Austin USL Club "Full Speed Ahead" On Soccer Stadium At COTA

USL club Austin Bold FC, which begins play in March at a new 5,000-seat stadium at Circuit of the Americas, is moving "full speed ahead" on the venue now that the F1 U.S. GP is over, according to Chris Bils of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. The club yesterday morning had its "ceremonial groundbreaking" on the venue, which will consist of a "main grandstand backing up to the circuit's Grand Plaza, with smaller sections of seats along the opposite touch line and southwest end line." All seats "will have chair backs," and 60% of the stadium will be "covered by a steel-framed roof." The facility will also have "permanent locker rooms and restrooms underneath the main grandstand." Bold GM Roberto Silva said that the cost of the stadium will be $5M, "not including infrastructure that is already in place at COTA, such as concession stands and parking lots." Silva also "took a shot at the Anthony Precourt-led MLS venture, saying that the Bold FC stadium will be on private land" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 10/25).