Virginia has few professional sports teams, and soccer side Loudoun United is one of them.
For the third time in the team’s young history, it is changing controlling ownership, merging with Virginia Revolution Soccer Club, a youth soccer organization.
Niko Eckart, United’s newly appointed team president, spoke to WTOP on the Revolution’s decision to merge with Loudoun, issues with Segra Field and its future going forward.
Pathway to going pro
Virginia Revolution Soccer Club, based in Leesburg, is focused on developing youth players and having them travel up the ranks from recreational play to travel/academy competition. Its principal owner is Jim Miller, who will now run Loudoun going forward, becoming the third ownership change in the team’s six-year history.
The idea of owning a professional team is over a year in the making, Eckart said, as Virginia Revolution officials wanted to create a pathway for youth players to go pro through its organization, a setup seen mostly through European club academies.
In 2023, Attain Sports, which owns the Chesapeake Baysox and Frederick Keys minor league baseball teams, obtained controlling interest of Loudoun from MLS side D.C. United. However, it began contacting Revolution for a potential merger in 2024. Both D.C. United and Attain will retain some ownership stake in Loudoun.
“We saw that there is a diamond in the rough,” Eckart said. “There’s a lot of work to do. Some immediate fixes. We can help immediately.”
Revolution became more hands on with Loudoun in 2025, helping the team financially with player signings before the start of the United Soccer League season. One of those signings was former D.C. United midfielder Pedro Santos, who is also listed as a coach for Revolution.
It also boasts a 37-acre, state-of-the-art sports complex at RavenTek Park, located less than 10 minutes from Segra Field, Loudoun United’s home stadium in Leesburg. The facility features four turf fields, full-service concessions, a rooftop bar and pavilion area.
‘A stadium worthy of Loudoun County’
Before the merger announcement, players spoke anonymously to The Athletic about issues with the turf field and amenities at United’s home stadium Segra Field. According to the report, players said parts of its turf field are coming up from the ground, while their makeshift locker rooms made from shipping containers had only one working shower.
It is not the first time the stadium has caught flack for lacking amenities. Despite receiving additional funding from county officials in 2019 to finish the stadium, Segra Field was deemed “noncompliant” by the National Women’s Soccer League in 2021, forcing the Washington Spirit to move one of its home matches to Houston.
While Eckart disagreed on the players’ field assessment, he agreed that upgrading the stadium is a priority. Eckart said Segra lacks several amenities seen by smaller professional stadiums around the country, including permanent restrooms, adequate locker rooms, concession stands and a fan shop.
“We need to enhance and get rid of the gravel,” Eckart said. “It still looks like a construction site.”
Upgrading the stadium may take two years, Eckart said, but it is important to make the 5,000-seat stadium “worthy of Loudoun County.” Once completed, he said he hopes Segra Field becomes a 2.0 version of its RavenTek Park facility, while bringing the Loudoun County soccer community together.
“We have to push the county for new investments. We have to push ownership to reinvest,” Eckart said. “Because right now, the standard is not USL worthy. It’s not a professional sports team worthy. It’s not right.”
Players, staff and going forward
Six games into the USL season, Loudoun United (5-0-1, 15 points) sits in first place. Along with Santos, the team features names who spent time playing in D.C., including Moses Nyeman and Drew Skundrich, along with younger, second division talent.
Players and staff formally met Eckart, Miller and other members of the Revolution staff Thursday after the merger was made official. Some players questioned Eckart in the past about possible front office and ownership changes, leading to awkward exchanges. He claimed legal reasons why it could not be addressed sooner, calling the merger “the worst secret in entertainment.”
In order to prevent any disruption in structure and player flow, Revolution officials will not rush Loudoun players to move from Segra to train at RavenTek but hope to have a fully customized locker room and setup ready for their use by July.
“We’re not somebody right away who’s coming in and stepping on somebody’s toes,” he said. “We ask players and understand what’s important because it’s so hard right now to come in with that change. We don’t want to rattle the cage.”
Members of the Revolution staff will help out with Loudoun while a hiring process is conducted on the soccer and front office sides. One of the key positions that would need to be filled is equipment manager. The Athletic reported players taking home their uniforms as laundry for their next match. Eckart declined to confirm whether the incident took place.
One hire already made is the general manager: former D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum, who retired last year and is currently working as the general manager of DC Power, the USL Super League women’s side owned by D.C. United. He will join current coach Ryan Martin, who Eckart said has ownership’s full support going forward.
While Loudoun United will remain with its current logo and name, Eckart said rebranding has been considered but it cannot happen overnight. While it is understood that the Revolution and United are one entity, they will continue existing with separate names. Fans would need to be involved in any renaming process and the USL would need to approve any name change.
“It’s important to have an identity where people feel related to it, and that’s the only way I think we’re going to grow,” Eckart said.
Loudoun has yet to reach the playoffs in its entire existence. However, Ekcard believes this year’s team can make its first postseason run in club history.
“They’re probably the best playing team in the USL right now,” He said. “The good thing is, they’re also winning on top of it.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
