Don't sell that idea short. Before the 2009 season, Miami FC's ownership Traffic Sports said they wanted 5,000 season tickets to be sold in like 3 weeks or they would fold the team. So the Miami Ultras organized a "24-Hour Soccer Thon" to bring awareness to the team and help sell some season tickets. We didn't sell nearly the amount of tickets they were foolishly looking for, but we played all night long and it generated enough interest in the community for Traffic to justify keeping Miami FC alive.
Could this scenario work? Have Rawlins keep the Aztex in Austin -- drop them down to PDL. Rawlins could still have an ownership stake in the Orlando team. The Aztex could be a farm team for the Orlando USL Pro team. To me, it seems like the USL would want to avoid burning such a promising yet geographically isolated market like Austin. A strong Austin PDL club could be the nucleus for a Texas/Oklahoma division for USL Pro in a few seasons... El Paso, Laredo, Tulsa... however, uprooting the team is not in the best interest of the USL...
If Phil is folding Austin because it's a financially bad idea to keep it running (and I believe that's the only reason it's happening), then keeping a PDL team wouldn't make any sense. Because as we all know, there's a grand total of maybe 5 PDL teams that are financially viable. An Austin PDL team would almost certainly have an attendance drop, and as a result, be just another financial drain. Nice idea. I thought it myself. But for the reasons above, decided it was very unlikely.
The other piece is that according to the Orlando FC website, their announcement around a USL Pro club includes plans for a PDL squad as well. So any focus on PDL would be there (my opinion). There are some options, and they've posted here, around the Austin Posse. Apparently they're getting started again. I personally am not ready to jump into any other team, and frankly, the Posse did themselves no favors by lambasting the Aztex and Division 2 soccer on their website in their original posts. The way to earn fans is not to insult their choice of teams. I've spoken to a number of the Aztex faithful, who really did not appreciate that.
They're a new "professional" soccer team in Austin. I'll let you read their history at the link I provided.
I'm confused as to why the Posse thinks they're a better option than the Aztex. And I still don't understand exactly what they are -- are they a PDL team? Who do they play? Do they just buck the entire notion of the US soccer structure, and therefore the entire notion of the FIFA structure? Are they FIFA sanctioned? Why would anybody choose to follow them over the Aztex, and why would anyone follow them in the absence of the Aztex if they have no hope of someday being in D2?
Adam Soucie (someone who IMS referenced as a source of addition details) is saying on the Orlando thread that the Aztex aren't moving to Orlando; that it is a new team forming there. It is still unclear what this means, but perhaps the Aztex are going to be sold, not dissolved or moved?
The Austin Posse page certainly looks like a joke... although I don't know who's laughing, or why. There's really very little there that makes any sense.
I think that's the plan. Unfortunately, reading between the lines of the Aztex' terse public statement the other day, there doesn't seem to be a buyer.
If the players' and coaches contracts are with the club, and the club is sold, then those contracts transfer to the new owners. Then the key question will be whether the new owners can get us into a league (NASL? D3?), build on the professionalism and goodwill that has characterized the first two years of organization, and keep moving in the right direction. With such a family atmosphere in the club so far, it's hard to imagine that Phil and Kay would walk away from all the relationships they have with players and coaches. It all sounds very odd.
This is why the utter silence from our contacts in the front office is so depressing. I would have thought that if there were any ray of hope of a franchise staying here, a couple of us would have gotten some word, some hint, something like: "don't worry guys, we can't reveal it all yet, but hang in there, it won't be that bad". But here we are, well into day three since this news broke, and I haven't heard a whiff of any such communication. That's why my hopes could hardly be any lower.
I've always understood the Posse to be a joke/hoax. Their crest says "All is to be doubted" in Latin and all.
The costs of operating at the PDL level would be considerably less... the costs to run the Aztex at their current level would easily be 10x the costs of running a PDL team. That is a concern. But if they have a good product off and on the field, there is no reason why they couldn't have solid attendance -- look at Des Moines. A lot of the casual fans will not know the difference between PDL, USL Pro anyway...
I've tried contacting some players for some additional info and have not heard anything back. No surprise that they are being asked to stay mum and not talk to any fans/media.
Their Tweets are sounding like more than goodbyes for just the off-season though: "Photo: Goodbye Austin, you were awfully good to me… http://tumblr.com/xocn1i3sy" via http://twitter.com/#!/seanwkelley
Time to sing the Blues?? Ain't got no team... Ain't got no money... Can't get no sleep... but wakin' up a 6:30 No more marchin' from the pub... No more "Roadkill Cup" Saw the UT Girls Play... Crowd was 'bout as rowdy as...hay Well we ain't got a team, Gotta find a new scene, Maybe L.A....or Ligue-1's Marseille....
BTW, after a few kind emails, I've discovered that the Austin Posse is more tongue in cheek than anything else. My apologies. It seems my sense of humor has left the building along with our team.
For we nerds out here, I'll rephrase: "It was the dawn of the third age of American soccer - six years after the 2002 World Cup. The Austin Aztex were a dream, given form. Its goal: to grow the beautiful game by creating a place where players could be developed without MLS interference. It was a port of call - home away from home - for young players, journeymen defenders, and people named Watson. Rookies and veterans, wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of concrete . . . 850 miles from the next nearest team. It can be a very hot place, but it's Austin's last, best hope for soccer. This is the story of the last of the Texas D2 franchises. The year is 2008. The name of the team is the Austin Aztex."
Like I said before, it's a fake yet very humorless website. However, I do wonder if this jackass on Twitter is responsible for it.
While the timing of the website is certainly bad, it does sort of remind me of the old ThreeSixOne web magazine.