Austin council to act on Precourt’s preferred site

Austin City Council took the baton from Crew SC investoroperator Anthony Precourt and took the first step toward discussing McKalla Place in north Austin, Texas, as a stadium site.

In an Austin City Council message board post late Thursday, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said she is sponsoring a resolution instructing the city manager to do analysis and stakeholder outreach on McKalla Place, a 24-acre, nonparkland site not far from The Domain retail and office center.

She listed Mayor Steve Adler and councilmembers Leslie Pool, Sabino “Pio” Renteria and Ann Kitchen as co-sponsors.

“I believe this research and engagement will yield a deeper understanding of any challenges, revenuesharing opportunities and community benefits that could be associated with a Major League Soccer team coming to Austin,” Tovo’s post read.

Precourt has been considering stadium sites in Austin since October as he weighs leaving Columbus and Mapfre Stadium after the 2018 season. Earlier Thursday, he had released a statement endorsing McKalla Place as a possible site after having encountered resistance to two sites on city-owned parkland.

But it might be a while before the resolution is discussed in front of Austin City Council.

Tovo said in her message-board comments that she would post the resolution for city council’s March 22 meeting “to ensure robust community feedback,” but added she plans to postpone the resolution to a later meeting.

Pool, whose District 7 includes McKalla Place, will not be present March 22, and Adler and councilmembers Delia Garza and Ellen Troxclair will be absent for a meeting April 12. Once approved, the analysis should take three months, based on comments earlier from acting Parks and Recreation Department director Kimberly McNeeley.

Moving the team still faces a legal challenge in Ohio. This week, state Attorney General Mike DeWine and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein filed a lawsuit against Precourt Sports Ventures and Major League Soccer arguing the ownership group is in violation of the socalled Art Modell Law.

The law, enacted in 1996 after Modell moved the NFL’s Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, says no professional sports team using public facilities or receiving assistance via taxpayer dollars may move without giving six months’ notice and providing locals an opportunity to purchase the team unless it receives permission first.

Precourt Sports and MLS have yet to file a response, nor have they announced legal representation.