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Audi Field Construction Continues as D.C. United Plans for 2018

Audi Field

Construction of Audi Field remains on schedule, but D.C. United is left with questions as it makes plans for the 2018 season.

United is not expecting Audi Field to be ready for matches until some time next summer, months after the MLS season begins. The organization says that construction of the stadium remains on schedule, but that it is uncertain at this point whether Audi Field will be ready before MLS goes on a two-week hiatus from June 14-28 for the World Cup group stage.

Additionally, the team is not planning to play any home matches at RFK Stadium beyond the end of the 2017 season. For now, Untied is working with MLS to decide whether all of its home matches can be played after Audi Field opens or if an alternate venue will be needed if the league requires a home match before the new facility’s opening. More from The Washington Post:

With Audi Field scheduled to open more than three months into the 2018 campaign, United is working with MLS to determine whether the entire slate of home matches at the new venue in Southwest D.C. can fit into the league calendar.

“We want to get every single match at Audi Field, if we can,” club President Tom Hunt said in a wide-ranging interview Wednesday. “If we can’t, we have some ideas that we think would be a very cool, unique event for our fan base and the expansion of our fan base.”

He declined to elaborate, but his comments suggest United could end up playing elsewhere in the metro area or beyond.

RFK Stadium is slated to stage its final match for United on October 22, when the home club hosts the New York Red Bulls. The venerable facility has been home to United since 1996.

Rendering courtesy D.C. United.

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