Thought I'd jump in for something here - usually just read, but a couple of comments.

1) There is almost no chance Austin gets a major league team in the big sports. The NFL and MLB have two teams within 200 miles, and the NBA has 3. These franchises aggressively defend their territory, and they will not take the competition lying down. Throw in that UT football takes the place of the NFL in Austin, and the Spurs are a little over an hour away...well, it's just not going to happen.

2) F1 may seem like a big deal in Austin, but nationally nobody cares. Internationally maybe, but not the US. F1 has been tried here before, and it failed miserably. It's a nice thing, but to expect it to be some major tourist draw for Austin is really pushing things.

So basically, nothing will work for Austin. Gotcha.

migol24...Please elaborate on this. Do you mean drawing a pro sports team to Austin or drawing tourists and international attention to Austin?

Austin/Travis County has had quite a history in rejecting public funding for pro/semipro stadiums/arenas. It seems that without the public funding a team will not locate nor stay in a city. Thankfully up in Williamson County those folk will pay. I am glad Travis County has rejected these handouts.

As far as drawing international attention to Austin, Formula 1 will do that for at least a few years. Long enough that foreign interests will have Austin on their radar. Not that this is a good nor a bad thing...but it will happen.

To make a point back, your wrong about F1 in the United States. There is a large and loyal F1 fan base in this country and they are very excited that F1 is finally returning to the U.S. Unlike major league teams which mostly cater to regional fan bases F1 will draw people from all over the nation. It will be televised nationally and around the world. If you have been following the Circuit of the Americas you would know that they had to add more seating to keep up with the demand. Hosting an F1 event is a very big deal, its not ur typical sporting event.

As far as major league teams ever coming to Austin what you stated is old news, we already knew that and your assessment is accurate on that point, though its not out of the question that major league soccer may one day make a home here.

This link from the Office of the Governor - Economic Development & Tourism may answer some of your questions.

Foreign Investment in Texas
The Industries and Countries Leading Current Growth
2011

Edited to add:

As far as foreign real estate investment goes, I also found this from The Austin Business Journal (re-posted on urbanspacerealtors.com)

Austin remains popular with foreign real estate investors
January 4, 2012

Not sure what exactly you want me to elaborate on. It was simply a response to JGFrisco that not only thinks a pro-sports team will ever work, but also F1 will not work. What do I need to elaborate on?

But as for your comments, the thing about a pro-sports team, I don't understand how people don't think that the economy and population will make Austin's market grow in maybe a decade that it could be quite plausible to bring a pro team. Everybody keeps talking about how the Longhorns are already in Austin or the Spurs are already in San Antonio. I dunno, maybe I'm missing something cause when the population in Austin starts getting to nearly 2.5 million and the economy continues to grow, assuming everything works in its favor, I don't see how the trends will continue to stay the same that a pro-sports team will not be possible for Austin. People talk about it as if its a 0% chance Austin could get a pro-sports team.

And to think that there are other smaller cities, or similar sized cities, that have a pro-sports team even being so close to other big markets. Sacramento comes to mind. It's only about an hour and a half away from the Bay, a measly 30 mile difference from Austin to SA, and it has a basketball team when the Bay has already 2 football teams, 1 hockey team, 1 basketball team and 2 baseball teams. And Sacramento, mind you, is roughly the size of Austin or San Antonio in metro population.

Why can't 2 pro-sports teams work out in a region of nearly 4.5 million if you combined the entire Central Texas region from Austin to San Antonio?

I don't know.. but something is beyond me when people say Austin has no chance of ever getting a sports team. They factor in the Cowboys. I mean... really? A 3.5 hour drive from Austin and the Cowboys make that much of an influence on Austin's market not ever having a chance to even get a major league baseball team in maybe a decade from now when one of the top 3 fastest growing cities and markets will have already grown substantially by that time? How does that work? I would understand if it were another football team, but a baseball team?

What were people saying when San Antonio was trying to bring the Saints to their home? Just wondering...

Now about F1 Tracks... maybe it will work... maybe it won't but from what I gather is that people make assumptions from one extreme to another. They say that it will flat out be a disaster, while others say its gonna put Austin on the map for good and whatnot. I dunno. I'm not an expert on it like others try to be. We'll see how it works out.

I believe Austin will have much sucess with F1. Remember back in 1986 when SXSW first started people had no idea that 26 yrs later it would bring thousands of international musicians and put Austin on the map. I'm keep telling people, friends, family that Austin is about to experience something that other cities wish they had. Austin is a very lucky city, and I'm glad to be apart of it.

I'm guessing he didn't get the sarcasm of your response and took it for face value.

Old Concordia Campus
 

Hey all, out of commision for a while. Any updated pix and news regarding the old Concordia Campus on 38th/ 38 1/2 streets? i know the TX Monthly building went up i think last year, but any other development since that? i was going to visit Austin this summer but got a chance to go to Europe instead, (poor me) and can't make it until around Xmas. Any updates pix or narrative would be appreciative. i cannot seem to find anything current on line and my college chums have moved to Round Rock and Georgetown, so they are little help. Thanks in advance.

There is some earth moving and construction going on there now, but the previous two projects announced for that site went under because they couldn't get financing during the recession. I don't know what the latest plans are though.

Major League Soccer is the best fit for Austin and it could certainly be placed somewhere between here and S.A. I think that could be totally feasable within the next 10 years. As far as the other pro sports go I think the only one with a remote chance would be MLB (yawn), again probably between the 2 cities. But to be honest I am more than happy F1 is here, it is unique, just like ATX and MLS would also be something a little different, as far as the other ones go I could care less. Regardless of if F1 does well in the future, I am sure it will bring tons of money to the area this year and even more tourist money in the future as it is held in the world stage.

I think San Antonio would be next in line after L.A. for an NFL team. One reason is because that city wants it. Austin doesn't seem to care. But the main problem is that the Cowboys and Texans have the political clout in the NFL to prevent a third team in Texas. There are millions of Cowboy fans outside of DFW, and they don't want to lose them.

That's the general consensus and perhaps the major reason why Austin will never get a sports team. Probably not in my lifetime and I'm only 28.

Some crazy person yelling at birds???

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3rd & Brazos tower gaining height
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Back side of the tower
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"Tree" 336 VMU project update

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http://www.bigreddog.com/constructio...-austin-texas/

Actually the most likely area any new stadiums would be build near the Circuit of the Americas.

ha! that's mild in comparison to things I see here in the tenderloin neighborhood.

People like that is one good reason to keep Austin weird. :tup: I've heard people in SF can get down right weird at times as wel. Several months ago I saw this guy half naked, singing more like screaming something about crack.

I personally feel that Austin is tame in its eccentricity in comparison to San Francisco. It's too in your face here, while Austin's is friendly. Every now and then you'll find something similar in Austin to what you see here.

I was walking in the tenderloin once at around 2pm.. and a guy totally out of it was peeing in the middle of the street. I mean, this dude totally had no shame. He was aiming at the street, mind you, not the wall or a corner! haha crazy

I like Austin's weird better, if you ask me. :)

F1 has a long history of failure in the United States. LA couldn't make it work...Phoenix couldn't...Indy couldn't. If Austin can, great, but call me skeptical.

WRT pro sports teams, I'm talking about the big 3 in general, MLB, NBA, and the NFL. The NFL simply won't happen, because of the Cowboys and Texans not allowing it and because of competition with the Horns.

WRT the NBA, there's already a team within 75 miles. The Spurs will never allow Austin to get a team. They are inside the blackout zone. The only way Austin gets a team is if they build a free stadium for the Spurs and give them a billion dollars, and get the Spurs to move up I-35. If you are using the Kings as an example, you might want to realize that they are losing money in Sacramento, and are threatening to bail out.

And baseball isn't going to happen either. Austin is far too small for today's MLB.

This is just reality. There are three larger markets within 3 hours of Austin. Austin's a great place, a special place, but there are enormous hurdles for major sports teams. I wouldn't be surprised if Austin tried to get an MLS team, or even maybe tried to lure an NHL team, but it's going to take big public bucks, something Austin generally hasn't been interested in doing.