Jan 31, 2008
Aztex Meets With Players
Via a post by 'Liquidator' on the BigSoccer forums, this news on the Aztex site: Meeting With Austin Area Players.
It doesn't sound like the team is going to rely solely on their partnership with Stoke City:
There were also good -- no, great -- words about their approach to finding a home pitch for the team. Er, make that, home pitches.
As other BigSoccer folks noted, the "20,000 seat stadium" would just about have to be UT's Myers Stadium. The consensus on that forum seems to be that UT has never, would never and will never let anyone but UT teams use their facilities, but we shall see. In any case, I'm happy to see they're looking for a permanent home, at least for the duration of the season.
The team has also gotten a good bit of interest in their open coaching spots, receiving 30 applications for Head Coach, and almost 20 for Assistant. I thought this last bit about the U-23 Head Coach position was pretty interesting:
It doesn't sound like the team is going to rely solely on their partnership with Stoke City:
Rawlins gave a presentation with graphics and spelled out the player opportunities that exists with the Aztex alliances. He also stressed plans to forge an alliance with a professional club in Mexico.
There were also good -- no, great -- words about their approach to finding a home pitch for the team. Er, make that, home pitches.
Rawlins also discussed stadium choices, saying that the club is looking for the best match of the team and season with a stadium. He said the U23 season and the Aztex First Division professional season may be played in separate stadiums to accomodate the specific needs of those teams. "We probably don’t want to put the U23 in a 20,000 seat stadium," he said. He explained that the club will be looking for the best stadium match for each season in order to maximize the crowd experience at the events. Rawlins explained that the organization is in contract negotiations that will soon result in an announcement of stadium choice. "Believe me, it will be for the entire season," he added.
As other BigSoccer folks noted, the "20,000 seat stadium" would just about have to be UT's Myers Stadium. The consensus on that forum seems to be that UT has never, would never and will never let anyone but UT teams use their facilities, but we shall see. In any case, I'm happy to see they're looking for a permanent home, at least for the duration of the season.
The team has also gotten a good bit of interest in their open coaching spots, receiving 30 applications for Head Coach, and almost 20 for Assistant. I thought this last bit about the U-23 Head Coach position was pretty interesting:
Rawlins told the local players that the head coach in the U23 season will be the same Head Coach that will direct the First Division season in 2009.
Labels: coaches, players, stadium
// posted by Chris @ 8:42 AM 
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I'm wondering, because I can't remember. UT stadiums sell beer, right?
# posted by 
: January 31, 2008 9:41 AM
: January 31, 2008 9:41 AM
Huh. I haven't been in so long, I don't know. Plus, I usually have soda when I go.
Regarding the 20,000 seat comment... I'm feeling more and more that it's an entirely inappropriate size for the Aztex. Philadelphia is going to announce funding for their stadium today... a 20,000 seater. St. Louis (the city competing with Philly for an MLS expansion team) has plans for an 18,500 seater.
I really hope that Rawlins can get House rather than Myers. Because it's going to feel really empty in there with the audience the Aztex will bring. Even for the USL-1 team in '09.
For all my negativity, it does sound good that they're seriously considering separate stadiums for the two teams. Because the U-23 team almost certainly won't draw more than a few hundred.
Regarding the 20,000 seat comment... I'm feeling more and more that it's an entirely inappropriate size for the Aztex. Philadelphia is going to announce funding for their stadium today... a 20,000 seater. St. Louis (the city competing with Philly for an MLS expansion team) has plans for an 18,500 seater.
I really hope that Rawlins can get House rather than Myers. Because it's going to feel really empty in there with the audience the Aztex will bring. Even for the USL-1 team in '09.
For all my negativity, it does sound good that they're seriously considering separate stadiums for the two teams. Because the U-23 team almost certainly won't draw more than a few hundred.
Yeah, I'm not sure about beer sales at Myers, either. Went there for a UT women's game a couple years ago, but don't remember what the concession stands had.
And that's a good point about the capacity of the stadium, Eric. 20K is quite big, especially for a new team. On the other hand, the location is good, and right on campus might bring more students to games, maybe? And, for "big ticket" games, such as Stoke City coming to town, or FCD or the Dynamo, or a Mexican club, or whatever, Myers might be a good size to host something like that.
And even with Myers, it could be worse. The Sounders have been playing at Qwest Field, capacity 67,000! ;-)
And that's a good point about the capacity of the stadium, Eric. 20K is quite big, especially for a new team. On the other hand, the location is good, and right on campus might bring more students to games, maybe? And, for "big ticket" games, such as Stoke City coming to town, or FCD or the Dynamo, or a Mexican club, or whatever, Myers might be a good size to host something like that.
And even with Myers, it could be worse. The Sounders have been playing at Qwest Field, capacity 67,000! ;-)
Well, as always, everything depends on what kind of agreement the Aztex sign.
I'm all for the Seattle MLS team playing in Qwest, even though it's 67,000. Because they're getting a deal that should make it easier for them to be a success.
If I can past my certainty that UT would never rent out Myers, I then can't believe that they'd rent it out at a low enough price to make it economically worthwhile for the Aztex.
Regarding students coming to the games... the USL-1 season runs April - September. Students aren't going to be around nearly as much from May - August -- the bulk of the season.
Plus, as students, they get tickets to all the sports they want cheaply (free? I never took advantage of it, and it was over 20 years ago, so I don't remember).
Granted, with 55,000 students, I suppose you should be able to find a few hundred in there that would want to go to a game now and then.
I'm all for the Seattle MLS team playing in Qwest, even though it's 67,000. Because they're getting a deal that should make it easier for them to be a success.
If I can past my certainty that UT would never rent out Myers, I then can't believe that they'd rent it out at a low enough price to make it economically worthwhile for the Aztex.
Regarding students coming to the games... the USL-1 season runs April - September. Students aren't going to be around nearly as much from May - August -- the bulk of the season.
Plus, as students, they get tickets to all the sports they want cheaply (free? I never took advantage of it, and it was over 20 years ago, so I don't remember).
Granted, with 55,000 students, I suppose you should be able to find a few hundred in there that would want to go to a game now and then.
I agree that UT probably won't budge on it's miserly precedent of not renting out its facilities, but I don't believe that doing so is in its best interests. I personally foresee a rather large turnout for the Aztex USL-1 team. With the number of soccer players and fans of all ages and levels in the Austin/San Antonio area, I think the university stands to profit quite a bit from having the Aztex play at Myers.
The only thing is, that's just my forecast, and it may have little bearing on reality.
The only thing is, that's just my forecast, and it may have little bearing on reality.
So, aztexfan, what's your guess their first season average?
(Hint: keep in mind that the best USL-1 team is Montreal, with 11,000 or so last year. The league average is around 4500 -- despite what Rawlins has been saying)
(Hint: keep in mind that the best USL-1 team is Montreal, with 11,000 or so last year. The league average is around 4500 -- despite what Rawlins has been saying)
I'm guessing somewhere around 5.5-6k.
I realize that even that would make Myers seem pretty empty, and I'm not saying that it's the best option for the Aztex. I'm just saying that it would be a possibility, if UT wasn't so stingy with their resources.
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I realize that even that would make Myers seem pretty empty, and I'm not saying that it's the best option for the Aztex. I'm just saying that it would be a possibility, if UT wasn't so stingy with their resources.
# posted by : February 8, 2008 3:35 PM
: February 8, 2008 3:35 PM << Home
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