BALTIMORE -- With no movement lately on a new soccer stadium in D.C. or the suburbs, Baltimore is trying to squeeze into the picture.
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has asked the Maryland Stadium Authority to consider building a soccer stadium in Baltimore for DC United, the Baltimore Sun reported.
The stadium authority received Dixon's letter dated Sept. 30 on Monday. She wants the agency to study the potential benefits of building a stadium that would be United's permanent home and have concerts, lacrosse and other events.
The 17,000-to-20,000 seat stadium would be part of a green, mixed-use project and would have access to light rail and interstates 95 and 295. It would be near Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium.
The Westport Waterfront project meets those standards, according to the letter.
A spokesman for DC United said club president Kevin Payne is out of the country. The team, which plays at RFK Stadium has sought a soccer-only facility for years.
Earlier this year, the Prince George's County Council voted unanimously against building a stadium there. Before that, talks about a stadium at Poplar Point in D.C. stalled.
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The interest in a Baltimore soccer stadium follows a sold-out crowd of 72,000 for a summer exhibition between AC Milan and Chelsea at M&T Bank Stadium, Dixon's chief of staff told the Sun.
United has been one of Major League Soccer's most successful franchises and has some of the league's most rabid fans -- the Screaming Eagles, who no doubt will be screaming even louder.
