D.C. United hope to receive final approval for their stadium plan Thursday, and the team could begin play in the Buzzard Point venue as early as mid-2018 if all goes smoothly.

The D.C. Zoning Commission, which has final approval over the project, is meeting later this week to consider the project in southwest Washington D.C.

Steven Goff's report in Monday's edition of the Washington Post outlined that and other significant dates in the decade-long drive to get the stadium built, including:

October: The city turns over a 14-acre parcel; cleaning and preparation work begins.

December: The Zoning Commission grants preliminary approval but notes neighborhood and transportation issues still needing to be addressed.

Friday: If permission is granted on Thursday, United can begin to apply for building permits.

“We’ve got a lot of jumbo jets lining up on the runway,” president of business operations Tom Hunt said in the Washington Post article, “and we’re optimistic the meeting will be the fuel for takeoff.”