The Fairfax County Park Authority's plans for a public/private partnership with D.C. United to develop soccer fields in Quinn Farm Park have fallen through. But that doesn't diminish the need for the fields.
"D.C. United was, perhaps, a way of bringing these facilities together sooner, but it wasn't driving [the project]," said Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully). "The demand is still there, and it's not going to go away. We need to provide [soccer] facilities somehow."
Fully realizing that neighbors nearest the Centreville park are concerned about traffic, lights, buffers, the road realignment and how this huge undertaking will be financed, he said, "We need to work with the community on [these issues]."
As for the would-be joint venture, Frey said D.C. United was going to pull together various soccer groups in the area, and the soccer clubs were going to help pay for the field construction. But when it actually tried to do so, he said, some soccer clubs in other geographic areas of the county balked.
They asked, "'Why should we [contribute toward the fields], because we're not going to get that much use out of them?'" said Frey. "But they're all still talking." He said the clubs understand that there's no one location that will please everyone, but they're still looking for something elsewhere.
"After months of discussion, it was clear that no agreement could be reached [between the Park Authority and] D.C. United that would have provided a significant public benefit to our community and the county," said Frey. "It is my hope and expectation that D.C. United will continue to look for other sites within Fairfax County on which to locate [its] training facility." One thing for sure, though, he added: A public/private partnership with D.C. United is "not going to happen on Quinn Farm."