The Aztexan

Huge news: Aztex FC has managed to schedule not one, not two but three exhibition games against MLS teams in the upcoming months. All three will be played at Nelson Field, the new home stadium of the Aztex.

• Feb. 28 vs. New England Revolution (4-time MLS finalists, 2007 Open Cup Champions, 2008 Superliga Champions)


• Mar. 7 vs. Houston Dynamo (2-time MLS Champions, 2008 Western Conference winners)


• Mar. 14 vs. Columbus Crew (2002 Open Cup Champions, 2-time Supporters Shield winners, 2008 MLS Champions)

Owner Phil Rawlins was on AM 1300's The Zone today to make the announcement. The story is on the team's site, and was also covered by the Statesman:

"Exhibitions are a great way to evaluate talent and since this will be our first-ever game action, I believe these games will allow us to really identify who will see considerable playing action in the upcoming season," said Aztex coach Adrian Heath.

These games are going to be fantastic. Sure it's offseason for the MLS teams, and the Aztex side won't even really be complete. But in terms of publicity and excitement and a demonstration of the seriousness of our Austin team, this could hardly be better. These aren't run-of-the-mill MLS squads, either: no San Jose, no Toronto, no Kansas City. They even made it easier on all of us FC Dallas fans — who would have been conflicted about who to cheer for — by inviting that other Texas team, the one that's easy to root against.

Best of all, it drastically brings in the date to look forward to: instead of being way out in mid-April, now it's just over 6 weeks until that Feb. 28 match against the Revs. Suddenly, instead of too much time, it almost seems like too little (key word, "almost").

Seating at Nelson Field is divided into two levels. Better is "Center Circle"; cheaper is "Sideline" (see chart). Tickets for the individual exhibition matches will be $30 and $20, respectively. If you buy season tickets ($290 for Center Circle; $240 for Sideline) before February 23, the MLS games are included. There's also an "MLS Madness" pack: the 3 MLS games plus 2 regular-season Aztex games ($100 or $70). Full details on the team website.

Labels: exhibition, MLS, USL-1