Crew Chair Anthony Precourt said that while a "hesitancy to seek city-owned parkland" in Austin has developed within his group, a park in the Southeast part of the city is "still being considered as a site for a stadium or practice facility," according to Kevin Lyttle of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Precourt, in his first interview in the past four and a half months, said that the city-owned McKalla Place, which is a non-parkland tract, is "considered promising ... and efforts are underway to scout private properties within the urban core." Lyttle notes Austin Mayor Steve Adler "remains optimistic that Austin will land the Crew." He said, "Putting this in a park is a heavy lift. But my sense is that we are going to find a place that works for everybody." Precourt, who has offered to privately finance a 20,000-seat, $200M stadium, "stressed the importance of not settling for a subpar facility." Precourt: "Our bar is very high as it relates to the site. That’s everything. Our league will not allow us to move unless we have a site that’s going to set us up for success." Meanwhile, Precourt Sports Ventures President Dave Greeley said there are “37 companies with deep Central Texas roots that we think would be ideal partners for things like jersey sponsorship and stadium naming rights.” Greeley would "not give details on which companies have been contacted." Precourt also said that he is "seeking local investors" in Austin to help "develop a better community bond and boost cash flow" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 3/2).
PLACE YOUR BETS: In Austin, Kirk Bohls writes there is a "50-50 chance" the Crew calls Austin home before '19, "but that may be too high." Time is "of the essence for PSV, which has precious little of it." Precourt "might be moving away from Austin’s parkland sites as a stadium location because of the necessity of a high-risk and expensive November election late in this process." Smart money "would take Guerrero Colorado River Park off the list and push PSV toward the 24-acre, city-owned McKalla Place 11 miles from downtown or an undisclosed private site" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 3/2).,
FUTURE UNCERTAIN: PRO SOCCER USA's Evan Weese noted Crew supporters are heading into the season with an "uncertain future." Morgan Hughes, who leads the #SaveTheCrew movement, said, "We have not been publicly engaged by ownership since October 17th. They speak of parallel paths and they walk on a singular path. We don’t know what we need to do, we don’t know what it will take. We’re just going to keep on doing what we’ve done, keep being the mouthpiece for our community and telling everybody that this is not over, and showing the powers that be that we’re not going away" (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 2/28). In Columbus, Michael Arace writes the city is the "best place" for the Crew to "solve any current problems, real of synthetic." It would be a "boon to the league and the city, now woke, to settle up here and let the healing begin." MLS Commissioner Don Garber can "accept an olive branch from Columbus city leaders" and "cap a career with a soaring coup de grace." Arace: "If I were him, I would be thinking about it. The Crew situation is in its fifth month of crazy, with no sign of abatement. It's not a good look" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 3/2).
