In a letter sent to the Austin City Council pushing for a McKalla Place location, Precourt Sports Ventures says a new Austin MLS stadium will generate some $326 million in community benefits over the next 25 years.
Anthony Precourt wants to move the Columbus Crew to a new Austin MLS stadium, and he’s narrowed the search for a stadium site to a 24-acre city-owned lot at McKalla Place, near The Domain. The city would supply the land, and Precourt would privately finance construction of the stadium.
Talk of benefits tends to be speculative and a little vague, and that appears to be the case here. However, as pointed out by Precourt’s lobbying team, the discussion of community benefits is just the beginning of a dialogue, not the end. From the Austin American-Statesman:
Council Member Kathie Tovo, who authored a resolution for the city staff to fully vet McKalla Place, said the letter is a good first step.
“I’m enthusiastic about continuing to explore a McKalla site that offers a lot of promise,” she told the Statesman. “I appreciate the effort Precourt made to make sure community benefits are part of the conversation from the outset.
“I like the approach, the integration of how it could benefit AISD and build partnerships with nonprofits. Now I’ll want to see how those benefits compare to what owners in other major league cities do for their communities when they build on city-owned land.”
The Precourt letter states that “if one backs out the $234 million in wages and internships, the total contribution from Precourt Sports Ventures (direct cash contributions, community investments and some in-kind services) would exceed $90 million over the first 25 years.”
Again, this is merely the starting point for discussions. We’ll see what kind of specific numbers emerge down the line.
Image courtesy MAPFRE Stadium.
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