Major League Soccer stadium: The story so far

As this week’s Austin City Council meeting moved into the early morning hours Friday, council-watchers on Twitter were not stingy with the jokey soccer-match comparisons (as well as being, no doubt a little loopy from the marathon meeting, which ended just short of 3 a.m. In real life, of course, a match could’t last as long as the related discussion did, no matter how much stoppage time amassed, but the point was taken.

In the end, the City Council voted to continue negotiations, the Austin Monitor’s Chad Swiatecki reported Friday, with Precourt Sports Ventures, which has been vying to bring Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew to Austin as well as to secure a new, 20,000-seat stadium for it to play in.

After an earlier series of misfires as to where it would be proposing a stadium site, PSV and the lawyer representing its case, Richard Suttle, settled on city-owned land on the McKalla Place property in North Austin. Council passed two resolutions related to proceeding with consideration of the site, Swiatecki reported.

Courtesy of Gensler via MLSATX

Courtesy of Gensler via MLSATX

One proposal instructing Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk to open negotiations with Precourt Sports Ventures and outlining preferred objectives (including maximum financial return for the city, responsibility for construction and development costs, and minimum design standards) passed with a 9-0 vote and council members Ora Houston and Ellen Troxclair off the dais, the Monitor reported.

A second proposal, which was approved by an 8-1-1 vote instructs the city manager to develop a process for the city to look at and approve alternative development proposals for the site, Swiatecki reported. Council Member Pio Renteria opposed the resolution, Council Member Delia Garza abstained, and Troxclair was off off the dais for the vote.

The council set an August 9 deadline for coming to an agreement about the site as it relates to PSV. Precourt Sports Ventures released renderings of the potential stadium design in May.

• Council OKs stadium negotiation and other proposals, with early August deadline [Austin Monitor]