DC’s VW deal contrasts poor results on the field

By Charles Boehm - Potomac Soccer Wire Staff Writer

Volkswagen has called on David Hasselhoff and Heidi Klum to help pitch their cars in a new U.S. ad campaign – and now D.C. United and Major League Soccer have joined that that effort as well, having signed a five-year sponsorship deal rumored to be worth nearly $15 million.
 
But after a tremendously disappointing start to the 2008 season, it remains to be seen whether United’s championship prospects will follow the stellar trajectory of Klum’s modeling career – or something more akin to Hasselhoff’s efforts as a musical artist.
 
Failure in the CONCACAF Champions Cup – an international tournament D.C. was desperate to conquer – has been followed by a 2-4 start to league play and with more than a month of the regular season already passed, there have been enough troubling signs to prompt concern at high levels.
 
Principal owner-investor Victor MacFarlane was on hand at the announcement of the VW partnership at RFK Stadium on Tuesday morning, and his enthusiasm about the deal was tempered by noticeable dissatisfaction with his team’s performances.
 
“I’m not happy. We need to do much better on the field,” said the San Francisco-based real estate magnate. “The team needs to come together – we have the talent necessary, the team needs to gel and start delivering.”
 
D.C.’s strong fan base and history of success means expectations will always be elevated among supporters, players and front office alike. But this year’s squad was constructed with particularly lofty goals in mind, and bankrolled by substantial investment from MacFarlane and his cohorts, who wrote big checks for South American signings Gonzalo Martinez, Gonzalo Peralta, Franco Niell and – especially – designated player Marcelo Gallardo, whose $1.87 million compensation package makes him the highest-paid player in club history.
 
United snared a second DP roster slot from Colorado in the offseason trade that sent playmaker Christian Gomez to the Rapids, and MacFarlane made clear that D.C. would not hesitate to use it on another high-profile player if a worthwhile opportunity arises, with or without the additional funds brought in by the Volkswagen sponsorship.
 
Yet he was also careful to point out that without a stadium of its own, the club will continue to operate in the red and he’s in no hurry to dump more cash into an underperforming squad. MacFarlane noted that poor results have made him take a more active interest in the technical side of the team.
 
“As the owners of the team, when staff isn’t executing as you think, then you get a little bit more involved and you want to understand strategies a little bit better,” he said. “You want to be a little bit more involved in decisions, because your money is out there. So right now the team needs to do something that justifies us spending additional money.”
 
MacFarlane briefly discussed United’s long-running saga for a new, soccer-specific stadium. There have been no new negotiations with the government of the District of Columbia – “We agreed upon the basic outline of a terms sheet months ago,” he said – forcing the club to wait on further movement from the city government.
 
But he did hint at a potential renewal of talks with representatives from Prince George’s County, Maryland, which sits on D.C.’s eastern border and is eager to lure the club out to one of several Metro-accessible suburban sites within its borders.
 
“I’m anticipating some additional negotiations with someone very soon,” said MacFarlane, before joking, “I mean, you know, before I die I’d like to have [a stadium], which is probably around 2030.”
 
The club is increasingly desperate to escape RFK’s costly lease terms and control its own revenue streams. MacFarlane seems ready to move forward with a project soon, even if it means a second-choice site outside the District.
 
“Our goal is still 2011, 2012 at the outside to have a stadium,” he said.