DC United Sold!

At long last DC United has new ownership.

Almost one year ago the sale of the team to Global Development Partners fell apart, however, come Monday, the league will announce that new owners have been found.

These owners include Discovery Communications founder John Hendricks and real estate developer Victor MacFarlane along with DC United President Kevin Payne and former Duke basketball player Brian Davis. The deal is reported to be worth $33 million.

AEG, who have been running the club for the last five years, will reduce their MLS teams to three (LA, Chicago and Houston). It will also mean that this season will see 10 owners for the 13 clubs and the Eastern Conference will not have any teams owned by the same group.

This is outstanding news for the league. More owners mean more people interested in making the league a success. This is another good sign that MLS is growing.

Another interesting point, the failed 2005 deal was declared a historical event by the league because of the amount Global offered for the club. Just so you know, that deal was worth $25 million. It is a good sign that 18-months later, DC is now worth $33 million.

Welcome to the league.