Austin Soccer Stadium Proposal at Butler Shores Nixed by Columbus Crew
A controversial proposal to bring Major League Soccer team Columbus Crew SC to a new stadium in Austin will proceed no further, FOX7 reports.
For several months, Precourt Sports Ventures, a firm representing the Columbus Crew soccer team, has expressed interest in constructing a new MLS stadium on Butler Shores and permanently relocating the team to Austin.
In preliminary discussions with Austin City Council, Precourt reviewed a list provided by the Council of Austin sites that could potentially accommodate a stadium, and the firm developed a particular interest in Butler Shores, a Zilker parkland region just south of the river. Local neighborhood associations, however, quickly opposed the idea of building a large, for-profit sports stadium on a public park.
Precourt’s proposal designated the baseball field on Butler Shores as the ideal locale for the new stadium. The plan’s opponents, however, cited Weber Field’s value to the community in their argument. South Austin Baseball president Paul Purcell touted Weber Field’s history as a center for Little League, telling FOX7 that “Weber Field has a big place in the way kids grow up.”
In addition to the conflict with the baseball field, the new stadium could potentially cause overcrowding on the popular Ann & Roy Butler Hike & Bike Trail, along with traffic challenges throughout the neighborhood.
For all of these reasons, City Council Member Ann Kitchen introduced a measure last week to remove Butler Shores from Columbus Crew’s consideration list. Kitchen issued the resolution at a council meeting last Thursday, but withdrew the proposal on Friday following an announcement from Precourt that Butler Shores will no longer be pursued by the firm for a stadium location.
Austin sites outside of Kitchen’s district may still be floated as possibilities for Columbus Crew’s move, such as the Travis County Exposition Center in Northeast Austin and Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Metropolitan Park in East Riverside, but Precourt has also re-opened a discussion on keeping the team in Ohio for the foreseeable future. Regardless, Butler Shores will remain public parkland.