The Aztexan

Okay, let's start off with some basics: the coverage of the announcement that Austin's getting a USL-1 team in our local papers.

First, the daily paper, the Austin American-Statesman: Austin Getting Soccer Club.

The Aztex would be the 12th team in USL D-1, which includes the Seattle Sounders, Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps, Rochester Raging Rhinos and Puerto Rico Islanders.

USL D-1 has its roots in the former A-League, which had 28 teams a decade ago. Travel costs and costly player salaries were among the issues that forced some teams to fold or drop to a lower division. Rawlins said the league has since stabilized.

"Teams like the Sounders and Whitecaps have been around for 10-plus years," Rawlins said. "Average attendance is about 5,500" per game.

The Aztex also will have an under-23 team after acquiring controlling interest in the Austin Stampede, an expansion team in the USL Premier Development League. Rawlins also plans to have a women's team by 2010 and youth teams.

"We will have a full soccer club," Rawlins said.

The other bit I found especially interesting from the Statesman article was this bit at the end:

As for Stoke City, the red-and-white clad Potters are the second-oldest professional club in the world. They're currently one step down from the England's Premiership league, but will have a chance to qualify for the top league this year. The top two teams from the Championship League move up, while teams in third through sixth have a playoff for the third spot. Stoke is currently in fourth.

"We're right at the cusp of it," Rawlins said. "Our television revenue alone would go from $2 million a year to $150 million. It's a huge step up."

From $2 million to $150?? Hell yeah, baby! That certainly couldn't hurt the Aztex if their partner team got promoted to the EPL during Austin's inaugural year. And even if the Austin franchise never got a dime of that bonanza of pounds sterling, the additional press alone would surely have a good effect.

Okay, moving on, here's a bit in the local alt-weekly, the Austin Chronicle: Hello, Aztex.

Unlike any soccer team Austin's had before, this one is fully professional. And they'll start out with proven top-level management, and connections to the top levels of international football: president Phil Rawlins, an Austin resident, is also an owner and director of Stoke City FC – the world's second-oldest pro football club, currently having a very successful season in the English Championship – with whom the Aztex immediately announced an affiliation.

Plus a nice little bit of trivia/background about Stoke City:

Now I suppose I'll have to become a Potters fan. Shouldn't be hard, really – they're a likable and attack-minded young team, with a great club history, dating back to an 1863 railroad workers' team.

Labels: media, Stoke City