Crew to Austin in 2019..(Maybe)

This is what gets me and why discovery is so critical to the correct valuation of the team and determining the meaning of investor/operator. Although Dong said in the last Erickson article that AP is the owner. I may be wrong because I’m no legal beagle, but with a franchise model, he paid MLS money for the team to be able to make money for himself? Paying for a team or even expansion fees really gets you profit sharing rights or do you keep what you kill in your market? If a local investor buys his MLS franchise/shares, they’re just buying his opportunity to make money from operating the Crew for MLS? I wanna see MLS cracked wide open like the rotten melon that it is. I have a feeling the MLS model is more twisted and inconsistently unfair across markets and different generation teams than any of us can fathom.

 

Don Garber has guided @MLS to tremendous growth. We're proud to welcome him into the National Soccer Hall of Fame on October 20 in Frisco. Congratulations, Commissioner! #NSHOF18

📰 https://t.co/cq2XPHjRl7 pic.twitter.com/GiTUDjH4PD

— National Soccer HOF (@soccerhof) May 31, 2018

Unbelievable.

 

If it was just about money, I would say "It's over." This is not a case of "...any publicity is good publicity." Coupled with the failure of the men's team to qualify for the World Cup and it's biggest stars (Altidore, Bradley) being tied to MLS, there seems to be real damage done to top flight soccer in the US of A.

But this whole affair has me baffled. Most MLS owners are not trust fund babies spending daddy's money. They have had successful businesses outside of sports. But this whole thing stinks to high heaven of NFL tactics, but there are only 4 cross ownerships( Blank, Kraft, Kroenke, Hunt). Garber is an NFL alum. Is MLS headquarters infested with NFLers that only know how to extort communities attachment to their teams for tax dollars? If I, as just a fan, can recognize that the sport as played here professionally, does not engender the level of support as other US sports leagues or even foreign soccer leagues, surely someone at the league office recognizes this is an extremely high risk tactic to use. There are simply too many options for soccer consumption to risk alienating your customers.

Somebody please tell me what I am not seeing.

 

Congrats, @thesoccerdon! #NSHOF18 https://t.co/elpEp5onQv

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) May 31, 2018

 

Regional Manger? No, he's the Assistant to the Regional Manager. Precourt is Dwight Schrute.

 

This one sentence has completely made my day.

 

New pics....

PSV releases drafts of conceptual renderings for a potential #MLS2ATX stadium at McKalla Place ahead of stadium proposal/city report. #SaveTheCrew pic.twitter.com/NmBEnkMOdl

— Daniel Salazar (@danielsalazarTX) May 31, 2018

It looks gorgeous in pictures, but you can't see the leaky VIP lounge or the mouse droppings at the concession stands in these renderings.

 

I certainly appreciate @hangthadj 's reminder to us all that we exist in a significant echo chamber. If it was all dreamland "No DOUBT that the CREW are SAVED!!!!" all the time, we'd run the risk of missing out on developments.

I don't even think his posts here are gloomy so much as aware. Every positive development for us isn't written off by him as far too many negative developments are written off by most of us.

PSV wants to move to Austin. MLS is ok with that (for the most part). Those are facts.

There are many people engaged, actively working and being paid to facilitate this move. Four more traveled down there on our dime just yesterday.

I'm pleased with the way things are going here to attempt to stop this move. I can see a path or 3 where it can work out for us.

I can throw shade on the developments in Austin all day, it doesn't discount the facts that there are developments and that rich people can spend their money however they want.

 

That ********ing sucks.

 

The stadium renderings are better than anything they've shown before. But I'm still not exactly blown away by them. Largely because they're just drawings of a stadium, only vaguely located on this site in Austin. Nice stadium drawings are cool, and all. But the overall stadium package, addressing the transportation/traffic issue, and the total project cost (including a bill for the City of Austin), etc. are what really matters.

PSV still hasn't announced any corporate partners in Austin, right? You'd think Garber would be sorta interested in that, no? Or how about a training facility? Or a place to play next season?

 

It looks like Mapfre with a roof.

 

This week began with a call from an Austin Statesman report for Precourt to up his proposal.

Today brings stadium porn and a poll by MLS2ATX about who is the realist tweeter, with everyone saying "ME!"

Tomorrow will bring the reality of Austin city council report and Precourt proposal.

Cedar Point roller coasters have nothing on this.

 

All MLS stadiums look like MAPFRE with a roof.

 

Man, I thought the same thing!!! It looks EXTREMELY similar to Mapfre in many many ways.

Which tells me one thing:
CAA/ICON said "You can have Option A, the expensive option, Option B, the Cheap option, or Option C, the middle option."
And #AcesMcTrustFund said, "You had me at Option B, man."

 

On twitter, Naas and Ethan McKinley have produced this gem of a comparison between Butler Shores and McKalla

I had to scale it down some to comply with BS size limits. Twitter Link:

The renderings from ButlerShores with these new ones for McKalla Place.

With this much reuse, why did it take so long to produce anything?

h/t @etmckinley for this image. pic.twitter.com/8cpKQwVxVc

— Keith Naas, xpeaker of the houxe (@knaas) May 31, 2018

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbu...-it-awaits.amp.html?__twitter_impression=true

 

Someone smarter than me just said on a text exchange, "Remember the original DC renderings, and what they are getting now. It won't look like that."

 

Exactly and it doesn’t matter becususe Austin will eat it all up, give Tony what he wants and we are gone. Sorry I’m not as positive as the rest. I just don’t see good things. Don’t @ me bro!

 

I wasn't referring to what the stadium looks like. I don't much care what it looks like.

I was referring to the fact that the drawing tells us nothing about the realities of the stadium package, or how this or any stadium would really work on the McKalla site.

 

Why do you think Austin will just give Tony what he wants? Is that how it normally happens with stadium deals? Is that how Austin has behaved with Precourt thus far?

 

This.

Why do people think Austin will just roll over?

 

Because people lose their shit at the thought of getting a professional sports team. They believe promises and look for the rosy side. And no one trusts politicians.

Austin may be different, though.

Anyway, I'm on your side. I'm optimistic - but you asked the question.

 

To be fair, it's not a good idea to gush over someone you're negotiating with.

Maybe the city is showing a poker face. Maybe they're genuinely unimpressed. We'll see.