economic development in our disadvantaged neighborhoods. They are an asset to our city, and I believe that we should keep DC United in the District.”
Public support is a good first step. A good next step would be additional local ownership that could help spearhead the effort and add some depth to the team’s pockets in order to make an actual solution a reality. All in due time. For now, the team and Events DC should be announcing a new lease agreement any day.
“On behalf of Will Chang, the D.C. United players and staff, and most of all, our fans, I want to thank the DC Council, and in particular Chairman Kwame Brown and Members Tommy Wells and Jack Evans, for the resolution of support which was approved today,” United president and CEO Kevin Payne said in a team-issued statement. “Further, we are most appreciative of the additional statements of support from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Mayor Vincent Gray. We look forward to sitting down in the very near future with the Gray administration to discuss a mutually beneficial solution to D.C. United’s search for a permanent home.”
