D.C. United has reached the home stretch in its search for additional investors to strengthen its ownership group and ramp up its pursuit of a new stadium. Philadelphia 76ers minority owners Jason Levien and Erick Thohir are poised to partner with current team owner Will Chang, according to a source with knowledge of a transaction which is in the final stages of approval by Major League Soccer.
Levien and Thohir were announced in October 2011 as a part of a group that purchased the 76ers from Comcast-Spectacor. Levien has experience in the NBA as an agent and front office executive. Thohir is an Indonesian media magnate. Both were part of a group that toured RFK Stadium in May with team president Kevin Payne.
With Thohir based in Indonesia and Chang based in San Francisco, Levien is likely to become the face of the team’s new ownership structure. The team’s key priority going forward is a new stadium to replace RFK, where the team has place since the league’s inception in 1996.
Payne said in May that he hoped to have a more serious conversation about D.C. United’s stadium situation with the District Council once the team’s ownership situation was resolved.
United has been in search of additional investment since former majority owner Victor MacFarlane announced the sale of his interest in May 2009.
