Bexar County (Texas) Judge Nelson Wolff has asked local district attorney Nico LaHood to investigate whether MLS "violated any criminal or civil laws when they encouraged local officials" in '15 to "purchase Toyota Field and submit a bid for an expansion franchise in San Antonio," according to Brian Chasnoff of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS. The purchase came two years after Crew Chair Anthony Precourt had "obtained the legal right" to relocate the Crew to Austin. LaHood's office has "agreed to investigate the matter." Wolff in a "strongly worded letter" to MLS Commissioner Don Garber expressed "deep concern that MLS had misled local officials." MLS Exec VP/Communications Dan Courtemanche yesterday "disputed that." Wolff’s letter also alleged that Precourt and the Univ. of Texas have "reached an agreement to use UT facilities" in '19, but Crew Dir of Communications Tim Miller "rebutted Wolff’s contention" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 10/31).
RED CARD? Wolff also said that he was told by MLS Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott in '15 that the league "would not add both San Antonio and Austin as expansion cities." In Columbus, Andrew Erickson notes the county and city spent $9M each to "purchase Toyota Field," home of the USL's San Antonio FC. San Antonio earlier this year was "one of 12 cities to apply to be one of the four expansion markets." Wolff said, "The thing really began to stink up and that’s when we decided we were going to go ahead and launch the investigation." LaHood said that he "won’t be pressured to complete an investigation before MLS announces two expansion teams in mid-to-late December." San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg in a statement stressed the city’s "need to learn 'all of the facts' surrounding a complicated situation" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 10/31).
SEARCH PARTY: Erickson also notes the Austin City Council is "expected to vote at its Nov. 9 meeting on a resolution instructing the city manager to identify city-owned sites within the urban core that might work for a soccer stadium and sites outside the urban core for a practice facility" that could serve the Crew should they relocate (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 10/31).
