Columbus Crew to Austin Texas?

There was evidently a massive secondary market for Falcons tickets in only the second ever regular season game at Mercedes Benz because so may Bills fans bought them that Falcons QB Matt Ryan had to use a silent count to call plays on his home field.

"During an appearance on Atlanta's 680 The Fan Monday morning [after the game], Ryan admitted that while he wasn’t affected by the sheer number of Bills fans in attendance, he conceded that the 'Bills Mafia is real' based on how many fans were at the game, and how vocal they were."

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/20...ans-atlanta-falcons-eric-wood-matt-ryan-noise

 

You mean to say you don't... ?



/jk

 

I'd still like you to back up your claim that other states have laws similar to the Modell law and have failed.

More to the point, it's not the AG's job to attract new business to the state, that's why we have development departments and a public-private entity called Jobs Ohio. It's the AG's job to defend Ohio laws when necessary. Precourt isn't willing to sell and if his Austin plans fall through, nobody in Columbus wants him owning the team in Columbus. We want him gone and the team here. That will require a forced sale, ie a taking.

The idea that Amazon or other companies will shy away from Ohio because of the Crew is silly. The Modell law only applies to sports teams. I doubt it even costs Cincinnati a team. If Cincy is passed over, it will be because of their funding gap, not because the owner 100 miles away is an idiot. Office holders come and go so companies lock in deals with the pols who woo them most. Amazon has added thousands of jobs in Ohio in the last year so clearly they have a good relationship with Kasich's administration. They aren't going to make a multi-decade decision on who wins the next governor's race. They'll decide based on where they can find the best workforce, perhaps seasoned with bribes, ie tax abatements.

 

How many times were you actually worried that a state was going to take your operations following a relocation? I worked as a contractor for the DOT in a state, and we were doing environmental assessments of corner gas stations taken using eminent domain as part of road projects all the time. That didn't stop the owner from building new stations.

Also, the guys putting up the money in Cincinnati are locals that live in Ohio. MLS is not putting a nickel into start the team. Its these guys that are putting themselves at risk for the taking, not MLS. As far as business risk goes, its hard to imagine that they are worried about being bought out if they feel the need to move the team. Heck, if anything, this reduces the risk. If you aren't meeting your goals, you have a ready made buyer willing to pay market value.

When the DOT takes property to build a highway through a town, the guys whose properties are taken are pretty happy, they usually get paid above market for their property. The guys that are unhappy are the few next to the road whose properties aren't taken. They see a decline in property values from the new road right next door.

 

Or the guy on SR 161 east of Columbus. He's still p*ssed--paints his house on a regular basis with anti ODOT slogans (yes, it is that close to the freeway). They basically cut his lot in two--severing his leach field with no room to build a new one (making the house legally uninhabitable) but would not buy the house and rest of the property.



https://www.craigcalcaterra.com/blog/odot-sucks

 

Wow. Did he have a lawyer? The could have sued to force a taking given that the property became uninhabitable by the split. My understanding was that the DOT (in the state I was in at least) paid for the property owner's attorney for the first round of the taking (not any appeals).

The other guy I think of is the one across the street from the Kenwood Rd exit on I-71 in Cincinnati. His house gets headlights of cars exiting the highway all night.

 

Suppose Cincinnati is accepted into MLS, plays a season or more at their current location- Nippert Stadium. Then moves to a new stadium in Newport, Kentucky. Will they be prevented from moving because of the Modell Law?

 

Not sure of the details--it's been a few years (though the sign/house was still there this summer when I went out to Granville). Not the first time ODOT got their way--and sometimes you can get away with a lot in eminent domain. When they finished SR 315 ca. 1980, they took part of a neighborhood by the hospital. As was needed. But, the stump that was left has had repeated flooding issues due to the construction and no one in their right minds would buy there (it lies between the old 4-lane road, still used and the freeway, right on the Olentangy River).

 

If they are paying a below market rent at Nippert or something like that, the Modell law could come in to play. As a practical matter, it won't, because who would try to buy out Lindner? If the Crew moved from MAPFRE to a downtown location, it wouldn't trigger the Modell law since they are in the same political subdivision. But if they moved to a new stadium in a suburb of Cbus, it theoretically could allow a private buyer to step forward.

 

From my take on this, Modell law already applies. The law doesn't make any reference to the league that the team is playing in. Changing league does not change requirements under the law. So, going from USL to MLS, or MLS to USL will not affect things. It just talks about where they play there games.

Next, for FC Cincinnati, clause A is relevant...

Part of arranging the move is to get the agreement in (A). The move to Newport will likely get this agreement. There is a lot of intergovernmental interaction between the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana local governments around Cincinnati. see www.oki.org/

For the Crew, this is an interesting potential loophole. PSV could move MLS operations to Austin and still have the Crew play in Mapfre as a USL team. Of course, this would require USL granting a team and the team that is playing in the USL would have to be the same team as the one that played the year before. That would leave Columbus arguing its not the same team. It would be interesting to see what makes the teams the same in the eyes of the court.

 

“If this happen in Argentina, maybe somebody die.”https://t.co/9iszMfkhr7

— Andrew (@AndrewKingCbus) January 21, 2018

 

From BA in the Crew thread:

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2018/01/city-parkland-vanish-soccer-stadium-consideration/

Austin city councilwoman whose district includes Precourt's preferred site comes out against it.

 

Other than moving the team, I don't think Precourt had any idea of what to do next.

 

Phase 1: Announce move to Austin
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit


He thought he made sufficient effort in Columbus, and everyone would agree he gave the city a fair chance. And then Austin would be so grateful for him making their city "major league" that he'd get a sweetheart stadium deal and sell tickets effortlessly. He's currently bewildered that there are people outside Columbus, including some of his fellow owners, who think he screwed up. He doesn't know why Austin's city council and residents aren't more enthusiastically compliant.

 

They studied at the feet of Betsy Hodges?

Who I believe was taught by Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff...

"I don't know what they have to say.
It makes no difference anyway.
Whatever it is, I'm against it."

 

Two thousand dollars for ice! I can buy an Eskimo for two hundred and make my own ice.

 

Someone posted this on reddit yesterday:

Supposedly this is the up to date map of potential stadium sites. Those two sites with the blue "X" are likely ruled out based on the following:

http://www.mystatesman.com/sports/s...tadium-austin/3jtDi4hRnke3ojOwLnEIlJ/amp.html

So as its stands, the only site on the map that hasn't been ruled out is 10414 McKalla Place, which is surrounded primarily by industrial and flex development. So basically the site has no bars/restaurants nearby (unless you count fast food), isn't walkable from anything of note, has zero synergy with the surrounding uses, and is located farther away from downtown Austin than (for example) DSGP is located from downtown Denver. Also, unlike a DSGP, the site isn't large enough to support a sizable amount surrounding development such as parking or additional fields. This is a far cry from the "centralized urban core location" stuff that PSG have been pimping so hard to pull in that "young and hip" crowd. It's a truly awful location.

 

Just reading about the proposed stadium site, how was he going to go forward without the support of the local leader/community. That should come before having a "preferred spot". Plus, what kind of dope would give up park land that some describe as insufficient for the community in the future due to already planned development.

The one thing that he does have going for him is that the other owners won't say/do anything unless this starts hurting their bottom line. This will let him fish around for a site without any real pressure.

 

And the wild flailing continues...

A statement from Dave Greeley, president of Precourt Sports Ventures, in response to #ATXCouncil possibly pulling parkland from the list of potential soccer stadium sites identified by city staff: #MLS2ATX pic.twitter.com/Bh5hQfhEtq

— Austin FC (@AustinFC) January 24, 2018

 

I love his spin doctoring in the first sentence...

"Polling data shows that the vast majority of Austinites want a Major League Soccer team."

Well, if your poll has open-ended questions asking if you'd like to have a team, well, who is going to say no? Of course if you ask if people still want a team if it means that public parkland will be given away to a rich guy for nuffin, or that their taxes are going to go up and traffic is going to be a pain in the ass near where they live/work, I bet people would be less enthusiastic.

It's like asking someone if they want you to give them $1,000. Sure, I'll take it. Wait, but you'll have to give me your car that's worth $15,000. Um, no thanks...

 

People saying they want a team isn't the same as saying they want to give the team public lands.

 

Horse Feathers.

 

Also it's worth noting that PSV says it just can't live with MAPFRE being 4 miles from downtown,which is just way too far, and unless they can get a downtown stadium like the successful teams now have they don't think they can make it financially.

McKalla is almost twice that distance from downtown Austin.

When cheap, third rate used car sales types start assuring you that "the vast majority"of people agree that he's right, well, he's probably lying.

But, but, but..he used the word "data" which makes it ultra scientifical, like "business metrics" and stuff. A guy who works out of his garage - literally - in Chicago is trying to tell a bunch of locally elected Austin Texas politicians that he has a better handle on what their constituents want than they do.

This shit down there is amateur hour stuff. The only reason they haven't laughed his miserable lying ass out of town yet is because they're sure if they're polite to him they'll be getting something really neat at no cost. Essentially,everybody is playing everybody.

Unfortunately Austin has yet to wake up to the fact that about all they're ever going to get from PSV is royally screwed. PSV is there to take.

 

Easy, there, Colonel Potter...

 

It seems to me that Precourt should have had his ducks in a lot more of a straight row before he let it be known he wants to move the team. Sounds like this is very likely not going to happen. I think he is screwed. He has screwed the pooch in Columbus and sounds like things are unraveling in Austin.
I really think he is going to have to sell the team. I hope and pray that happens.

I know this has been hashed out over and over, but why in the frig, Austin? Of all places...Austin. It is just stupid.