Something is better than nothing. Neither site would be producing anything if the Crew left. Now, there will be benefits derived from both. Be it revenue or more general community benefits. Now, surely one can argue about if that is the best use of the funds. That is fair. But this idea that the taxpayers got screwed just seems like sour grapes from Hipster 6 types trying to diss the Columbus deal in a pie fight. You were never gonna play in 2019. That was a lie from jump. As were PSV's lines about the Columbus market and Austin community benefits. Once the stadium is ready, sure. But PSV is too cheap to pay rent when they do not have to. Your best bet is to hope PSV & Greeley are out before you start playing. Just ask Fire fans about Greeley. Good luck, you are gonna need it.
Good post overall but this comment is completely refuted by the fact that the various governments basically ejaculated $145m in a taxpayer money shot. No way they would of if they had anything resembling an upper hand.
Not meaning to start an argument but genuinely curious how people feel about the fact that Andy Loughnane has been appointed president down there? Columbus is glad he is gone but his continued involvement sort of speaks to the mess of this entire situation. The Columbus side of things aside... If Andy was doing great and the Crew was setting revenue records (as they now claim) then it highlights the dishonesty he exhibited to the people of Columbus and Austin regarding the situation at hand. For 18 months he has put out a very negative story to Austin and Columbus fans to rally support in Austin and justify the relocation. If his prior comments about the situation of the club in Columbus are accurate and they are just trying to spin the hire most positively then Austin has brought on a person who admitted failed in his past role. Aside from just saying "Well Andy is the devil but he is our devil", how do you feel about and reconcile that?
Definition of reconcile transitive verb 1a : to restore to friendship or harmony reconciled the factions b : SETTLE, RESOLVE reconcile differences Andy has nothing to reconcile with the city of Austin. Columbus folk continue to project their insecurities about their own operation onto ours. We will continue to support our team, and the efforts of them, because they have done everything right so far. And for his credentials, The fact of the matter is Andy is very well versed in sports operations. NHL, MLB NHL again, MLS. Personally, I still believe the Columbus market got lethargic and it wasnt until threat of loss that the community put any real effort into the franchise.
Nothing about insecurity or even my opinion here at all. The facts are all well know. He worked for a club and claimed the club performed poorly. He told this to people in the local market for reasons there and he told this to people in a new market for reasons there. Now he has been hired in a larger role at your club. Today in the press release for his hire Precourt says that the Crew set club revenue records in 2015, 2016, and 2017 trending up each year. That runs contrary to the "Columbus market got lazy or underperformed" narrative that Andy pushed for over a year. My question has nothing to do with Columbus at all so lets take the Crew out of it and say hypothetically he was a hire from any other market with no connection to the Crew but the same behavior. If he had come from Fire who had an off year in attendance this year too for instance. Any other club (not Columbus but anywhere else) and Andy had on the record he made a number of comments saying he couldn't succeed in the market and that the market was so bad he did not even believe the sport was viable there...Then PSV hires him and puts out a statement 100% to the contrary touting record success in that same market as justification to hire him. I am genuinely asking, how do you feel about that? Do you feel its a good hire or would it give you pause? How would you bring into harmony the two contradictory statements?
You can still show positive returns and perform less than expected. I feel great. Andy is very well versed in sports operations. Hes got experience dealing with branding, naming and sponsorships, as well as broadcasting rights. The experience that Andy has is important. All of these will be necessary when building a new franchise. Its actually a great hire for Austin FC at the moment. Almost as if he was groomed for the opportunity to build a new franchise in a new market.
I would argue the point that consecutive record-setting returns should be considered a positive sign, not a sign of inviability. But that is beside the point and really gets back into the mess of things which wasn't my intent. To your point, if he did succeed as PSV is now saying, by setting revenue records and you feel this doesn't conflict with past statements then potentially his hire could make sense. Especially if you are saying that his prior experience was overall a positive and effective one.
Great lets move on. And.... We're back. For the record, I never said he succeeded in the sense that you are implying. I said that the experience he has is important. Good or not, experience is the factor on which you improve. How many opportunities do people get to brand a professional soccer team? Enter into extended naming partnerships for stadiums? The opportunities don't come around often, and Andy has experience in all of these facets of operating a sports team.
I am saying that your opinion makes sense if you don't see a conflict between those two things. If you did see a conflict there then it wouldn't. Your own words were "The experience that Andy has is important. All of these will be necessary when building a new franchise. Its actually a great hire for Austin FC at the moment." Which would mean he has valuable experience that is of use to your club which came from effective action and skills building on his part in the past. You are saying he has accumulated work experience, which he was good at and this will be good for your club. If his own personal prior experience wasn't positive/effective during his prior work situation then he wouldn't have the skills you are talking about. Not trying to rehash things here just saying that is the logic of your argument. If I am wrong there let me know.
Here is what I edited in. once again, you asked me how i felt, and continue to argue about it.. my logic should be clear, this conversation really doesnt need to extend past you replying "Oh, i guess youre right, his experience will help him in building a new franchise"
The great thing about asking for my opinion is that its my opinion and i dont need confirmation from you.
I missed your edit, so my bad I didn't see that. I think you make a valid point about the difference between experience vs. successful experience. It is a small pool of people that have done what we are discussing so it is possible that PSV felt like Andy was their best choice. Whether or not there are more successful people out there is debatable but then you get into a variety of other logistics around hiring. I am not debating how you feel...how you feel is how you feel. I am clarifying your position since I acknowledged how you felt and your position on it then tried to turn my acknowledgment around on me. I just restated what you said so I am not even arguing with you. We are allowed to disagree and discuss things without animosity towards one another. For instance, I am not sure his experience will be a big help in building a new franchise. The Crew was already in existence when he came on and a number of the projects you are mentioning were already underway. So I think there is a potential disconnect between what he has said/done which could hinder his success. Not to mention a disconnect between reported and potentially real performance. But I can see your point about the limited pool of people that have done what we are discussing. In that instance, having someone with experience is definitely better than not. Had it been a lateral move for him from Columbus to Austin I actually think you could make a pretty strong case under certain circumstances. My concern is not that he has experience with an MLS club, my concern is what kind of experience does he have and will that ultimately help Austin FC succeed as a club in the future.
I am not trying to confirm your opinion or deny it. It is your opinion. I was trying to understand it given the situation. Lots of people in Columbus have LOTS of opinions on the hiring we are doing right now. Looking at Andy's history in Columbus to ask he will match what you need is just as valid as debating Bez coming from TFC here.
I am underwhelmed by the appointment. There is a kernel of truth to what the Columbus boards have said about his weaknesses and I think they could of done a lot better. But AFC fans are in the back seat at best on this adventure and we can only hope for he rises to occasion and doesn't screw it up.. FWIW I'm a long time FC Dallas (ex resident) fan but am a full time Longhorn and part year resident in Austin now and look forward to seeing this team take the field. And screw Epstein and the Bold.
Fair enough. I think a big part of the reason for concern (if any) is that he is the President of the Club. Having someone, even at the level he was at in Columbus, with a potentially questionable track record is one thing. There is some level of oversight and counterbalance to any shortcomings he may have while he learns the job. Having them as the leader of your club on and off the field, that's another. Ultimately though I think what will determine if he impacts the team down there positively or negatively is how long he is in the job. If he is in it till they take the field in 2021 at which time they bring in a President with more experience then whatever bumps he has early on can be smoothed out in the inaugural season. The boost you'll get from it being the first season can help cover a lot of missteps. If he is still in charge though then you have to think not just about his abilities as a business leader but as a leader on the field, which opens up a whole new element.
If this petition thing goes total worst case scenario and there are enough valid signatures and then the vote in May goes poorly for PSV....will it actually impact anything? Or is the makeup of city council post-election such that anything to do with the stadium would have the necessary supermajority to be approved anyway? Just curious if this is a genuine threat to the project or merely a minor nuisance even in the worst-case scenario. PS- I no longer have any vested interest in what transpires in Austin, but remain dispassionately curious because I want to see how the situation ends for both cities that have been involved with this saga for 15 months. Please don't mistake my genuine inquiry into the petition as trolling. I just don't know if it even means anything even in a worst-case scenario, so I am hoping Austinites can clue me in.
Thanks for the heads up, we try and keep it civil in here since its a shared thread. This is for everyone who's still a bit curious. You don't have to have a vested interest to want to know how the other side of things plays out Some of our council members think the ordinance could do damage to a lot of business with the city of Austin both now and in the future if it were actually upheld. What the ordinance does is require business transactions for renting or selling of city owned property to go to a city wide vote which happens only two times a year. It would likely destroy SXSW as we know it, and have serious implications to the annual ACL Music Festival, both of which have become a staple in the community. This is a city known as the live music capital of the world, Known for supporting artists of all kinds, and the ordinance sets a precedent that endangers those principles. As far as the stadium is concerned, it may not have much impact as the contract has already been signed, and the city has an obligation.
Yep. Looks like this petition is just a minor speedbump. Not that I am going to lie about wanting to see Precourt, Greeley, and Andy L (and some of the other Vichy-Crew PSV hired) fail spectacularly. I would love it. But with a couple exceptions (Hipster 6 and a few journos), that ill will does not extend to Austin writ large. I am not emotionally invested on the Texas side of things anymore. I have thought 2 teams is the way it would go for a while now. Though, like Sirk, I do have some curiosity in how it turns out. Nor do I think you have to worry about Precourt deliberately sabotaging you. Austin is last the chance saloon for him as an owner, and he knows it. Incompetence is the main worry I would have. Greeley and Andy L always seem to fail upward. I am sure they think they can slink off to another job if this goes south (perhaps they are right). And Precourt can likely flip to another owner and still profit on his initial Crew investment if he needs to. The concern is a large part of your fanbase, and city council, seem so desperate to get a team that they swallow an awful lot of obvious BS. And it is not just an Austin thing, there were a lot of Crew fans so desperate to rid themselves of the Hunts that the Tony Aces train had a lot of passengers for a while. But having seen he and his like before (Modell, Irsay, Clippers owner, etc), having a team you love and an owner you cannot get rid of is just awful. Better than no team, to be sure. But sometimes the fix is the owner pulling out, rather than selling. Or selling to someone else with goo-goo eyes for another market. AP is one of those types who always blames everyone else & never accepts responsibility. Perhaps he will do better the second time, but I doubt it. It is in his nature.
The real question is whether he can hire another Gregg Berhalter that can work miracles with a small budget. Good performances on the field can hide a lot of front office incompetence. It worked for a while in Columbus. If it weren't for the threat of the move, most Crew fans would have been happy about 2018.
New talks from Andy on the Throw-in podcast. Interim office located in the domain and They want to be fielding at least one Academy team for the 2019-20 season.
The news people in Austin seem to thirst for any kind of Austin FC story. Any time something happens it ends up being in the top story of the night. It's awesome to see that kind of coverage on an almost daily basis, even when University of Texas is playing games. I think it translates well for the future of media coverage when even news casters are posting on their personal Facebook's how excited they are to start covering the team.