AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin and Precourt Sports Ventures are continuing to negotiate bringing Major League Soccer to Austin.
On Thursday, the city invited the public to a meeting at the Austin Central Library.
Many people shared their thoughts on what should be included in the negotiations between the city and Precourt Sports Ventures. The company is interested in building a stadium at McKalla Place in north Austin. Meeting attendees said they wanted to know if the company will pay property taxes and what parking would be like.
“It's a concern to me that one mile from my home will be a 20,000-seat arena that offers no parking,” a concerned resident said.
"You're expecting that the metro rail plus the bus transit system are going to support 3,000 people in a single afternoon to a single destination,” said another resident.
Others said they see MLS coming to Austin as an opportunity to bring the community together.
“There’s a great opportunity to bring concerts to bring parks to bring community benefits and bring a lot of money in that’s way beyond what we may be giving up in property taxes,” a supporter said.
An attorney for Precourt Sports Ventures was also at the meeting. He said there are daily talks with the city and added that the company hopes to have a decision from the council by August 9.