It’s sadly true that DC United’s “new” stadium is absolutely atrocious for fans trying to drive in from the suburbs. The stadium is in a very dangerous area (literally built in the middle of the projects!) and does not even have an official parking lot. The streets become clogged with traffic and the shady, price-gouging lots make the entire experience very unpleasant.

We made one trip to a DC United game and weren’t even able to find parking within safe walking distance of the stadium. Since I had no desire to get mugged/shot walking with my children in the dark after the game, we just drove home.

What a bone-headed decision to build a stadium in a high-crime area in the middle of the projects and then not even provide an any parking facilities. As for the metro, that’s also become dangerous—someone was stabbed to death recently right outside the nearby metro station.

-Rooney is rumored to be out as of 3 weeks ago. (Good question on replacement, likely someone we've never heard of.)

-DC is in the business of selling home grown players, not spending money on foreign ones.

-7:30 Start times are way too late (no thanks to the terms dictated by the Apple TV deal), especially for kids. Seems they prefer to take the Apple TV and sponsorship money instead of growing the fan base by encouraging some of the thousands upon thousands of kids & families to come.

-Bring back the Soccer Boats, bring Back tailgating, bring back earlier games and deals for kids, spend some money on a few players and get a coach who is better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody told Wayne that DC pro sports teams do not invest in players.

I get that DC metro has a substantial transient population (military, political, etc.) but with the substantial foreign or foreign-affiliated population (given soccer is the most popular sport in most of the world) and the strength of the youth soccer in VA/MD, one would think that DC United would consistently be among the top MLS teams. Instead, they've been pretty poor since I started paying attention a few years ago anyway.

Does this really all come down to bad management? Just seems very odd to me.

YES, it does. Go to Kansas City and see what they have going. Albeit down in the standings the last couple of years, a great fan base and team that is woven into the fabric of the community. Billboards around the city featuring their players. Active camps that people actually want to attend. Packed stadiums. And, KC is not the most global of cities in the US. Nor are they the only show in town with a very successful football team down the road. They have a well oiled machine. DC United is a rusty typewriter.

Or Atlanta, or Seattle, or Portland, or my new favorite, St. Louis City FC, which not only has amazing fans, but the best food I’ve ever had in a stadium.

DC is completely crippled by its cheap and lackadaisical owners who seem perfectly content with the status quo.. I’m really happy to see Ben Olsen doing so well in Houston. That shows you the importance of a healthy and committed leadership structure.

Anonymous wrote:For my family and I in HoCo, the main things that keep us from going to games more often are:

1) It is a pain to get to Audi Field and back. Plus parking is expensive.
2) Games start too late to bring kids. We still go every now and then, but getting back home around 11PM is a pain.

+1 I could not agree more about the location of the field. We also live in HoCo and attend Washington Spirit games more than DC United. Getting to Audi is a total pain, and the price of parking is nuts. I would attend both teams' matches on a regular basis if getting there was more convenient.

For my family and I in HoCo, the main things that keep us from going to games more often are:

1) It is a pain to get to Audi Field and back. Plus parking is expensive.
2) Games start too late to bring kids. We still go every now and then, but getting back home around 11PM is a pain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody told Wayne that DC pro sports teams do not invest in players.

I get that DC metro has a substantial transient population (military, political, etc.) but with the substantial foreign or foreign-affiliated population (given soccer is the most popular sport in most of the world) and the strength of the youth soccer in VA/MD, one would think that DC United would consistently be among the top MLS teams. Instead, they've been pretty poor since I started paying attention a few years ago anyway.

Does this really all come down to bad management? Just seems very odd to me.

YES, it does. Go to Kansas City and see what they have going. Albeit down in the standings the last couple of years, a great fan base and team that is woven into the fabric of the community. Billboards around the city featuring their players. Active camps that people actually want to attend. Packed stadiums. And, KC is not the most global of cities in the US. Nor are they the only show in town with a very successful football team down the road. They have a well oiled machine. DC United is a rusty typewriter.

KC only has the chiefs. DC has the commanders, the Nats, the Caps, and the wizards. All of those teams are embarrassments now, but soccer can't afford to suck if there are four other professional sports competing for attention

Ok, now do Los Angeles. TWO MLS Soccer teams averaging 22 and 25K in attendance alongside the Lakers, Clippers, Rams, Chargers, Kings, Ducks, Dodgers and Angels. Atlanta has 3 sports and is averaging 45K in attendance. DCU is 25th out of 29 teams in attendance. Stop making excuses for sucking. BTW, George Brett feels slighted.

DC is a relatively small metro compared to LA. DC also doesn't get much support anywhere south of Richmond. North of DC starts getting into Philly and NY fans, so not much there either. Combine that with a mismanaged club, academy, cheaply built "new" stadium, and no star players, you get bad attendance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody told Wayne that DC pro sports teams do not invest in players.

I get that DC metro has a substantial transient population (military, political, etc.) but with the substantial foreign or foreign-affiliated population (given soccer is the most popular sport in most of the world) and the strength of the youth soccer in VA/MD, one would think that DC United would consistently be among the top MLS teams. Instead, they've been pretty poor since I started paying attention a few years ago anyway.

Does this really all come down to bad management? Just seems very odd to me.

YES, it does. Go to Kansas City and see what they have going. Albeit down in the standings the last couple of years, a great fan base and team that is woven into the fabric of the community. Billboards around the city featuring their players. Active camps that people actually want to attend. Packed stadiums. And, KC is not the most global of cities in the US. Nor are they the only show in town with a very successful football team down the road. They have a well oiled machine. DC United is a rusty typewriter.

KC only has the chiefs. DC has the commanders, the Nats, the Caps, and the wizards. All of those teams are embarrassments now, but soccer can't afford to suck if there are four other professional sports competing for attention

Ok, now do Los Angeles. TWO MLS Soccer teams averaging 22 and 25K in attendance alongside the Lakers, Clippers, Rams, Chargers, Kings, Ducks, Dodgers and Angels. Atlanta has 3 sports and is averaging 45K in attendance. DCU is 25th out of 29 teams in attendance. Stop making excuses for sucking. BTW, George Brett feels slighted.

47k total in a metro area with 13 million people is about .2% of people attending every game. DC United averages 18k in a metro area with 5.5 million people which is abiout .3% of people attending every game.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody told Wayne that DC pro sports teams do not invest in players.

I get that DC metro has a substantial transient population (military, political, etc.) but with the substantial foreign or foreign-affiliated population (given soccer is the most popular sport in most of the world) and the strength of the youth soccer in VA/MD, one would think that DC United would consistently be among the top MLS teams. Instead, they've been pretty poor since I started paying attention a few years ago anyway.

Does this really all come down to bad management? Just seems very odd to me.

YES, it does. Go to Kansas City and see what they have going. Albeit down in the standings the last couple of years, a great fan base and team that is woven into the fabric of the community. Billboards around the city featuring their players. Active camps that people actually want to attend. Packed stadiums. And, KC is not the most global of cities in the US. Nor are they the only show in town with a very successful football team down the road. They have a well oiled machine. DC United is a rusty typewriter.

KC only has the chiefs. DC has the commanders, the Nats, the Caps, and the wizards. All of those teams are embarrassments now, but soccer can't afford to suck if there are four other professional sports competing for attention

Ok, now do Los Angeles. TWO MLS Soccer teams averaging 22 and 25K in attendance alongside the Lakers, Clippers, Rams, Chargers, Kings, Ducks, Dodgers and Angels. Atlanta has 3 sports and is averaging 45K in attendance. DCU is 25th out of 29 teams in attendance. Stop making excuses for sucking. BTW, George Brett feels slighted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody told Wayne that DC pro sports teams do not invest in players.

I get that DC metro has a substantial transient population (military, political, etc.) but with the substantial foreign or foreign-affiliated population (given soccer is the most popular sport in most of the world) and the strength of the youth soccer in VA/MD, one would think that DC United would consistently be among the top MLS teams. Instead, they've been pretty poor since I started paying attention a few years ago anyway.

Does this really all come down to bad management? Just seems very odd to me.

YES, it does. Go to Kansas City and see what they have going. Albeit down in the standings the last couple of years, a great fan base and team that is woven into the fabric of the community. Billboards around the city featuring their players. Active camps that people actually want to attend. Packed stadiums. And, KC is not the most global of cities in the US. Nor are they the only show in town with a very successful football team down the road. They have a well oiled machine. DC United is a rusty typewriter.

KC only has the chiefs. DC has the commanders, the Nats, the Caps, and the wizards. All of those teams are embarrassments now, but soccer can't afford to suck if there are four other professional sports competing for attention

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody told Wayne that DC pro sports teams do not invest in players.

I get that DC metro has a substantial transient population (military, political, etc.) but with the substantial foreign or foreign-affiliated population (given soccer is the most popular sport in most of the world) and the strength of the youth soccer in VA/MD, one would think that DC United would consistently be among the top MLS teams. Instead, they've been pretty poor since I started paying attention a few years ago anyway.

Does this really all come down to bad management? Just seems very odd to me.

YES, it does. Go to Kansas City and see what they have going. Albeit down in the standings the last couple of years, a great fan base and team that is woven into the fabric of the community. Billboards around the city featuring their players. Active camps that people actually want to attend. Packed stadiums. And, KC is not the most global of cities in the US. Nor are they the only show in town with a very successful football team down the road. They have a well oiled machine. DC United is a rusty typewriter.

Anonymous wrote:Nobody told Wayne that DC pro sports teams do not invest in players.

I get that DC metro has a substantial transient population (military, political, etc.) but with the substantial foreign or foreign-affiliated population (given soccer is the most popular sport in most of the world) and the strength of the youth soccer in VA/MD, one would think that DC United would consistently be among the top MLS teams. Instead, they've been pretty poor since I started paying attention a few years ago anyway.

Does this really all come down to bad management? Just seems very odd to me.

Nobody told Wayne that DC pro sports teams do not invest in players.

Birmingham City is the latest rumor for him. I agree--without a contract in place now he won't be back. DCU generally still struggle in talent relative to the rest of the league which really isn't his fault -- it's just a continuation of what Olsen had to work with but mildly upgraded in a few spots. It's a tough place to win big until they can invest in better talent and ideally truly figure out the academy pipeline.

I’d be shocked if he sticks around through the end of the year.
No way he’s here next year.

Anyone hear about whether he will stay on or if not, who are potential replacements?