Once viewed as an option with great potential, Butler Shores Metropolitan Park is no longer under consideration as a site for an Austin MLS stadium.
For the last several months, Columbus Crew SC has been exploring a possible move to Austin. A December report from the city listed five options that could be used as the site for a privately financed stadium, including Butler Shores Metropolitan park. That site had earned high marks among officials from Crew SC owner Precourt Sports Ventures, as it was believed to offer some distinct advantages, including a good setting and close proximity to downtown Austin.
Now, the park is no longer under consideration. Residents and some local elected leaders had expressed concerns about the use of the site, and PSV is now confirming that it will no longer consider Butler Shores Metropolitan Park. More from the Austin American-Statesman:
From the start of its discussions with city officials, PSV had cast its eyes longingly at Butler Shores, a waterfront tract on Lady Bird Lake that offers dynamic views of the Austin skyline. In recent weeks, though, opposition mounted to the idea of using city parkland for a stadium to be set in an already highly congested area.
“Some in the community and the neighbors near Butler Shores have valid concerns about a possible stadium location at that site,” PSV President Dave Greeley said Friday in a statement. “Based on this feedback, we are no longer exploring this location and are continuing our due diligence on other possible locations in the urban core.
“As we have stated from the onset of this process, finding the right site for a soccer park is of the utmost importance as we contemplate bringing MLS to Austin.”
With Butler Shores Metropolitan Park taken off the table, Austin City Council member Ann Kitchen is expected to withdraw a resolution that called for the removal of parkland for consideration for the stadium site. Crew SC owner Anthony Precourt announced in October that the club would be exploring a move, but nothing has been finalized to this point.
Rendering courtesy Precourt Sports Ventures.
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