Through the last decade, there’s been plenty of wheeling and dealing — and frustration — as plans for a soccer-specific stadium for D.C. United have endured fits and starts.
On Monday, work on a 20,000-seat venue at Buzzard Point officially got underway. It was site demolition day, and a slew of District and club officials turned out to tout a $300 million stadium deal that aims to enliven another section of D.C.’s waterfront.
“We found a great spot here at Buzzard Point, we acquired this land so we could begin construction on time, and we fought for and we got a great deal for D.C. residents,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who rejiggered the stadium arrangement as mayor-elect in 2014.
Bowser got to take the first swing at an old utility shed with an excavator to begin clearing the stadium site, which sits in a tight footprint bounded by Second Street, T Street, R Street and Potomac Avenue SW.