There is a lot of talk and momentum beginning to build regarding a professional sports team coming to Austin, TX. Austin is the largest US city without a professional team and city leaders want to change that.
Recently there has been discussion around Major League Soccer.
The Premier Development League, or “minor league”, Austin Aztex currently play at House Park downtown and has experienced a lot of success since beginning in 2011. The Aztex is one of 64 teams in the PDL. Recent expansions were New York City, Orlando and Atlanta and current rumors continue to name Austin and San Antonio as viable candidates for major league expansion.
There are concerns regarding the need to build a stadium that would meet MLS standards however. San Antonio already has a central stadium which can be expanded to meet this requirement so it would seem that they have a leg up. Austin would have to build a new stadium and finding a viable piece of land near downtown could be challenging.
Golf is another professional candidate. City leaders envision Austin as hosting a stop on the PGA tour. Mayor Lee Leffingwell recently met with tour officials to discuss Austin as a possibility. The Decker Lake area in northeast Austin continues to be an area where they envision a new course that meets the PGA standard.
With the X-games coming to town this June and with the success of F1 and the Circuit of the Americas, Austin is starting to gain traction building its brand and showing the world that it can host world class events and be successful. Eventually this will help build Austin’s popularity and help lure a professional sports team in the not too distant future.
Read more at: http://impactnews.com/austin-metro/central-austin/sports-at-center-of-austins-attention/
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