Patrick Turner, head of the Baltimore-based development company that owns the parcel along Westport's waterfront, said Tuesday through a spokeswoman that it is too early to tell whether a soccer stadium could be a possibility there. Turner Development plans a $1.2 billion community of offices, shops, homes and a hotel near the Westport light rail station.
A soccer stadium would not be the first sports complex proposed for the site.
When Turner unveiled plans for Westport in 2006, they included a velodrome, a cycling arena that could be used for sports or concerts. But those plans were scrapped because the site ended up being a resource conservation district where construction is prohibited.
Turner Development then proposed Westport as the site for the city's new indoor sports and concert arena. Turner, one of seven development groups that competed to build the project to replace the aging 1st Mariner Arena, had said a Westport arena would have the benefit of its own light rail stop, highway access and parking that would come with the offices. The city has since decided to build a new arena on the existing 1st Mariner site on downtown's west side but has put off selecting a developer until the economy improves.
Millard said the soccer stadium would be built specifically to lure D.C. United to Baltimore.
"We understand that there is an interest for that team to relocate," Millard said. "From that standpoint, now that the opportunity has presented itself, we want to make sure that the city is working in conjunction with the state in looking at any potential opportunities of a possible home here in Baltimore."
D.C. United - which is considered one of the most successful franchises in Major League Soccer, and regularly is among the league leaders in attendance - has played its home games at RFK Stadium since the team was founded in 1995. The former home of the Washington Redskins seats 45,596.
But the team, which is owned by the consortium D.C. United Holdings, has been looking to move its home games to a soccer-only facility for several years. It has attempted to negotiate a stadium deal for several locations, most recently a proposal to build a $195 million complex in Prince George's County that would seat 24,000.
