“The Prince George’s County Council voted Tuesday to effectively kill the team’s plan to move from the District’s RFK Stadium to a new 24,000-seat stadium in the county.”

Via BizJournals

“The council voted 8-0, with one member absent, to send a letter to both Maryland General Assembly chambers outlining the county’s concern with proposed state legislation that would authorize a feasibility study for the new stadium.

The legislation is stalled in the Statehouse and likely will die without the support of the Prince George’s Council.

Tuesday’s vote caps a controversial period in which a council committee voted to oppose the legislation, prompting Council Chairwoman Marilyn Bland, D-Clinton, to promise that the full council would eventually approve it. But she abruptly pulled the matter from consideration during the council’s April 1 meeting, angering critics, and refused to hear their concerns. In the end, Bland voted Tuesday with the majority but made no comments.

Critics say the original proposal — to have the Maryland Stadium Authority float bonds for the $195 million stadium that would have been secured by D.C. United rent and future tax revenue — was a bad deal and left the state liable for any revenue shortfalls.

The action is a major setback for D.C. United, a Major League Soccer team that has been wanting to build a smaller stadium for years.”

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