Citing worries about traffic, some area residents are voicing their concerns about plans for a new D.C. United and USL facility in Loudoun County.
The project would take place at Philip A. Bolen Memorial Park, which would become the site of a complex that includes a stadium for a new United USL club. Along with four fields (two reserved for the team, two open to public use), the complex would include offices, a training facility and an approximately 5,000-seat stadium. The county would also provide 1,000 parking spaces and access to a nearby park-and-ride facility.
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has previously agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with United. While the approval of the MOU was a major step in moving the effort forward, there are still some areas that must be addressed–including zoning issues–before the plan is finalized. Residents of the Kincaid Forest neighborhood in Leesburg–which backs up to the complex site–are expressing concerns about how the project would affect traffic in the area, stating that they do not want officials to open Kincaid Boulevard for stadium traffic. More from WTOP:
Neighbors of Kincaid Forest, a neighborhood in Leesburg that backs up to the land where D.C. United’s training facility and minor league stadium would go, came out in the pouring rain Saturday to rally against Kincaid Boulevard opening to stadium traffic.
For now, the road in Leesburg is closed off by barriers. But the other side of those barriers is Bolen Park, which is controlled by Loudoun County and the potential future home of the training complex.
Bryon Williams is organizing his neighbors to make sure the street remains closed.
“We are not against the stadium whatsoever,” Williams said. “We are against the effects the stadium will bring.”
Williams said the stadium site already struggles to deal with daily traffic without the addition of a 5,000-seat minor league soccer stadium. He worries that the Loudoun County board of supervisors are fast-tracking a deal without planning for road infrastructure.
Officials are hoping to move the project forward so that the stadium can be completed by next spring, and be used for the 2019 USL season. As part of the plan, Loudoun County would lease the land to D.C. United and provide $15 million in financing on the $23-million facility, which would be paid back by United.
Image courtesy D.C. United.
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