USL yesterday decided an expansion franchise set for Austin "should make every effort to take the pitch" for the '19 season, according to Kevin Lyttle of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. The USL "granted Austin an expansion franchise" last summer. However Owner Bobby Epstein "put everything on hold" in October when Precourt Sports Ventures announced the Crew were "exploring a move to Austin." Epstein said, "The league has told us we've got to get our franchise started or we risk losing it." The USL "decided its new Austin team cannot wait any longer to start from scratch in building a franchise that would be ready to roll one year from now." Epstein, who is also Circuit of the Americas Chair, would build a 5,000-seat stadium at his complex (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2/27). Epstein said, "The USL was really very understanding when the Crew said they were moving to Austin, and they let us get into a sort of wait-and-see mode, but now I think there’s a widespread feeling that the Crew may not be coming to Austin after all." Epstein added that in November there was "'zero chance' USL and MLS franchises would be able to coexist in Austin." In Columbus, Andrew Erickson notes it is "believed that a Crew move to Austin would force Austin USL ownership to request a move elsewhere" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 2/27).
