Austin City Council Approves Soccer Stadium

By Anca Gagiuc

Austin City Council has approved a plan from Precourt Sports Ventures to build a new Major League Soccer stadium in the city. The firm, also the owner of the Columbus Crew Soccer Club, reached an agreement with the council that the facility would not produce property tax revenue.

The project’s estimated cost is $190 million, plus a $10 million contingency. The selected spot is a 24-acre tract of city-owned land located at 10414 McKalla Place, in close proximity to The Domain. About 8 acres will be reserved for green, open space and performance areas, accessible to the general public year-round during non-event times when the stadium project is completed, anticipated for April 2021. There will be one area specifically designed as performance space for concerts and other events, which could host between 30 and 3,000 attendees. There will also be open parking lots, which could host music and cultural festivals.

Under the terms of the proposal, the city would sign a 20-year lease for the property with PSV. The company would not pay rent for five years, and as the stadium and land would remain under the city’s ownership, PSV would not pay property taxes. However, government ownership doesn’t guarantee the $200 million complex would be tax-exempt—the Travis Central Appraisal District is already challenging the tax-exempt status.