Council moves forward on Mckalla site
Decision sets the stage Aug. 9 for potential make-or-break on MLS.
The Austin City Council’s decision Friday to enter into negotiations with a Major League Soccer owner left soccer proponents optimistic the city was moving closer to landing its first top-level sports franchise — even though the council-approved process will take another month to play out.
Thursday night’s and Friday morning’s 18-hour marathon council meeting sets up an Aug. 9 council decision as perhaps the final make-or-break point on a proposal by Precourt Sport Ventures, owner of Columbus Crew SC of Major League Soccer, to build a stadium on city-owned land at McKalla Place near the Domain in North Austin.
Opponents of the soccer deal have proposed seeking alternative uses for the McKalla site.
“The only thing standing between Austin and this Major League Soccer team is the direct negotiations between (Anthony) Precourt and the city,” Mayor Steve Ad l er told t he American-Statesman. “There is room to reach an agreement.”
Precourt, in the audience, also
was pleased.
“It was an encouraging night all the way around,” he said. “Our goal is to be in a position to enter into an agreement with the city by the next council meeting.”
Now both sides will get down to the difficult business of forging a public-private partnership, and they’ll have six weeks to do it.
“It’ll be a sprint, not a marathon,” said MLS lobbyist Richard Suttle, who works for PSV. “We got a lot of good direction last night from the council on what they think is important. The challenge is sorting through competing interests and coming up with an agreement that works for both sides.”
A council resolution calling for a bidding process for the McKalla site and viewed as hostile to soccer supporters was reworked behind the scenes more to PSV’s liking. It passed 9-1, with Sabino “Pio” Renteria voting against it. Compromises were made, and a deadline was set that could still work for PSV, developers and other interested parties.
A second resolution, to analyze the PSV proposal and begin stadium negotiations, passed unanimously. That resolution also seeks to identify a separate tract of city-owned land for affordable housing.
The council set up a process for the city staff to receive plans for the McKalla site through Aug. 3, with a decision rendered by Aug. 9. Originally, Precourt, under pressure from the league, wanted an agreement by the end of June. The league’s timeline is stretched thin for a team that intends to move here by the end of the year.
Council Member Leslie Pool, whose district includes McKalla Place, was one of several council members who told Precourt that his original proposal to the city did not cut it.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that I was less than impressed by PSV’s first offer,” Pool said, “but I recognize that it’s just that, a first offer.”
Council Member Kathie Tovo, a soccer proponent, echoed her peers when she said, “The community benefits need to outweigh the public investment, and we’re not there yet.”
Council Member Jimmy Flannigan emphasized that “the decision we make in August is not predetermined.”
Adler, while stressing that the city needs to protect its interests, said both sides are on the right track.
“There’s actually a lot of common intent that the team wants to deliver significant benefits. They’ve demonstrated that,” he said. “Now it gets to the real details. No one detail sticks out to me. We know part of any deal is tied to affordable housing, part to opportunities for youth leagues. Some of it now is the actual cost stuff, who pays for this element or that element.”
Adler was asked about some of his colleagues’ insistence on PSV funding a $13 million Capital Metro rail stop near the stadium site, and he said, “There are lots of different ways that can play out.”
Adler and Tovo found common ground with other council members on the resolution seeking alternative proposals for McKalla Place, which Pool co-sponsored. Originally, it appeared the council was split 4-4 on that item with three members undeclared.
A staff memo distributed Thursday proved an important step toward passing Pool’s resolution.
While some, including Pool, wanted a traditional request for proposals for development of the 24-acre tract, the process suggested by the city staffers is much less complex.
Under the new process, any person or entity may submit a plan for development that addresses the goals stated in the resolution. Those plans will then be made public. The city will not award a contract based on the information received, keeping it from becoming what the memo referred to as a “solicitation event.”
Pool struck the word “solicit” from her resolution, replacing it with “announce that the city will receive” plans for development of the McKalla Place site.
“The item changed a lot,” Adler said. “I think there was a recognition by some that the votes weren’t there otherwise. So now the city manager will be negotiating with the soccer team. He’ll turn other proposals he receives over to the council for consideration.”
Several hundred soccer fans who filtered into and out of the chamber during the long day and night treated the votes as a victory, even if it was more a temporary stay. Dozens of speakers addressed the council.
Pflugerville City Council Member Rudy Metayer, whose rapidly growing city is close to McKalla Place, said a 20,000-seat MLS stadium would be attractive to many in his community.
“It could be an economic regional driver,” he said. “I think with the right deal it could be a great addition to the whole area.”
Early in the evening a group of youth soccer players tugged at the heartstrings of the council members as they gathered in front of the dais and many told the audience what an MLS team would mean to them.
“How do you say no to them?” asked Derek Lucas, an Austin soccer supporter in the crowd. “That kind of made it real.”