Crew SC owner considers moving team to Austin, Texas

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, Columbus is one of the weaker markets, and the Crew have done a poor job of penetrating the region, so it makes 100% business sense to potentially relocate the team.

On the other hand, it also makes business sense to extort the city for money for a stadium, and I hope Columbus tells Precourt to go to hell and leave the branding if that's what he's trying to do. But I think he's serious.

All that said, Austin is a risk, and how much higher of a ceiling does it have? I sure hope Austin doesn't dump a bunch of public money into Precourt's bank account.

In other words:
1) Fuck public money extortion efforts
2) Frustrating relocation, but understandable
3) Bad PR for the league at a time when it seems like everything is going wrong with American soccer (except Tim Weah)
 
So, the owner is looking to upgrade the franchise by moving from a city of 2.04 million, that is its state's capital, houses its flagship university and has a serious college football obsession to a city of 2.05 million, that is its state's capital, houses its flagship university and has a serious college football obsession.

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Lots to unpack here. But at least it looks like stadium funding ain’t happening in Austin. And if you’re willing to move to Austin on your own outlay because you think the market has a higher ceiling long term, is a few million for a stadium really going to keep you in Columbus?
“I don’t know what it would be you would be putting on a ballot,” [Austin Mayor Steve Adler] told the Statesman. “You could put something on a ballot if there was going to be a bond election to finance a stadium, but nothing like that is in the works.”

Earlier in the evening, Adler told KVUE that Austin would make an excellent MLS market.

“Exciting news because Major League Soccer would be a huge success in Austin, and the Crew would find tons of fan support,” he said. “There is a lot of benefit that being in Austin would give a team, too, though not public funding of a stadium.”
http://www.statesman.com/sports/soc...-barring-stadium-deal/gXduiAnet8xFjLuFuUGWPP/
 
weird....i mean an oringinal 96 and first MLS soccer specific stadium and you gonna leave it out like that....i mean to Austin....a similar spot so market doenst really makes sense....i mean are there new industries setting up in austin that they expect population to grow? i thought they were USL bound but maybe not

if this is true then it kills any hope San Antonio hope that they get MLS spot.
 
Right now, Austin is the largest City without a major league sports team. If they got the Crew, Virginia Beach would take that crown.
 
weird....i mean an oringinal 96 and first MLS soccer specific stadium and you gonna leave it out like that....i mean to Austin....a similar spot so market doenst really makes sense....i mean are there new industries setting up in austin that they expect population to grow?

if this is true then it kills any hope San Antonio hope that they get MLS spot.
The Austin region is growing rapidly, Columbus is not.
I think the big reason to move has more to do with reviving the club. The Crew are rather stagnant, and it's tough to suddenly become relevant in a market. They want to capitalize on a new market and all of the freshness that comes with it.
I would imagine they would have a better chance of recruiting players to live in Austin over Columbus.

Still hate moving clubs.
 
The Austin region is growing rapidly, Columbus is not.
I think the big reason to move has more to do with reviving the club. The Crew are rather stagnant, and it's tough to suddenly become relevant in a market. They want to capitalize on a new market and all of the freshness that comes with it.
I would imagine they would have a better chance of recruiting players to live in Austin over Columbus.

Still hate moving clubs.

maybe...but its not like they will support the team just like that....i know columbus is small as hell any not much will happen with it. but its there and did everything it can with its small venue.

kinda sucks though that it may be that Cincinnati may get a spot now because it cool and hip now at the expense of the Crew.

i just dont like "cool and hip" to be the reason to move teams around
 
Wait, the Longhorns play in Austin? lol yea this will end well.
 
And would FC Dallas want another MLS team in their backyard? They have hard time drawing as it is.
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Austin and Dallas are quite distinct. To the extent there’s sports fan overlap, it’s because Austin doesn’t have pro teams—and even then, (by anecdotal estimation) there are more Spurs fans than Mavs fans in the city. An Austin team helps FCD and Houston in rivalry hype more than it hurts them in terms of losing central Texans.

Dallas / Houston / Austin is a dream.

Still unsure about the rest of this, but market overlap isn’t really a factor I’m worrying about.
 
And would FC Dallas want another MLS team in their backyard? They have hard time drawing as it is.
Have a friend who recently moved to Austin. Went to visit him the weekend we played FC Dallas. I convinced him to go to the match and it took us FOUR hours to get back to Austin from Frisco. It’s definitley not in the Dallas back yard.

Austin is a very “hip” city now with an extremely large population growth every year. When I was down there I was told over 75,000 people are moving there a year (Mainly from California). It’s a relatively cheap neighborhood to live in right now with an incredible live music scene and tons of brand new bars. I think that a soccer team would do extremely well there even with Longhorn football. 3 teams in Texas does seem like a bit much though.

I would hate to see the Crew leave. For some odd reason I look forward to our matchups vs them every year. They have a decent fan base and a downtown stadium would do wonders for them and the city. But from a business stand point Austin is probably the more viable option for growth if they can build a downtown stadium.