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  #21  
Old Posted Jul 16, 2009, 10:13 PM
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I like it, but it looks more like a Performing Arts Building than a sports arena.
Condsidering George Strait is opening the building, that's very appropriate .
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  #22  
Old Posted Jul 17, 2009, 3:13 AM
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I think Highland or Mueller would be a good location. Something a little smaller than Pizza Hut Park in Frisco (capacity just over 21,000) where FC Dallas plays would be ideal. There is also a need for some sort of outdoor concert venue larger than Auditorium Shores since places like The Backyard and Verizon in Selma have closed, it could be used for that as well.
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  #23  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2009, 9:20 PM
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I know it's not always a popular issue on these boards but what are y'alls thoughts on Major League Baseball eventually becoming a reality in Austin. I think we can all agree that NFL is out (Longhorns) and NBA wont happen because of the Spurs close proximity. Of all of the major sports, I would say that Baseball would match Austin's vibe the most being outdoors and laid back. There are going to be people that say Austin doesn't need/want pro sports but with the city growing at an amazing rate the demand should be there eventually.
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  #24  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2009, 2:41 AM
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Originally Posted by brandon View Post
I know it's not always a popular issue on these boards but what are y'alls thoughts on Major League Baseball eventually becoming a reality in Austin. I think we can all agree that NFL is out (Longhorns) and NBA wont happen because of the Spurs close proximity. Of all of the major sports, I would say that Baseball would match Austin's vibe the most being outdoors and laid back. There are going to be people that say Austin doesn't need/want pro sports but with the city growing at an amazing rate the demand should be there eventually.
Since you put it that way baseball does seem to be the only thing viable here. Can't imagine a pro hockey team either. I can foresee a huge backlash against a taxpayer-supported private enterprise like a pro baseball team. Now if the city had some land they couldn't decide what to do with in some area that wasn't good for much else then maybe an incentive like that could be digestible to the locals. I also like baseball b/c there are what 80 some games per year vs. 8 for football (pre-season hardly counts in my book). Could have some great state rivalries too.
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  #25  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2009, 4:09 AM
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Major league baseball in Austin would be cool I think a baseball stadium between Austin/San Antonio would be good kinda like the Ballpark in Arlington or something.
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  #26  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2009, 5:20 AM
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Major League Baseball teams play 82 home games a year, so baseball stadiums are usually booked for many more dates than football and therefore are paid off quicker. Arlington was able to pay off the bonds to build the Ballpark in 10 to 15 years. I'm not sure how fast Arlington will be able to pay off the bonds to build Cowboy's Stadium. No doubt about it, baseball stadiums are easier to fund.

Arenas can host many events, like hockey, basketball, indoor soccer, rodeos, stock shows, dog shows, boat and car shows, skating shows, circus, and music acts. They rarely pay for themselves, even if you're successful booking most weekend dates with something. You rely upon visitors to the arenas spending money at local hotels, restaurants, bar and grills, and retail stores (synergy) to generate funds to pay off the bonds to build and maintain them.

Last edited by electricron; Jul 25, 2009 at 5:33 AM.
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  #27  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2009, 4:44 PM
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The most capable group to bring MLB baseball to Austin would have to be the Ryan Family. Nolan has a house in Georgetown I believe and his son Reid I assume lives in the area as well. The only thing is that Nolan has a pretty high position with the Texas Rangers (President, I believe) and their ownership stake in the Round Rock Express seems to be for the long haul.

However given the rapid growth of Austin and Round Rock in their own right, I'd say its possible at some point in time for both cities to support their own teams if the economy turns around...perhaps similar to the dynamic in the Metroplex area...the Texas Rangers in Arlington and the Double-A team in the Texas League, the Frisco Roughriders.

As for a stadium location, in the central core, land is getting scarce, short of a dramatic decision. Does the city own the land where the YMCA baseball fields/Town Lake Animal shelter sit? What about the Town Lake Hyatt site?
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  #28  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2009, 6:52 PM
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All this sports talk has come up several times before, but it's been awhile. The only way a MLB team could survive would be if it was supported by the combined San Antonio and Austin population. Neither city is big enough on its own to support a team. This means a stadium would need to be built somewhere between San Marcos and New Braunfels.
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  #29  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2009, 7:28 PM
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If it were to happen it would probably be built in Williamson County, which has gotten quite large in it's own right. However, when considering that it has Bell County abutting it to the north and Travis County abutting it to the south, you have a quite large population in which to draw fans. All three counties are also growing rapidly. You have a fantastic ownership group running a 'AAA' club which has been a huge success in Round Rock. The same ownership group also runs a 'AA' club in Corpus Christi which has been very successful.
http://www.roundrockexpress.com/default.asp?pageId=91
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  #30  
Old Posted Jul 26, 2009, 2:21 PM
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All I know is Austin/Travis county voters would never approve something like the Cowboys Stadium financing scheme:

To aid Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones in paying the construction costs of the new stadium, Arlington voters approved the increase of the city's sales tax by one-half of a percent, the hotel occupancy tax by 2 percent, and car rental tax by 5 percent.

Jerry Jones is such a successful capitalists that he needs gov't welfare to build his own personal Taj Mahal. I think I'm content with college ball if it means less corruption and siphoning away of tax revenues for an 8 lousy games per year.
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  #31  
Old Posted Jul 26, 2009, 4:49 PM
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I think they did that in San Antonio too when they built the Alamodome
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  #32  
Old Posted Jul 26, 2009, 11:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Hill Country View Post
All this sports talk has come up several times before, but it's been awhile. The only way a MLB team could survive would be if it was supported by the combined San Antonio and Austin population. Neither city is big enough on its own to support a team. This means a stadium would need to be built somewhere between San Marcos and New Braunfels.
I predict a Northeast team will move in south of San Marcos by the time every exit is filled in between San Antonio and Austin.
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  #33  
Old Posted Jul 26, 2009, 11:59 PM
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According to my quick research, Milwaukee is the smallest MLB market at 1,739,497 in the metro vs Austin's 1,652,602. Austin's Metro will surely surpass Milwaukee's Metro soon with its 43% growth from 1998 to 2008. I'm not a big fan of the idea of a stadium in between Austin and San Antonio. The cities are not close enough together like DFW. I would say that a potential fan base would still pull from San Antonio with the team in Austin. Ideally, I would like to see it just south of Town Lake with the skyline in the background. Maybe east of 35 would be possible. As with the Spurs in San Antonio, if Austin had one major sports team I think there would be a good deal of support backing it.

http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.p...tch&Itemid=136

http://www.austinchamber.com/DoBusin...opulation.html
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  #34  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 1:24 AM
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With the way that the MLB revenue is structured, I would say no way. Mos of the teams make the bulk of their money off their negotiated television contracts with local stations or regional sports networks, there just aren't enough TV sets to compete. There is no revenue sharing like the NFL, there is a limited luxury tax but the Yankees still operate with 5x the budget of most teams because of the revenue structure. With that type of system in place and owner probably isn't going to look to move to an Austin or San Antonio although I think San Antonio will probably be used as a bargaining chip in trying to get a new stadium, much like the Marlins did.

The MLB is also hesitant to move teams, now that the Marlins have a new stadium in the pipeline they are off the move list. There just aren't many teams in a position to move now, most teams have a relatively new or historic stadium and even the older ones have had significant upgrades in recent years. Even a few seasons ago they were looking at contracting the Twins and the Expos, the Expos ended up moving to DC and became the Nationals.

1912 - Fenway Park - Boston Red Sox
1914 - Wrigley Field - Chicago Cubs
1962 - Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles Dodgers
1966 - Angels Stadium - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
1966 - Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum - Oakland Athletics
1973 - Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City Royals
1989 - Rogers Centre - Toronto Blue Jays
1990 - Tropicana Field - Tampa Bay Rays
1991 - Chicago White Sox - U.S. Cellular Field
1992 - Baltimore Orioles - Oriole Park at Camden Yards
1994 - Progressive Field - Cleveland Indians
1994 - Rangers Ballpark in Arlington - Texas Rangers
1995 - Coors Field - Colorado Rockies
1996 - Turner Field - Atlanta Braves
1998 - Chase Field - Arizona Diamondbacks
1999 - Safeco Field - Seattle Mariners
2000 - Comerica Park - Detroit Tigers
2000 - Minute Maid Park - Houston Astros
2000 - AT&T Park - San Francisco Giants
2001 - Miller Park - Milwaukee Brewers
2001 - PNC Park - Pittsburgh Pirates
2003 - Great American Ball Park - Cincinnati Reds
2004 - Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia Phillies
2004 - PETCO Park - San Diego Padres
2006 - Busch Stadium - St. Louis Cardinals
2008 - Nationals Park - Washington Nationals
2009 - Citi Field - New York Mets
2009 - Yankee Stadium - New York Yankees

Under Construction
2010 - Target Field - Minnesota Twins
2012 - Marlins Ballpark - Florida Marlins

As you can see from the list, the likely candidates for a move are very, very slim. The Tampa stadium situation is probably the worst but they have a Tampa based ownership group. I don't think that Oakland or the LA based teams are going anywhere. Kansas City has just undergone a major renovation.

I still think MLS is the best possibility as outside of UT sports Austin seems to have more attention towards the non-traditional sports like cycling and I think soccer could do that and get the attention of Austinites and not just the suburban dwellers. A decent soccer stadium could also be a good size outdoor concert venue as well.
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  #35  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 6:19 AM
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Originally Posted by NThomas View Post
I predict a Northeast team will move in south of San Marcos by the time every exit is filled in between San Antonio and Austin.


San Antonio is big enough for it's own team it is the 10th largest city in the US
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  #36  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 1:14 PM
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The size of the city isn't what counts, it's the size of the MSA that counts.

1912 - Fenway Park - Boston Red Sox --> Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 4,522,858
1914 - Wrigley Field - Chicago Cubs --> Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI MSA - 9,569,624
1962 - Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles Dodgers --> Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - 12,872,808
1966 - Angels Stadium - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim --> Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - 12,872,808
1966 - Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum - Oakland Athletics --> San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 4,274,531
1973 - Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City Royals --> Kansas City, MO-KS MSA - 2,002,047
1989 - Rogers Centre - Toronto Blue Jays --> Greater Toronto Area GTA - 5,555,912
1990 - Tropicana Field - Tampa Bay Rays --> Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - 2,733,761
1991 - Chicago White Sox - U.S. Cellular Field --> Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI MSA - 9,569,624
1992 - Baltimore Orioles - Oriole Park at Camden Yards --> Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - 2,667,117
1994 - Progressive Field - Cleveland Indians --> Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH MSA - 2,088,291
1994 - Rangers Ballpark in Arlington - Texas Rangers --> Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 6,300,006
1995 - Coors Field - Colorado Rockies --> Denver-Aurora, CO MSA - 2,506,626
1996 - Turner Field - Atlanta Braves --> Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA - 5,376,285
1998 - Chase Field - Arizona Diamondbacks --> Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ MSA - 4,281,899
1999 - Safeco Field - Seattle Mariners --> Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA - 3,344,813
2000 - Comerica Park - Detroit Tigers --> Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI MSA - 4,425,110
2000 - Minute Maid Park - Houston Astros --> Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 5,728,143
2000 - AT&T Park - San Francisco Giants --> San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 4,274,531
2001 - Miller Park - Milwaukee Brewers --> Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI MSA - 1,549,308
2001 - PNC Park - Pittsburgh Pirates --> Pittsburgh, PA MSA - 2,351,192
2003 - Great American Ball Park - Cincinnati Reds --> Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN MSA - 2,155,137
2004 - Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia Phillies --> Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 5,838,471
2004 - PETCO Park - San Diego Padres --> San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - 3,001,072
2006 - Busch Stadium - St. Louis Cardinals --> St. Louis, MO-IL MSA - 2,816,710
2008 - Nationals Park - Washington Nationals --> Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - 5,358,130
2009 - Citi Field - New York Mets --> New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 19,006,798
2009 - Yankee Stadium - New York Yankees --> New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 19,006,798

Under Construction
2010 - Target Field - Minnesota Twins --> Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA - 3,229,878
2012 - Marlins Ballpark - Florida Marlins --> Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA - 5,414,772

MSA's skipped by baseball???

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - 4,115,871
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA MSA - 2,207,462
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA MSA - 2,109,832
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL MSA - 2,054,574
San Antonio, TX MSA - 2,031,445
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA - 1,865,746
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA - 1,819,198
Columbus, OH MSA - 1,773,120
Indianapolis-Carmel, IN MSA - 1,715,45
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC MSA - 1,701,799
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA - 1,658,292
Austin-Round Rock, TX MSA - 1,652,602
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA MSA - 1,596,611
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN MSA - 1,550,733

The only teams with less population in their metropolitian statistical area than San Antonio are Kansas City (very, very close) and Milwaukee (which attracts fans from throughout the state). San Antonio is just barely below Cleveland and Cincinnati in population. But they have a history of major league baseball that extends over 100 years. There are four other metro areas larger than San Antonio. San Antonio may attract fans from the Austin area, but only on weekends.
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  #37  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 1:21 PM
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People from Austin might go to games more than on weekends if/when the ASA rail is up and running.
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  #38  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 1:34 PM
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People from Austin might go to games more than on weekends if/when the ASA rail is up and running.
I doubt it because it's 80.5 miles between Austin and San Antonio. It'll be a longer train ride than a drive by auto over 1 hour and closer to 2 hours in evening rush hour. The Texas Rangers don't start games until 7:30 PM because of the heat and to give north Dallas fans time to get to the game. Therefore to get to the game in time for the first pitch, fans will have to leave Austin with the family no later than 5:30 PM. Driving time may shrink to closer to 1 hour after the game, but the games last over 3 hours today. Austin fans wouldn't be arriving to their homes until 1 AM or later.

As for the ASA commuter trains, do you really believe they will be running at 1 AM in the mornings?
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  #39  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 2:58 PM
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Originally Posted by electricron View Post
The size of the city isn't what counts, it's the size of the MSA that counts.

The only teams with less population in their metropolitian statistical area than San Antonio are Kansas City (very, very close) and Milwaukee (which attracts fans from throughout the state). San Antonio is just barely below Cleveland and Cincinnati in population. But they have a history of major league baseball that extends over 100 years. There are four other metro areas larger than San Antonio. San Antonio may attract fans from the Austin area, but only on weekends.
Kansas City has historically been much larger than San Antonio and SA only passed it in the last year or so. KC also has the surrounding cities/small metro areas of Topeka, KS, Lawrence, KS, and St. Joseph, MO to draw from (combined population > 350k).
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  #40  
Old Posted Jul 27, 2009, 5:41 PM
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Originally Posted by PartyLine View Post
San Antonio is big enough for it's own team it is the 10th largest city in the US
I don't doubt that San Antonio (and Austin by proximity) could support a MLB team, I just don't think there are any that will move and since baseball was talking about contracting two teams in 2001 there is not going to be any expansion.

The Oakland A's are the only ones that don't seem to have a stadium in the future but the ownership has many interests tied to California and has been reported to be one of the most profitable teams in the luxury tax era. If they move anywhere it will be somewhere in Northern California and not to Texas.
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