In the NASL commish state of the league address he mentions Austin as a potential Expansion team. http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...-state-of-the-union-4359407.php#ixzz2NipSoBFy On potential targets: “San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, Chicago, a list of about a dozen of them. Obviously, Austin is an exciting city with a lot of growth over the last decade. There have been a couple of inquiries from people with interest. We haven't fully engaged, but it's something we're looking at doing over the next couple of months.” I hope it does happen. I think an Austin/San Antonio Rivalry would be amazing.
Yes! Somebody make this happen. Aren't there some tech guys or UT Alumns with some cash they don't mind spending to grow the beautiful game? Aztex, are you ready to make the jump?
Personally I'd rather stay in the USL pyramid. The NASL seems to me like a splinter group, whereas I think unity and interlinkages between upper and lower divisions are a necessity in soccer. The USL seems to be the entity with more going for it in that regard.
Well I rather see NASL because it seems more Stable and has stronger ownership groups. Plus San Antonio is in NASL.
Not sure that one can be said to be more stable than the other. It is true that the NASL owners are generally wealthier than the USL Pro teams -- which is to be expected because of the USSF financial requirements on D2. And with a few more teams coming in the next couple years, it looks like things are hopeful with the NASL. But with the MLS - USL agreement, we could see a larger, more stable league there as well, at a much lower buy-in price. And the added entertainment of playing Houston and Dallas (unless we became one of those teams' Reserve affiliation). I'm just glad that our ownership it taking it all cautiously. The whole puzzle of finding a good stadium situation here in Austin is incredibly knotty, and I still think our owners are in a good position to make it happen. ...and I'd be more than a little 'put out' if the NASL found someone else and moved in on the Aztex.
To be honest I would have no problem if NASL took Austin on as an expansion city-- but I wouldn't be 100% hyped about it either.. If you know what I mean..
NASL teams that have gone away since 2010: Crystal Palace Baltimore AC St. Louis Puerto Rico Islanders USL Pro teams that have gone away since 2010: Real Maryland Monarchs FC New York Puerto Rico United Sevilla FC Puerto Rico River Plate Puerto Rico Now, check back in this time next year and there could be additions on one or both sides. But I think we sometimes see stability where we want to see it and don't where we don't. Division II and Division III soccer have both been unstable for years, and no one has yet figured out how to keep that from happening. 63% of second division teams since 1994 have folded. 83% of third division teams have. If you had a quality owner and reasonable stadium, you could make a go of it in either one. Having an NASL team in San Antonio would be a decent reason to hope for a team in the NASL, though. Would just require more money to pull it off.
The standards came out in August 2010. Baltimore and St. Louis folded that off-season. Puerto Rico is gone now. And if you want to throw out Puerto Rico as being not the best example of an environment for pro soccer by our standards (the three USL Pro PR teams were existing clubs they tried to wedge in, it was a bad idea, but it really doesn't say anything about standards or the US landscape), then it's 2-2. And the most recent team to go was an NASL team. With Edmonton not looking particularly healthy. On the other side, LA is a perennial concern, Phoenix isn't looking so hot so far and who knows what will happen with the others.
And then you got VSI Tampa Flames who don't have a place to play yet and the USL-pro season starts next week and first home game is 3 weeks away.
Would really like to see something different next season. Seems like it will be the same old, same old again. Austin and Laredo dominating, El Paso holding their own, the other few outclassed, We need a step up of some sort ? ps Just like the premiership eh?... Lol
I had a lot of fun last season watching the team and level the Aztex were at. I look forward to attending this season and seeing if they can repeat last season's success. I don't particularly want or need a professional team to support in Austin at this time. If the ownership group feels they can make the step up and stay solvent then I am all for moving to D3 or D2. USL or NASL? There are positives and negatives to both.
And now they're going to try to play at a baseball stadium in the sticks. So, yeah, there's that. What USSF should do is what the NBA did back in the late 1980s when they provisionally let four new teams in: they had to sell a certain number of season tickets. Each milestone ticket purchase was a PR event for the teams, as they had local celebrities (pretend to) be the 1,000th or 4,000th or what have you. Set a threshold, I don't know what you'd make it. 1,000 or 1,500 for DII and 750 or 1,000 for DIII, whatever. Of course you make it high. It forces these people to actually get out and sell and prove the market. Yes, they'd have to devote resources right off the bat, and if they don't hit the mark, they'd be out the money invested and would have to give back the deposits. But it would make people show they can do this.
This is my first post on Big Soccer, so I can't start another thread, but it sounds like Austin as an MLS expansion city is a for real possibility. http://www.austinchronicle.com/spor...tch-a-pro-team-and-a-soccer-specific-stadium/
Welcome. You will find that cities get thrown out there quite a bit, and earnest reporters are only too happy to fill column inches and kill 1s and 0s to say their city is "a real possibility" for MLS expansion. The list of "real possibilities" is long and distinguished. It doesn't mean they're all going to get teams.
Kenn, A friend and I have been emailing back and forth about what our opinion on how to fix the EXPANSION fighting going on between MLS/NASL/USLP etc. We have a plan we think USSF should roll out. What thread would be appropriate to throw this out and see the BS guys poke holes in it?
Can't help you. USSF isn't going to do whatever you suggest anyway. If you think you're going to solve the bickering that has marred the history of this sport for 100 years, you're overly optimistic.
I don't ... but I do like to throw out ideas to see what holes they have. Not looking to change anything, and certainly don't have an ego that thinks my idea will somehow solve everything or make USSF take notice. Just asking you where an opinion about that should be shared, since it's a USSF/MLS/NASL/USLP/Expansion thing that is somewhat all encompasing. That is all !
I certainly understand that, but then again Garber has thrown Austin out there more than once: In December: "The downtown formula has been working for us and it’s hard to imagine that we would go into a market where we don’t have that scenario," Garber said. "It’s not an absolute, but whether it’s Minneapolis, or St. Louis, or Austin or San Antonio." Last week: "NEW YORK — Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber says Atlanta, Minneapolis, Sacramento, San Diego and "Texas sites" are under consideration as expansion cites." This is all happening at the same time that the city and a few other groups are making a concerted effort to bring a stadium to town. http://www.statesman.com/news/sport...p-making-push-for-mls-soccer-franchise/nd26f/ http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...-may-court-downtown-stadium-major-league.html Legit articles and less legit rumors abound. But to dimiss this as just a city being tossed around I think isn't quite fair. I'm not a total dummy; it would be a long, uphill climb. And the odds are probably not great. But there also less than zero. And there are serious people seriously trying to make this happen.
it would make so much sense for Austin to be in NASL, the rivalry with San Antonio would be great. i hope it's not USL as then they would miss out on the potential of that rivalry. and i believe Austin it the biggest city in the country without any pro sports team. an NASL team and that rivalry with San Antonio would be as close as they could come to a pro sports experience, without getting an MLS team which is probly unlikely, and could fill that void. i don't think a third-division USL farm team affiliated with Dallas or Houston, and without that San Antonio rivalry, would create as much of a buzz among Austin hipster-types as an NASL team would. but who knows...
Saw a tweet from Tim Holt talking about being excited to be part of a big day for Aztex. Looks like Austin will be going USL Pro. Lame.