The possibility of luring D.C. United to Baltimore and building a soccer-specific stadium in Westport to help kick-start the development in the "other harbor" has come and gone, according to The Washington Post.
It appears that things may be starting to come together for the United to remain in DC as they continue their search for a new home and soccer-specific stadium. The team seems confident that things are now heading in the right direction and want to continue to build on what they have in Washington.
It seems that Baltimore was likey being used as leverage by the United all along, which doesn't exactly come as a huge surprise. It seemed unlikely that they would want to leave the nation's capital to rebuild their brand 45 minutes to the north, even if it did mean a new stadium. With the United being the only team in the MLS not playing in a new or renovated stadium, it is only a matter of time until one is built.
This certainly doesn't help with the plans to turn the waterfront of Westport in something of an Inner Harbor on steroids. The property owned by the developer along the waterfront was recently set to go to auction, making it looking less and less likely that anything will happen in that area anytime in the near future.
Things did not get all that serious as the city never really invested significant money into studies for a potential stadium.
The one bit of good news that comes out of this is that Baltimore is now unlikely to pursue a new MLS franchise or trying to get one to relocate, putting all of the attention on building a new arena. The city was looking into building both a soccer stadium and arena despite limited funds. Now all of the focus and funding can be put toward the arena and possibly luring an NBA or NHL team to Baltimore.
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