Sports in Austin

[drummer]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Yes, the location is great and the land around it has become valuable with 6+ high-rises planned to go up by the stadium. I was referring the site pre Q2 as a former brownfield site that was just being used for some city maintenance storage. The CC should have been a little happier about giving up the site considering what we got with Q2.

What has been the reaction of the CC with the success of Austin FC and the stadium? I haven't been paying attention. Especially Leslie Pool, who was vehemently opposed to it.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by drummer

What has been the reaction of the CC with the success of Austin FC and the stadium? I haven't been paying attention. Especially Leslie Pool, who was vehemently opposed to it.

Leslie turned into a 'supporter' once she realized she couldn't fight it. She even turned up to several press conferences and celebrations as the project unfolded.

[atx-adam]

Grant Wahl's newsletter (paywall) has a tip about Austin potentially getting an expansion team for the woman's soccer league:

"This week sources with knowledge of the situation told me which cities have the strongest bids for NWSL expansion. They are the MLS owners in Atlanta, Austin, Cincinnati, Salt Lake, and Toronto, and non-MLS owners in Columbus and the San Francisco Bay Area (the last two of which would likely use the MLS stadiums in Columbus and San Jose). NWSL expansion is most likely set for 2024, though one source told me not to write off 2023 as a possibility."

[atxsnail]

Originally Posted by atx-adam

Grant Wahl's newsletter (paywall) has a tip about Austin potentially getting an expansion team for the woman's soccer league:

"This week sources with knowledge of the situation told me which cities have the strongest bids for NWSL expansion. They are the MLS owners in Atlanta, Austin, Cincinnati, Salt Lake, and Toronto, and non-MLS owners in Columbus and the San Francisco Bay Area (the last two of which would likely use the MLS stadiums in Columbus and San Jose). NWSL expansion is most likely set for 2024, though one source told me not to write off 2023 as a possibility."

I think NWSL would do well here and it would be an excellent way to activate the stadium for an additional 11 matches each year. I suspect Austin would rival the Portland Thorns (~14k avg/match) or maybe even the new celebrity-owned expansion Angel City FC (~19.5k) for attendance.

Someone once randomly asked Sandra Bullock if she'd be interested in owning a team and she gave a "sure, why not" sort of response.

I'll note that as a league, NSWL has a lot of baggage to clean up around gender dynamics and Austin FC is currently dealing with some of its own with star Cecilio Dominguez.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by atxsnail

I think NWSL would do well here and it would be an excellent way to activate the stadium for an additional 11 matches each year. I suspect Austin would rival the Portland Thorns (~14k avg/match) or maybe even the new celebrity-owned expansion Angel City FC (~19.5k) for attendance.

Someone once randomly asked Sandra Bullock if she'd be interested in owning a team and she gave a "sure, why not" sort of response.

I'll note that as a league, NSWL has a lot of baggage to clean up around gender dynamics and Austin FC is currently dealing with some of its own with star Cecilio Dominguez.

Cecilio has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Austin Police, Austin FC and the MLS. No charges were ever filed and the team suspended him while the police and MLS completed their investigations.

[atxsnail]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Cecilio has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Austin Police, Austin FC and the MLS. No charges were ever filed and the team suspended him while the police and MLS completed their investigations.

Factually correct*, though that has not cleared the fan controversy to which I was alluding. I don't care to litigate whether or not those fans are justified in this space.


* Editing to note that I would say that the investigations did not result in any further sanctions. That's not really the same as "cleared of wrongdoing", which I suspect you mean with regard to aspects of criminal law. The reporting has been that the league was unable to obtain documentation about the 2016 incident. I believe he has entered into counseling though I'm not sure if it was voluntary or mandated by the league.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Cecilio has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Austin Police, Austin FC and the MLS. No charges were ever filed and the team suspended him while the police and MLS completed their investigations.

I would note that the "investigation" was done by a crisis PR firm and not a P.I. firm. Specifically they did not investigate the 2016 incident which includes physical abuse, threats of rape and allegations of multiple rapes.

And in the 2016 cases there were multiple charges filed and a restraining order against him.

Whether or not he plays again, I think we should be careful about misconstruing "APD didn't file charges" and "MLS didn't find anything that violated his contract" with "cleared of any wrongdoing" because no one involved has stated that.

[East7thStreet]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

I would note that the "investigation" was done by a crisis PR firm and not a P.I. firm. Specifically they did not investigate the 2016 incident which includes physical abuse, threats of rape and allegations of multiple rapes.

And in the 2016 cases there were multiple charges filed and a restraining order against him.

Whether or not he plays again, I think we should be careful about misconstruing "APD didn't file charges" and "MLS didn't find anything that violated his contract" with "cleared of any wrongdoing" because no one involved has stated that.

I believe the 2016 allegations were never prosecuted and technically remain "allegations"..... that Cecilio Dominguez has denied. The only things really confirmed are verbal abuse and threats....bad enough that police were called by Austin FC.

I just feel for the kid and mother.....and I don't think the supporter groups have really made child/mother's concerns a top priority with their statements and actions.

[GoldenBoot]

Personally, if he even remotely abused anyone - get rid of him!

On that note, I believe ATXFC would be better off getting rid of him anyway. He's overpaid for the amount of on-field production he provides the side. The team would be in a better position if they could go and get a far more productive DP. This team needs more goal scorers.

[ATXboom]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

Personally, if he even remotely abused anyone - get rid of him!

On that note, I believe ATXFC would be better off getting rid of him anyway. He's overpaid for the amount of on-field production he provides the side. The team would be in a better position if they could go and get a far more productive DP. This team needs more goal scorers.

This lol.... use his designated $ for someone more effective / better fit for the team.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by East7thStreet

I believe the 2016 allegations were never prosecuted and technically remain "allegations"..... that Cecilio Dominguez has denied. The only things really confirmed are verbal abuse and threats....bad enough that police were called by Austin FC.

I just feel for the kid and mother.....and I don't think the supporter groups have really made child/mother's concerns a top priority with their statements and actions.

Well charges were filed and a restraining order was issued - so it certainly got more "formal" than the 2022 incident. That said, it looks like the 2016 prosecution never happened because his lawyer petitioned the judge (successfully) on more than one occasion that the prosecutor was a fan of a rival team and should be removed from the case and eventually nothing came of the case after enough time passed.

Even the 2022 incident - all we know about it is that another players wife alerted the team which alerted APD. Whatever happened seems like it was threats and not physical violence, but when your team-mates wives start calling the front office it sounds like there was some real concern - and given the past allegations you should probably take those seriously.


Im with you, it really sucks that this woman's visa status and her son (and her) financial security are tied to this guy continuing to play soccer. Puts her in a really really bad position with very little agency.

[H2O]

I have similar feelings about Cecilio. He can be exciting to watch, but also brings a lot of frustration with his lack of goal production. I forgot to add: He spends way too much time rolling around on the ground if anybody so much as blows on him. But back to the original post, I and my soccer crazy daughter would be thrilled to have a NWSL team in Austin.

[StoOgE]

Oh and I would LOVE an NWSL team.

I doubt I'd get season tickets since I've already got Austin FC tickets but I would gladly go to 5-6 games a year.

[kingkirbythe....]

Texas Longhorns football season ticket sales set to break all-time record with Alabama looming

Texas has sold more than 62,000 seats so far.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...s-17307196.php

Texas football announced this week that season ticket sales are about to break an all-time record. With more than 62,000 seats sold, including 6,000 new season tickets, Texas is poised to surpass the record set in 2019.

There are a few reasons for the uptick in sales, even after a 5-7 finish in 2021. Head coach Steve Sarkisian's recruiting of a bevvy of transfers, including much-hyped redshirt freshman and former five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers, plus high school blue-chippers on the offensive line, promise for a Longhorns offensive juggernaut in 2022. Add in Arch Manning — who doesn't arrive on the Forty Acres until 2023 — and the "Texas is back!" rumblings have crescendoed to a tiny roar.

The schedule also has some attractive quirks for buyers. Texas has seven home games for the first time since 2010, making the season ticket purchase more attractive, albeit more expensive. And, of course, Texas has a premier home match-up against world-beaters Alabama at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 10. It's the first meeting between the two teams since the — sorry to bring this up — 2010 BCS National Championship Game, and the first time the Crimson Tide have met the Longhorns in Austin since 1922.

It also teases a future conference rivalry for the Longhorns, who are set to join the SEC...eventually. First it was 2025, then it was maybe 2024, and at Big 12 media days in Arlington this week, new commissioner Brett Yormark said it could be sooner than that.

Texas football has been hammering home the importance of the Alabama game since schedule was announced. Buying a season ticket is the only way to ensure entry to the biggest football game in Austin since Joe Burrow and LSU came to campus in 2019 and topped Texas 45-38.

[kingkirbythe....]

Sandlot baseball grows in Austin, attracting its own all-stars

https://www.kut.org/sports/2022-07-1...-travis-county

It's the top of the first inning of a baseball game between Team Warstic and the Texas Playboys on a hot May afternoon in Eastern Travis County.

The count is two balls and two strikes. There's a runner on second. The batter is better known for his hits on the radio than on the baseball field: rock star Jack White.

That assumption changes when he lines a single over second base, scoring the runner. He would later add a home run.

To understand why a four-time Grammy winner is taking at-bats in Travis County, you have to understand why there’s a field there at all.

Jack Sanders kept trying to re-create something he’d seen many times in Hale County, Ala.

“The baseball that I saw on weekends in that county … in a town of 200 people, I would see 3-, 400 people at a baseball game on a dirt road in Hale County,” he said. “And there was catfish, beer and live music. And I just always thought that was fascinating. You know, just such a beautiful scene.”

After moving to Austin, Sanders would share stories about the Alabama sandlot games with friends. He tried to keep the idea going, renting fields around Austin, but it wasn’t quite the same.

“There's big signs that say no alcohol and no amplified music,” he said. It was not exactly his idea of fun. "So we had to find somewhere else.”

That's when Sanders had his own Field of Dreams moment.

[kingkirbythe....]

Spurs announce dates for 2 'home' games at Austin's new Moody Center

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...s-17379113.php

And then there were two iterations of the Austin Spurs. Talk of the Spurs playing "home games" outside of San Antonio were approved this past May. Now we know the dates for said "home games." The San Antonio Spurs have set dates for two games at Austin's new Moody Center, on April 6 and April 8.

“We are honored to host the San Antonio Spurs for two games in Austin and help the organization celebrate their 50th anniversary season,” said Senior Vice President for Oak View Group and the Moody Center Jeff Nickler in a release. “Events like these not only generate significant economic impact for our community, but also further elevate Austin’s reputation as a world-class destination for sports and live events. We look forward to welcoming the Spurs and their growing fanbase in the capital city to Moody Center next spring.”

The Spurs have not named their opponents for the Austin games as of this write. The full Spurs schedule is set for release at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17. A KENS 5 reporter has pointed out that games against the defending NBA champs the Golden State Warriors are not listed at the AT&T Center on a preliminary schedule release.



Two games in Austin
One game in Mexico City
One game in the Alamodome

[the Genral]

So I'm wondering if the Moody Ctr is the draw, or if they would still be coming if the Erwin Center was the venue? I'll answer my own question by saying Austin is the draw, but playing in a world class arena (Moody) was the trigger.

[migol24]

I'm a Spurs fan and follow them closely on Twitter. There is a real fear amongst a lot of fans that the Spurs are flirting with moving from San Antonio. One city some of them fear the Spurs would move to is Austin.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by migol24

I'm a Spurs fan and follow them closely on Twitter. There is a real fear amongst a lot of fans that the Spurs are flirting with moving from San Antonio. One city some of them fear the Spurs would move to is Austin.

That wouldn't surprise me. They flirted with the idea back in the mid-1990's. However, an NBA arena would have to be built. The Moody Center is too small & lacks enough premium amenities to be the home of an NBA (or NHL) franchise.

[migol24]

I'm personally skeptical. And I, for one, would rather not see it happen.