Sports in Austin

[ClendonRoss]

Someone (maybe from this forum) just posted that as of this afternoon, all of the little league fields at Butler have locks on the gates. So, if true, we have this "public" "parkland" that is not even public with the access controlled by a really small private organization just for the benefit of its members.

[GoldenBoot]

"Public Outcry?" Really?

If that is true, Council Members, then put Butler Shores on a ballot for the "public" to vote on whether or not PSV can use the land for at least a stadium.

You won't because you know the outcome. Butler Shores would become the newest MLS stadium!!!

Your "outcry" if from a very small, but, very vocal minority of Austin's citizens.

[ILUVSAT]

Didn't PSV's lawyer request proof of this outcry from one or more of these council members?

Awesome move! Put them in their place!

[ILUVSAT]

Has someone started a Pro Butler Shores website or at least poll? I saw TTF's poll - not sure if you're going to get a true cross-section of the general population on a poll managed by TTF.

[ClendonRoss]

Originally Posted by ClendonRoss

Someone (maybe from this forum) just posted that as of this afternoon, all of the little league fields at Butler have locks on the gates. So, if true, we have this "public" "parkland" that is not even public with the access controlled by a really small private organization just for the benefit of its members.

The person who runs the little league just posted, "yes, they are locked when they are not used by the league."

So, the vast majority of this "parkland" is not public parkland at all. It's only being used by a very small private organization. To me, that alone should change the dynamic of this conversation but, with this city council, I suspect it won't matter. Regardless, I'm email all of them again.

Again, if you have time, please email council members again using this link:

http://www.austintexas.gov/email/all-council-members

And please also continue to help in the comments on the Statesman article. I'm going to email the author and let him know that a follow-up may be in order to clarify what this "parkland" entails.

[freerover]

The resolution was posted to the council message board and its co-sponsored by Flanagan and Atler who I thought were maybe votes. Pool is also a sponsor and obvious Yes vote. Tovo, Houston, Garza, Troxclair and Renteria could all easily vote for the proposal as well.

This thing is passing. Hopefully Adler makes the argument be that we should be able to have a dialog.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austin...0124121927.pdf

I love how Kitchen included these two items back to back:

 displacement of longstanding (begun in 1950) youth sports activities at the ball fields;
 undoing of existing planning efforts for relocation of the Daugherty Arts Center to the Butler Shores location; and

All of this dialog better come back when they start to talk about relocating DAC. Fuck if I'm paying for that now.

[freerover]

SIGNUP TO SPEAK AT CITY COUNCIL FEB 15 MEETING TO DISCUSS MLS STADIUM STARTS THURSDAY

http://austintexas.gov/department/ci...n_schedule.htm

Time is set aside at noon during each council meeting for a maximum of ten individuals to address the council on topics of their choice. A person who intends to speak during General Citizen Communication must sign up in advance with the City Clerk's Office. Registration can be completed by phone (512-974-2210), in person at the Office of the City Clerk, Suite 1120, City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street, or by email. See the following table for meeting registration deadlines.

[ATXboom]

The FOLLY of Austin is that it is run by a vocal minority. Primarily old white people in south central and west central Austin. They tend to make decisions for the entire city. Not a progressive democracy to say the least.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

The FOLLY of Austin is that it is run by a vocal minority. Primarily old white people in south central and west central Austin. They tend to make decisions for the entire city. Not a progressive democracy to say the least.

Yep. And the "Save Our Springs" people went to the softball stadiums for the first and last time in their lives for a photo op.

Congrats Columbus. The owner of your team picked the *dumbest* city in the country to try and relocate to. We'll offer you the Expo Center and you'll like it.

Or some fake "professional" sports team will move here. Just like all those start up ride-shares totally got finger prints just like city council said they would.

[freerover]

Councilmember Renteria urges Austin council to remain open to parkland for MLS venue

The Austin City Council member whose district includes Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park said Wednesday he wants that piece of scenic parkland and others to remain under consideration for a possible Major League Soccer stadium.
Sabino “Pio” Renteria of District 3 countered rising pressure to eliminate parkland sites identified by the city staff as potential sites for an MLS venue, telling the American-Statesman the final say should rest with the public, not council members.

“I would allow the voters of Austin to make the decision. Let them decide what locations they would support,” Renteria said. “That would be the most democratic way.

“Why shouldn’t we see how the entire community feels? A lot of people have their own opinions, but sometimes the people with the loudest voice get heard and all the others never get heard.”

Council Member Ann Kitchen, whose District 5 includes Butler Shores Metropolitan Park, posted a resolution Wednesday for consideration at the council’s Feb. 15 meeting. It called for removing city parkland from consideration as a possible home for the Columbus Crew SC, whose ownership desires to move the franchise to Austin. Council Members Alison Alter, Jimmy Flannigan and Leslie Pool co-sponsored the resolution.

Kitchen’s resolution directs the city staff to provide more in-depth analysis and obtain more public input regarding McKalla Place, a non-parkland city-owned site near the Domain.

“I’d like to see pro soccer in our city, but it has to be in the right place,” Kitchen told the Statesman. “Parkland is for the public forever. Protect it; don’t give it away to a private entity.”

Mayor Steve Adler, in Washington for a gathering of the nation’s mayors, said in a statement, “It would be very exciting for Austin to find a viable site because a MLS team can bring together all parts of our community in ways that don’t happen now.

“There are many challenges to using parkland near downtown, and many unanswered questions remain. This unique opportunity for our city should be carefully considered so that the right site can be found.”

Precourt Sports Ventures, the Crew SC’s ownership group, has offered to privately finance a 20,000-seat, $200 million stadium if it finds the right site. MLS prefers downtown venues. McKalla is not considered to be in the urban core, and PSV favors Butler Shores, with Guerrero a likely second choice. Both are waterfront properties with downtown views.

Precourt President Dave Greeley issued a statement that read in part, “Polling data tells us the vast majority of Austinites want a Major League Soccer team; we recognize some have reservations about locating a soccer park on parkland.

“We have done comprehensive work on the Butler Shores site, including independent studies on traffic, parking, lights and sound, among others, and that will be complete in the next few weeks. Before any of the sites are removed from consideration, we hope council will allow us the opportunity to demonstrate potential parkland improvements and community impact and benefits.”

PSV told the Statesman the findings will be released in roughly two weeks to the city staff and Butler Shores neighbors before being shared publicly.

If Butler Shores is unpalatable to Austin residents, Renteria said, Guerrero Park could work if a soccer stadium would trigger an economic overhaul and spotlight a property that needs help.

“The trail that runs through Guerrero Park is beautiful, but you cannot use it,” he said. “It has some really heavy erosion from the Colorado River. Both bridges have been washed out. What I see is going to take millions of dollars to repair. I don’t want to take the park off the list because then we wouldn’t have the ability to go into an in-depth discussion on how we can fix that area.”

Removing parkland from consideration could come back to bite the city, Renteria said.

“I understand there are a lot of legitimate concerns over Butler Shores, but I don’t want to throw a blanket over the parkland sites,” he said. “You never know if one day we want to build a smaller youth soccer field in another part of town that might have parkland available.

“Soccer is very popular here in Austin, especially in my district, which has so many minorities. Now we have this great opportunity to do something big for them. I’d let the voters decide.”

PSV told the Statesman the findings will be released in roughly two weeks to the city staff and Butler Shores neighbors before being shared publicly. Hopefully it includes before and after breakdowns of the parkland because half of Guerrero isn't really usable by anyone.

[abigdeal]

Originally Posted by ClendonRoss

The person who runs the little league just posted, "yes, they are locked when they are not used by the league."

So, the vast majority of this "parkland" is not public parkland at all. It's only being used by a very small private organization. To me, that alone should change the dynamic of this conversation but, with this city council, I suspect it won't matter. Regardless, I'm email all of them again.

Again, if you have time, please email council members again using this link:

http://www.austintexas.gov/email/all-council-members

And please also continue to help in the comments on the Statesman article. I'm going to email the author and let him know that a follow-up may be in order to clarify what this "parkland" entails.

This kinda arugment that presupposes the NIMBYs are using logic and reason. There's no way that this Council cares about that at all.

[abigdeal]

Originally Posted by freerover

The resolution was posted to the council message board and its co-sponsored by Flanagan and Atler who I thought were maybe votes. Pool is also a sponsor and obvious Yes vote. Tovo, Houston, Garza, Troxclair and Renteria could all easily vote for the proposal as well.

This thing is passing. Hopefully Adler makes the argument be that we should be able to have a dialog.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austin...0124121927.pdf

I love how Kitchen included these two items back to back:


All of this dialog better come back when they start to talk about relocating DAC. Fuck if I'm paying for that now.

That will be part of the 2018 bond proposal. As much as the Bond Election Advisory Task Force is pushing back against it, I feel 99% sure that the Council will ignore the wishes of the group and include Dougherty relo in the package that goes to voters. $25 million price tag.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by abigdeal

That will be part of the 2018 bond proposal. As much as the Bond Election Advisory Task Force is pushing back against it, I feel 99% sure that the Council will ignore the wishes of the group and include Dougherty relo in the package that goes to voters. $25 million price tag.

It’ll take every ounce of strength not to vote against the parks bond out of spite. Fuck their pools too if I can’t have a free stadium.

[ILUVSAT]

Are not emails to council members subject to the freedom of public information act? If so, why doesn't someone (or several hundred people) request said emails pertaining to this stadium issue made public?

Put these s**theads in their place!

And...again...why don't Austin's citizens push for the council to put this up for a public vote (i.e., Butler Shores).

[drummer]

Well, I sent an email. For my own sense of integrity I noted that I am not a current Austin resident, so we'll see if it's even given a moment's notice. I hope it is. However, here's what I wrote:

To the Austin City Council members,

I am a former Austin resident who now lives overseas. I realize that may cause my opinion to not matter to much to you. However, much of my family still resides within the Austin metro, many within the city limits. I wanted to challenge the assumption of some on the council that there is "public outcry" regarding the Butler Shores location or any other parkland for an MLS stadium. There indeed are some who oppose this location, but I would argue that these are in the minority - and they are very vocal. They are also unwilling to engage in public debate on the subject and would rather simply shut the idea down than hear any alternatives to their own ideas in a public forum on how the city should grow.

The fact of the matter is that these Little League fields are in poor condition and are locked for the vast majority of the year. This means that they are inaccessible to anyone who doesn't pay for the privilege to play on them - in other words, it's not "public" land in the truest sense of the word. Please therefore don't use this argument as the primary point of opposition to a corporation building a stadium that would only be accessible to those with tickets.

I would strongly encourage two things:

1. Allow this to go to a public vote rather than stopping the discussion prematurely. This would allow all parties to get all of the information out there for the public whom all of you represent to make an informed decision.

2. Consider the public benefit of an MLS team located at Butler Shores. This is a significantly visible location that would feature a professional team of the world's most popular sport. TV contracts, endorsements, tournaments, international friendly matches, etc., would all draw more attention to Austin and help it to receive positive press - potentially around the world. Some of this would happen with a stadium elsewhere in the city, but a downtown location is natural when drawing people and visitors in from all over the metro (because it's in the middle of everything). This could be a boost to public transit options (getting cars off the road and thus helping to ease traffic concerns) - which would help not just those going to games, but folks going to work, those going shopping, visiting tourists, and folks who can't afford a car at all or choose not to drive for a variety of reasons. There's almost no end to the economic benefit of a professional team downtown when one considers industries that could either grow as a result of it or bring in new industries altogether. That means jobs, sales tax, and many other benefits to the entire city - not just the few with tickets.

My list here obviously isn't exhaustive. Butler Shores may not be the preferred choice by the general public, in which case it should be elsewhere. However, I would love for the general public to have a say as to whether or not that is the case.

As a former Austin resident who has several family members still there (and I still proudly call it home), I hope MLS comes. I hope it is indeed the best partnership possible between the team and the city.

Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts.

[wwmiv]

I sent my own email and filled out that survey above.

[freerover]

It seems like Vince McMahon is bring back the XFL. I'd love to see Austin get a team and put it in the MLS stadium but the league would have to be ok with sub 25,000 seat stadiums. They might see the huge boom in MLS stadiums across the country that are all starving for events and see a good opportunity for easier to fill, urban locations to build his league. The original XFL teams all used pro/college football stadiums with seating capacities from 40-70k.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by freerover

It seems like Vince McMahon is bring back the XFL. I'd love to see Austin get a team and put it in the MLS stadium but the league would have to be ok with sub 25,000 seat stadiums. They might see the huge boom in MLS stadiums across the country that are all starving for events and see a good opportunity for easier to fill, urban locations to build his league. The original XFL teams all used pro/college football stadiums with seating capacities from 40-70k.

Will they play at the expo center? Because we have several members of council that seem primarily preoccupied with building an unused soccer stadium there.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

Will they play at the expo center? Because we have several members of council that seem primarily preoccupied with building an unused soccer stadium there.

I don't think most people who are really interested in development on the east side want that proposed stadium. It's an awkward size and not really usable. The goal at the Expo Center has been building a new arena that will effectively replace the Erwin Center as the primary indoor venue in Austin for concerts and other major touring events as well as building a new exhibition hall. That's what makes sense. Here is the study for it if you are interested: ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/PARDPlanni...%207-21-16.pdf

[loonytoony]

“Some in the community and the neighbors near Butler Shores have valid concerns about a possible stadium location at that site. Based on this feedback, we are no longer exploring this location and are continuing our due diligence on other possible locations in the urban core. As we have stated from the onset of this process, finding the right site for a soccer park is of the utmost importance as we contemplate bringing Major League Soccer (MLS) to Austin.

“We look forward to further community dialogue and collaboration, and we remain committed to finding the best possible stadium site for all involved.”

Dave Greeley, president, Precourt Sports Ventures

http://mls2atx.com/butler-shores-sit...consideration/


So... Roy G or Mckalla? Renteria seems in favor of Roy G but I can see issues from the council being that it's parkland. Mckalla is looking more likely.