The "uncertainty around" what the Crew and MLS want regarding the club's future "make it impossible for Columbus to assemble an offer to keep the team ... by the time the two sides sit down next week," according to a front-page piece by Rouan & Erickson of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Columbus Partnership CEO Alex Fischer and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther are "scheduled to meet" with Crew Owner Anthony Precourt and MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Nov. 15. However, Fischer "expressed frustration with MLS and Precourt." He said, "We've all said things or done things that in hindsight would have been better not to have. I don’t think anybody thinks any of the way this was handled by anybody was constructive." Local officials have said that they "don’t know what Columbus needs to do to keep the team." Fischer: "We don’t want to be pitching ideas until we understand directly what the problems are." He added that Columbus "doesn’t know if Precourt and MLS need a piece of land, infrastructure for a piece of property, real estate development around a stadium or financing for a stadium." Ahead of the meeting, though, Austin is "making progress toward identifying a site for a soccer stadium." Austin’s City Council will vote today on a "resolution directing the city manager to examine city-owned sites in the 'urban core,' including underutilized parkland that might work for a soccer stadium" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 11/9).
HOUSE HUNTERS: In Austin, Kevin Lyttle notes the first check of Austin’s appetite for MLS "arrives Thursday when City Council votes on a resolution to help" Crew ownership "find a suitable stadium site." Austin Mayor Pro-Tem Kathie Tovo said, “I am optimistic about the vote. I’ve heard some concerns from my colleagues about location, but the resolution was written to be broad in geographic area. If it passes -- and I expect it will -- this is really just the beginning of the process. But it’s an important first step.” The resolution "directs city staff to begin an analysis of city-owned land, including underutilized parkland, for possible location of an 'urban core' stadium and a large training facility that could be located anywhere in the city" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 11/9).
