Sports in Austin

[odelayjb]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Effective strategies:
1 Hammer Pool in social media to make other council members fear similar repercussions.
2 Email all council members to express displeasure with her priorities and tactics.

I half expect Pool's antics to make her likeminded council members worried about being associated with her, now that her rendezvous in Columbus is public knowledge. But I really have no idea. Wishful thinking perhaps.

[loonytoony]

Originally Posted by N90

I hope by 6 PM tomorrow that I'm baptized in as an Austin Athletics FC supporter.

[lzppjb]

I emailed the entire council.

Visiting Columbus - Disgraceful

What a kick to the groin. An AUSTIN city councilwoman going out of her way to support another city? How is this ok? Especially when the majority of Austinites are supporting MLS. Terrible optics, at best. But I'd call it much worse.

Who is lining her pockets? What other conclusion can citizens of Austin, whom she claims to represent, draw?

Not agreeing with the MLS plan, or fighting to get the best deal possible, is one thing. But outright scuttling the deal like this is embarrassing for Austin.

I'm not even a soccer fan, yet I know a good deal when I see one. MLS will bring more exposure to the demographic you're attracting to Austin. How can you not only be against that, but go to such lengths to sabotage it?

Vote Yes.

[Jdawgboy]

Yes it is disgraceful what Pool is doing. I may not agree with the location, (I've softened my position recently) but it's outright ridiculous that Pool would pull a stunt like this. Again this is why I can't stand the 10-1 system.

[Spaceman]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Yes it is disgraceful what Pool is doing. I may not agree with the location, (I've softened my position recently) but it's outright ridiculous that Pool would pull a stunt like this. Again this is why I can't stand the 10-1 system.

She will win re-election in a landslide..This city makes no sense!!

[the Genral]

Just saw Pool on KXAN admitting many of her constituents are in favor of MLS to Austin, but she does not want to take a team from another city. Her heart seems to be bleeding for all the fans in Columbus who stand to lose 20 years of fandom with the crew and apparently their lives will be broken, my words. Mark Walburg just opened a car dealership in Columbus and was asked about purchasing the Crew to prevent them from moving, he said he knows people who he might talk to about that and its possible. ESPN said there is no substance to Walburg's comments. Of course he's going to kiss some Columbus ass to get them to buy some cars from his new dealership. But I don't think Pool is being driven by money. No one is lining her pockets. I believe she is convinced that allowing the crew to come here is bad karma. So she is taking it onto herself to stand in the way. Her personal convictions seem to be in direct conflict with her public duties. Sort of like the County Clerk who refused to sign the wedding certificate of the gay couple wanting to get married because it went against her belief. Pool said she doesn't want to take the Crew away from Columbus, period. She has a bleeding heart for Crew Fans. Everything else she says and does draws away from that one simple fact. Its all slight of mouth and she should be required to step away from the vote tomorrow. She has always made it difficult for this to happen with a plethora of concerns that just draw the attention away from the truth...she personally does not want this to happen. I wish the truth about her came out sooner instead of last minute. I hope the rest of the members are smart enough to see this now. I hope this is the last we see or hear from Pool.

[drummer]

One question that I have is whether the City of Austin paid for her travel, lodging, and food expenses on this trip (as well as, I presume, a Columbus Crew jersey and other merchandise). If she paid for it out of her own pocket, I can deal, though she still apparently went as an official representative of the City of Austin. That is not within the realm of her duties nor is it effective "research" to make an informed decision, certainly not in the eleventh hour, such as it is. That lady needs to go. Clearly her motives are not for her constituents nor for the City of Austin as a whole.

Sad quote from the Statesman article (linked above), considering that she is a City Council Member...

"I’m just one vote,” she said. “I don’t know why they’re all so concerned about me.”

Clearly she doesn't realize that her one vote is actually as a representative of more than 80,000 people in District 7...(source).

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Just saw Pool on KXAN admitting many of her constituents are in favor of MLS to Austin, but she does not want to take a team from another city. Her heart seems to be bleeding for all the fans in Columbus who stand to lose 20 years of fandom with the crew and apparently their lives will be broken, my words. Mark Walburg just opened a car dealership in Columbus and was asked about purchasing the Crew to prevent them from moving, he said he knows people who he might talk to about that and its possible. ESPN said there is no substance to Walburg's comments. Of course he's going to kiss some Columbus ass to get them to buy some cars from his new dealership. But I don't think Pool is being driven by money. No one is lining her pockets. I believe she is convinced that allowing the crew to come here is bad karma. So she is taking it onto herself to stand in the way. Her personal convictions seem to be in direct conflict with her public duties. Sort of like the County Clerk who refused to sign the wedding certificate of the gay couple wanting to get married because it went against her belief. Pool said she doesn't want to take the Crew away from Columbus, period. She has a bleeding heart for Crew Fans. Everything else she says and does draws away from that one simple fact. Its all slight of mouth and she should be required to step away from the vote tomorrow. She has always made it difficult for this to happen with a plethora of concerns that just draw the attention away from the truth...she personally does not want this to happen. I wish the truth about her came out sooner instead of last minute. I hope the rest of the members are smart enough to see this now. I hope this is the last we see or hear from Pool.

So, essentially, she was against bringing the team here all along...because of her own personal guilt. Being against Butler Shores was not about the location, it was just the first of many excuses to try to get the deal scuttled. Being a pain in the ass about every other item since then has not about what she actually claimed. Apparently, she has been completely dishonest about her reasons and motivations from the very beginning.

Thanks for making the whole process way more difficult than it should have been and helping screw us out of the location many (most?) of us preferred.

[Austin1971]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Just saw Pool on KXAN admitting many of her constituents are in favor of MLS to Austin, but she does not want to take a team from another city. Her heart seems to be bleeding for all the fans in Columbus who stand to lose 20 years of fandom with the crew and apparently their lives will be broken, my words. Mark Walburg just opened a car dealership in Columbus and was asked about purchasing the Crew to prevent them from moving, he said he knows people who he might talk to about that and its possible. ESPN said there is no substance to Walburg's comments. Of course he's going to kiss some Columbus ass to get them to buy some cars from his new dealership. But I don't think Pool is being driven by money. No one is lining her pockets. I believe she is convinced that allowing the crew to come here is bad karma. So she is taking it onto herself to stand in the way. Her personal convictions seem to be in direct conflict with her public duties. Sort of like the County Clerk who refused to sign the wedding certificate of the gay couple wanting to get married because it went against her belief. Pool said she doesn't want to take the Crew away from Columbus, period. She has a bleeding heart for Crew Fans. Everything else she says and does draws away from that one simple fact. Its all slight of mouth and she should be required to step away from the vote tomorrow. She has always made it difficult for this to happen with a plethora of concerns that just draw the attention away from the truth...she personally does not want this to happen. I wish the truth about her came out sooner instead of last minute. I hope the rest of the members are smart enough to see this now. I hope this is the last we see or hear from Pool.

The Crew are gone from Columbus regardless of how the ACC votes. If they nix the deal the Crew are headed to Sacramento.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by drummer

One question that I have is whether the City of Austin paid for her travel, lodging, and food expenses on this trip (as well as, I presume, a Columbus Crew jersey and other merchandise).

Actually, it might be worse if someone other than the city or her herself paid for the trip. There are rules about accepting gifts of travel, money or merchandise for city council members and city employees.

Especially so if it is related to an issue that is up for your vote -- do you think if Precourt paid for trips for the other council members in exchange for their vote, that would fly? No way. They'd have to recuse themselves.

[drummer]

^^ Good point.

Here is another article worth reading:

https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/aus...columbus-crew/


From the article:

“Looking at this vote, and the actions of some of my colleagues, it’s a real headscratcher,” [Adler] added. “What city do you actually represent, and whose constituents are your constituents?”

[drummer]

Here's KXAN's coverage:

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/aust...ote/1368414662

[lzppjb]

Pool's response:

http://austincouncilforum.org/viewto...5a75f8b00a2a54

Colleagues,

I have been outspoken on the many parts of the Precourt proposal about which I have major concerns, such as providing tax-free property and below-market rent. I still have these concerns and plan to discuss them tomorrow. However, I wanted to take a moment to talk about another aspect of this conversation that I believe is also very important but has not gotten as much attention.

These last two years have illustrated the importance of local government in serving our residents, including by providing for the members of our community who are targeted by state and federal government, as well as by making real progress on pressing needs such as affordability and mobility. These two years have also illustrated some of the challenges that we face as local officials – chief among them from private companies and other levels of government that seek to divide cities in order to impose their interests. It has been – and still is – clear to me that in order to remain strong, we, as cities, need to stand together.

I felt that San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff summarized many of my own thoughts on this topic when they wrote to Amazon CEO in response to Amazon’s bidding process for their second headquarters. In that letter, they declined to submit a formal proposal and noted that they felt the process would create a “bidding war amongst states and cities.” Soon after that, Professor Richard Florida initiated a ‘non-aggression pact’ – which has been signed by elected officials and community leaders here and across the country – that urges cities to avoid competing over providing large incentive packages to Amazon.

That was the lens through which I viewed the Amazon process and also one of the lenses through which I’ve been viewing the Precourt proposal. Still, my viewpoint on this was largely limited to the conversations we have had here about the potential costs or benefits under this specific proposal – and I felt it was important to elevate that analysis in my mind to the larger question of what happens when we allow others to pit city against city.

With that in mind, I decided two days ago to buy my own ticket and travel to Columbus to get a better sense of the different dynamics at play in this conversation. That experience has given me a better appreciation both for the intangible benefits of civic pride and community that teams can bring – and also for the divisive way in which Precourt has pursued this process, with secrecy and arbitrary deadlines meant to pressure Council into a decision soon after we received the first real details. The details we have - months into this process - still fall short in protecting the city against open-ended commitments and providing benefits to our residents equal to the amounts we will forgo. The deal is tilted to benefit Precourt through special treatment - property tax exemption, below market-rate lease, among other concerns. We have a ways to go to get a balanced deal.

As a Council Member, I believe that we do our best work when we are discussing policy decisions on our terms rather than when we are forced to do so on someone else’s terms – and I do not wish to set the precedent that a private, for-profit entity can play us off of another city in order to come here, impose a hurried deadline, and push for special treatment that locals do not get.

Leslie

[the Genral]

And yet she has repeatedly said she does not want to take a team away from another city. So what's the real reason LP. And we are not in a bidding war with Columbus so your comparisons to Amazon are ridiculous. Please proceed to the nearest Concentra and submit to a drug test. I think we are at least entitled to rule that out and contend to the fact that you are just ignorant and incompetent to do your job. You over think, over analyze and talk a good bit of BS. You almost make sense, except the part about listening to your constituents, you cherry pick the ones you listen to, only the ones that agree with you of whom you probably lobbied, which is not to be a home wrecker by tearing the crew from Columbus. A town that was named after a guy who was once thought to have discovered America which he didn't, a college football team whose mascot is an inedible nut which is supposed to resemble a male deer's eyeball WHAT?? which it doesn't, and which is as irrelevant to this discussion as is your explanation for voting against the proposal. Sorry but you lost me at you don't want to take a team from another city and we should scrap this all together and start pursuing a professional sport team. WTF do you think we are doing?? You are only saying this because you know there's little chance of that happening if we lose this. And where would we put them?? hmmmmm? Sorry guys, she has gotten under my skin. I hope we at least have a final answer in about 8 hours. But it just occurred to me. If the ACC approves this, what makes us think Precourt will, especially if they have to comply with all the amendments including Pool's poison the waters ones? If this happens and we get the Crew, she should be banned from the stadium for life. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom and take a Leslie Pool...I had a large dinner....

[lzppjb]

Exactly. Austin did not reach out to Precourt to woo him and the Crew to our city. He decided to ditch Columbus. The team is leaving. They're giving Austin the first chance to provide a landing spot. We aren't tearing a team away from their city. That's already been done. If Pool succeeds in her bleeding heart campaign and Austin doesn't get the Crew, they aren't going back to Columbus. They're going to Sacramento or some other town that will have them.

[ATXboom]

“Own ticket”. ...follow the money. Where are the investigative journalists?!

[drummer]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

Exactly. Austin did not reach out to Precourt to woo him and the Crew to our city. He decided to ditch Columbus. The team is leaving. They're giving Austin the first chance to provide a landing spot. We aren't tearing a team away from their city. That's already been done. If Pool succeeds in her bleeding heart campaign and Austin doesn't get the Crew, they aren't going back to Columbus. They're going to Sacramento or some other town that will have them.

My thoughts exeactly. There is no bidding war. There is a wealthy team owner with his company who wants to move the team here and they, like literally everyone, are trying to get the best deal - but more than anything, they seem to want a green light. They have already given into of a lot of the city’s (and even individual citizens’) requests regarding location and affordable housing. Heck, they’re financing the stadium, giving it (and a lot of other stuff) to the city...so a break in rent even makes sense in that scanrio! Ok...it’s the end of the day here. I hope my morning and y’all’s evening brings good news for soccer in Austin.

[freerover]

Waiting for the bus. Hope to be at city hall. G 10.

[ClendonRoss]

I'm at Council chambers right now and the meeting is about to start. Not a huge crowd (100 at the most) but the crowd is at least 10-1 pro.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by drummer

^^ Good point.

Here is another article worth reading:

https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/aus...columbus-crew/


From the article:

I think that quote was from Flannigan, not Adler.

Which is actually even better.