Austin City Council OKs Deal To Build Major League Soccer Stadium

AUSTIN, TX — A major league soccer team might be coming to Austin after city council members on Wednesday approved a deal to build a stadium in North Austin.

The deal calls for a $200 million stadium on 24 acres of land at city-owned property dubbed McKalla Place near The Domain. Anthony Precourt, owner of the Columbus Crew SC team, has indicated play could begin as early as next year.

The Wednesday afternoon vote approving the deal was 7-4 with Allison Alter, Ora Houston, Leslie Pool and Ellen Troxclair against the measure.

Reacting to the news, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mike Rollins said the deal is a transformative development for the city.

“This is a game changer and major milestone in the history of the Austin region to secure our first major league sports franchise," Rollins said. "It is an extraordinary opportunity to bring our community together. Though it appeared there was much unpredictability around the process to get to this point, Precourt has demonstrated its commitment to partner with the Austin community, and we thank them for their investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in the area. Thanks also to the multitudes of engaged supporters who demonstrated their passion for soccer.”

The vote comes after a June 28 council vote to enter into negotiations with Precourt Sports Ventures to develop a privately funded stadium and soccer park at McKalla Place. At the time, chamber officials applauded the decision to proceed with those plans.

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Local Government Relations Tina Grider-Cannon posited the move as one promoting diversity in addition to its likely major economic impact to the region.

"We are pleased with last night’s city council vote in favor of entering into negotiations with Precourt Sports Ventures to bring our region its first-ever major league sports franchise," Grider-Cannon said at the time. "Precourt Sports Ventures has shown a commitment to our community and its values, including affordable housing, local hiring, minority- and women-owned business policies, worker protections, opportunities for at-risk youth, among others. This vote is a vital step in Austin’s evolution to being a world-class city that embraces world heritage, inclusivity and diversity."

Workers Defense Project officials subsequently released a statement in support of the transaction, citing the inevitable job creation the project would bring.

“The working families who build our city should be able to go home safely each night with enough money to live in the city they build,” Jessica Wolff, Better Builder Business Liaison of Workers Defense Project, said. “We applaud Precourt Sports Ventures for voluntarily committing to Better Builder® standards at McKalla Place.”

The WDP's Better Builders program is a series of safeguards to which contractors agree in order to ensure safe work sites. The organization's standards have been implemented on $1.9 billion in construction in Central Texas, and many of those projects have reached successful completion and impacted more than 18,000 construction workers, officials explained. This year alone construction workers have secured more than $50,000 in back wages on Better Builder sites, WDP officials noted.

Greater Austin Chamber Chairman Phil Wilson publicly thanked Precourt Sports Ventures for its push to bring professional soccer to Austin while lauding the $350 million-plus economic impact the chamber estimates the facility will bring to the region.

"From the start, we have been pleased to be a leading advocate for the first major league sports franchise in Austin," Wilson said on Wednesday. "We thank Precourt Sports Ventures (PSV) for its commitment to bring world-class, professional soccer to our community. We have followed PSV’s creation of a strong local team to execute a great new venue in the core of the city. We laud their commitment to partnering with Austin on affordability. With PSV’s commitment of more than $354 million in community benefits, including specific donations to Foundation Communities, we hope Austin City Council will act this month to close this game-changing partnership."

This is a developing story. Patch will update as more details are known.

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