Council faces crucial MLS votes this week
Three council members are expected to be key to decisions Thursday.
For eight months, a Major League Soccer owner and the city of Austin have kicked the ball around on a potential move from one state capital to another.
After more twists and turns than a dicey World Cup match, Austin’s long soccer saga could reach the knockout stage Thursday with two City Council votes. One stadium resolution, if passed, would be a major step toward the Columbus Crew SC landing here next year. The other resolution, if passed, potentially scuttles the move.
Each resolution has four sponsors, giving the appearance of a tie score late in the game. If those council members stand firm, that leaves Ann Kitchen, Jimmy Flannigan and Greg Casar to make or break a deal.
Precourt Sports Ventures aims to privately finance a $200 million stadium on city-owned land at McKalla Place in North Austin in exchange for use of the property.
Team owner Anthony Precourt is striking a publicly optimistic tone.
“As we enter into this important week with regard to bringing Major League Soccer to Austin, I am incredibly encouraged by the positive momentum and support we’ve received from this community,” Precourt said in a statement to the American-Statesman on Friday. “I am also grateful for the work and leadership of the City Council and the city staff. The June 28 meeting represents a critical next step, and we are hopeful that Austin’s leaders will move forward.
“There is so much more excitement to come — we can’t wait.”
The council will take a six-week break after Thursday’s meeting, shortening the timeline to make a deal to secure Austin’s first major league sports franchise. Crew officials, if the team came, would seek a temporary Austin home for 2019-20 while the stadium is being built.
This shootout aligns area soccer fans, Precourt Sports Ventures, the Downtown Austin Alliance businesses and chambers of commerce on one side vs. developers, citizens wary of public deals with private entities, some community activists and at least one neighborhood association.
Each side has enlisted an Austin public relations firm to launch a campaign, commissioned its own polling, taken surveys, cited land appraisals and rounded up economic studies that show widely varying data.
A PSV official told the Statesman early this month that his group already had spent at least $2 million on the potential move here.
The battle is over a desolate 24-acre site near the Domain shopping center that’s sat largely idle for the past 20 years after a long history of toxic waste dumps by a chemical company.
It also carries local political implications. Mayor Steve Adler, a major proponent of the MLS2ATX movement, is being challenged by former Council Member Laura Morrison, who is raising money
‘As we enter into this important week with regard to bringing Major League Soccer to Austin, I am incredibly encouraged by the positive momentum and support we’ve received from this community.’ Anthony Precourt Team owner
in part by fighting any deal with Precourt.
“I won’t allow for-profit companies to use our parks, our land or our other resources free of charge — and I’ll put an end to this city’s backroom deals,” she said.
Adler told the Statesman, “I think the best use of (McKalla Place) is to help facilitate Major League Soccer.”
A resolution backed by Adler and Council Members Kathie Tovo, Delia Garza and Sabino “Pio” Renteria would direct City Manager Spencer Cronk to analyze a proposal Precourt made June 1 and begin negotiations for an MLS stadium at McKalla Place.
Council Members Leslie Pool, Alison Alter, Ora Houston and Ellen Troxclair are sponsoring a resolution directing Cronk to solicit plans for the development of McKalla Place.
“I’d rather they find a private piece of property,” said Pool, who has concerns about traffic, parking and access to McKalla, which is in her council district. “PSV wants to wrangle a one-sided deal out of the city, set up on public land and avoid paying taxes.
“We already have two interesting proposals from developers. A (request for proposal) levels the playing field, and may the best man win.”
PSV insists it doesn’t have time for an RFP process, which usually takes months, because it is trying to move the team by the end of this year. Precourt and MLS also face pending litigation in the Ohio capital city.
Lobbyist Richard Suttle, representing PSV, told the Statesman passage of the bidding resolution threatens any soccer deal.
“The sheer enormity of the logistics that have to be solved to move a pro sports team points clearly to the fact a decision needs to be made by the council soon if this is going to be a reality,” Suttle said.
Pool said the RFP could be conducted quickly once all parties agree on a date.
Affordable housing also has become part of the debate. Two developers have incorporated an affordable-housing element in their plans for McKalla. Precourt’s proposal promises to set aside $4.8 million for affordable housing around the city in a 20-year span.
Tovo, who views the PSV proposal as a starting point in negotiations, is an affordable-housing advocate but is seeking compromise.
“While there are other sites possible for affordable housing, there may not be other sites available for a soccer stadium,” she said.
Last November, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution for the staff to identify potential city-owned sites for an MLS stadium. That list produced five sites — three on city parkland. Precourt quickly cast his eyes toward lakefront sites close to downtown — Butler Shores Metropolitan Park and then Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park. Precourt backed away from both after pressure from community activists and neighborhood groups.
MLS officials ruled out the Travis County Exposition Center, also on parkland, and a vacant Northeast Austin site near the intersection of Interstate 35 and St. Johns Avenue was ticked off the list by PSV.
That left one option: McKalla Place. The City Council voted 9-0 on March 22 to explore that site for a stadium.
“People talk about the ups and downs along the way, but every vote, every action taken by the City Council has been positive for us,” Suttle said. “We remain optimistic.”