<div id="attachment_16212" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http:\/\/www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/dc-inching-closer-to-new-stadium-and-funding-16209/inner-circle-sports-dcu-pic" rel="attachment wp-att-16212"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a><p id="caption-attachment-16212" class="wp-caption-text">www.innercirclesports.com</p></div>
<p>Longtime MLS watchers and DC sports fans know that every year a hot rumor about DC United’s stadium situation begins to make the rounds, only for that rumor to fall apart and the team move ever closer to leaving the nation’s capital. &nbsp;Last year, it was Upper Marlboro and the University of Maryland that seemingly were landing places for DC’s stadium, with Baltimore lurking in the background to pick up the pieces. &nbsp;And who can forget the ill-fated stadium in Poplar Point that never came about. &nbsp;At this point, it is reasonable to be skeptical about any reported progress on a new soccer stadium in Washington, DC.</p>
<p>However, winds of change are blowing across the Anacostia and <a href="http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/post/dc-united-stadium-cost-tax-benefits-outlined-in-study/2012/06/04/gJQAVcPYCV_blog.html" target="_blank">when even longtime soccer writer/guru Steven Goff is expressing optimism</a>, MLS may have reached a turning point with the DCU stadium situation. &nbsp;The hope revolves around two major developments with the team over the past two weeks. &nbsp;The first is the rumor that there may <a href="http:\/\/www.blackandredunited.com/2012/4/3/2922364/media-magnate-erick-thohir-rumored-to-be-interested-in-d-c-united" target="_blank">be a new investment in the team by Erick Thohir</a>, a part-owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and a soccer fan. &nbsp;It was Thohir, president of Visi Media Asia, who <a href="http:\/\/the-diplomat.com/sport-culture/2011/12/09/beckham-still-shines-in-asia/" target="_blank">organized the LA Galaxy’s offseason tour of Indonesia</a>. &nbsp;Additionally, Will Chang, the principle owner of DC United, is working with Inner Circle Sports to help find additional investors for the team. &nbsp;RSL fans may recognize the New-York based bank as the company that helped organized their most recent sale, but possibly more importantly they helped the most recent sale of the 76ers, showing a familiarity to Thohir and his company. &nbsp;Thohir and another partner<a href="http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com/sports/penalty-kicks/2012/05/potential-investor-visits-dc-united/654221" target="_blank"> attended DC’s last home game against New England and met the team</a>, another telling sign.</p>
<p>[It is important to note that Will Chang has said he is not selling his entire ownership stake. &nbsp;In addition, in MLS owners do not directly buy teams but instead invest in the league as a meandering way to control different teams.]</p>
<p>Even if that sale went through, it would still leave the team lacking a place for a stadium. &nbsp;The most recent rumor had been that DCU was <a href="http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/plans-detail-buzzard-point-soccer-stadium-for-dc-united/2012/03/08/gIQAsFvL5R_story.html" target="_blank">exploring a site at Buzzard Point for a 22,000 seat soccer-only stadium</a>. &nbsp;The site has the advantage of being near the Washington Nationals’ stadium, meaning it would benefit from the social sites being built around the baseball stadium. &nbsp;How much everything would cost, however, is becoming more clear with a<a href="http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/2012/06/01/gJQA7LP7BV_story.html" target="_blank"> report leaked this week on the economic benefits of a new DCU stadium</a>. &nbsp;The Greater Washington Sports Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to sports in the nation’s capital with a number of prominent sports and business figures on the board, estimated that the stadium would cost $157 million to build (by comparison, <a href="http:\/\/blog.chron.com/soccer/2012/05/mls-commish-don-garber-praises-dynamo-ownership/" target="_blank">BBVA Compass Stadium cost $95 million</a>) but would support almost a thousand full time jobs as well as generate $38 million in revenue annually. &nbsp;The significance of this study (conducted by Convention Sports &amp; Leisure International) is that some of the leading personalities in the city are moving forward with creating a pitch and a plan for a new stadium. &nbsp;While not shovel to dirt, it’s the biggest step to date in the DC stadium quest.</p>
<p>(H/t to Steven Goff and Jonathan O’Connell of <em>The Washington Post</em>, and the gents at Black and Red United for some of these tidbits in this story)</p>


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