DC United officials confirmed that team President Kevin Payne and GM Dave Kasper recently "met with a city councilman from Rockville, Md., to tour RedGate Golf Course, a financially troubled municipal venue ripe for development, as a possible stadium site" for the MLS team. Rockville, however, "would like to retain the land for golf," so the idea of a DC United stadium on the site seems to be "going nowhere." Sources indicated that "United, the city and Montgomery County do not envision RedGate as a realistic site for a 20,000 to 25,000-seat soccer stadium" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/15).
 |
Qwest Field Surface An Issue
For Sounders With NFL In Season |
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said that the "start of the NFL season has only worsened the playing conditions" for the MLS team at Qwest Field, which it shares with the Seahawks. Sounders investor & GM Adrian Hanauer said that he has been in "constant communication with Vulcan Sports & Entertainment and the Seahawks in regards to the turf condition and potential replacement." Hanauer contends that "economics are not an issue," and installing grass "remains an option" (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/17).
LIGHT UP MY LIFE: The Univ. of Michigan Board of Regents Thursday "approved adding permanent lights" to Michigan Stadium. The lights are expected to cost $1.8M and will be "paid out of athletic department funds." UM Dir of Media Relations Dave Ablauf said that they are "expected to be in place this fall, well before December’s outdoor hockey game and next September’s night football game with Notre Dame." During Michigan Stadium's latest renovation, "spots for lights were included in four different places." Ablauf noted that the "original plan was for those structures to house temporary lights" as UM has done in the past, but that "changed over time" (ANNARBOR.com, 9/16).
TECH SAVVY: In Atlanta, Doug Roberson reported Georgia Tech "will have an indoor football practice facility built in time" for the '11 season. Coca-Cola Enterprises Chair & CEO John Brock III, a Tech alum, and his wife, Mary, "recently committed to fund as much as half of the cost of the facility, which has an estimated price tag" of $6-7M. Their donation will not exceed $3.5M. GT Associate AD/PR Wayne Hogan said that the school "hopes to raise enough funds to cover the rest, but they have a financing plan should that be necessary." Construction is "expected to begin next year and be completed in time for next August’s practices" (AJC.com, 9/15).
