[Jdawgboy]

Now a stadium/Arena is a great topic. Things seem to be falling into place as far as a serious city wide discussion on the matter.

We have just a few years left with the Erwin Center before its torn down. Last I heard was the new basketball arena would be smaller and more intimate. That will leave a huge void for other events that currently use the Erwin Center such as concerts, the Circus, ect...

Talk of an MLS team continues to float around with possible financial backers. Even Sharyle Cole has decided to spearhead an effort to look into the possibility. Whether or not anything comes of it remains to be seen.

Then we had news that we were one of the cities picked to possibly host the DNC in 2016 but within the very same day the mayor sent a letter declining Austin as a viable option mostly IMO and which he states, we do not have a large enough venue to hold that type of event.


All of these factors added up are clearly showing that Austin, (a city of about 860,000 people according to the city demographer as of this February) lacks a major events arena.

For Austin to stay competitive with or without a pro team, we need a large arena to be able to host events such as the DNC, let alone major concert acts. If we don't act soon, most of the artists and bands that perform now at the Erwin Center will bypass Austin completely and instead will head to Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio which have large indoor arenas.

I think a lot of people in this city are beginning to realize that.

As far as where a new Arena would go, don't brush off the idea of an Arena next to Downtown. Capital Metro is in the process of realigning the red line from I-35 to Saltillo Plaza which will free up more land to the south of the track. Once its moved, there will be 8 or more blocks primed for redevelopment. Plenty of room for an Arena.