An Austin City Council discussion over a proposed Austin MLS stadium for Columbus Crew SC has been postponed, effectively providing more time for the site selection process.
This decision was not unexpected, as city officials previously indicated that they wanted to delay the February 15 discussion over the proposed stadium. While the organization has narrowed its options, Crew SC owner Precourt Sports Ventures has not determined its preferred site for a new MLS stadium in Austin.
Postponing the February 15 agenda item does allow more time for the site selection process to unfold, but PSV is hoping to hoping to move forward with the process soon. More from The Austin American-Statesman:
The city staff has withdrawn the soccer agenda item, and Mayor Steve Adler will announce that at the beginning of the meeting, said Jason Stanford, Adler’s communications director. “No chance of it coming up for discussion that we can see,” Stanford said.
Precourt Sports Ventures, owners of Columbus Crew SC, is not ready to have that discussion since it has yet to identify stadium site preferences to the city after its scuttled pursuit of Butler Shores Metropolitan Park.
“We do not expect any soccer talk Thursday,” said Richard Suttle, an Austin MLS lobbyist who works for PSV. “We are still finishing our analysis of the remaining sites. We will have to move this forward soon. There is a finite amount of time in order to get the team here by next January.”
Among the city-owned stadium site options listed in a December report to the city council included Butler Shores Metropolitan Park, Roy Guerrero Metropolitan Park, the Travis County Exposition Center, McKalla Place, and a former Home Depot at St. Johns Avenue and Interstate 35. PSV recently indicated that it was not interested in the Expo Center or former Home Depot site, and Butler Shores was later taken off the table because of increasing opposition from community members.
It was revealed in October that Crew SC owner Anthony Precourt was considering a move of the club to Austin. No final decisions on a move have been made to this point, and the club will spend the 2018 MLS season at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus.
Rendering courtesy Precourt Sports Ventures.
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