The Aztexan

Though we're still eagerly awaiting the 2010 schedule (due out next Tuesday, per the team blog), the Aztex put season tickets on sale this week:

Season tickets are priced at just $190 for adults and $150 for youth. The new open-ended season ticket allows fans the flexibility of using one ticket at each of the 15 regular season games or using multiple tickets for several games. Game day tickets are priced at $15 for adults 16 years of age and older and $12 for youth 15 years of age and younger, children 5 and under are free. Purchasing a season ticket saves fans 15% off the price of game-day tickets. 2010 Season Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.austinaztex.com or by calling 512-335-8881. Fans who purchase season tickets by February 12 will receive a complimentary Aztex scarf. [Ed. note: the website's splash page says to use promotional code "GoAztex2010" at checkout to get the scarf; not sure if that's required.]

I like the "open-ended" (aka "flex") ticket; that really adds to the value. People who might hesitate to get a regular, one-per-game ticket — suppose they know they're going to be out of town for 2 weeks in June — will be more likely to get this flex ticket. Because now those June tickets won't be wasted; they can bring some friends with them to other games.

And I like the prices, which are a good bit lower than last season. I do wish, however, that season tickets would include a couple of the "extra", non-regular-season games the Aztex will play, such as exhibitions and Open Cup matches.

In addition to the season tickets, the team announced the Aztex Alliance. This membership-based fan group replaces the Founders Club we've seen the last two years. In addition to t-shirts and other swag, the new group is a step toward giving fans more of an official voice in how the club is run.

There are two levels of Alliance membership: basic and premium. A $25 basic membership will get you a t-shirt and window cling, plus access to the Aztex Alliance website. This site will include forums, input on club decisions via polls (merchandise designs, exhibition opponents, etc.) and early access to team news.

The $105 premium membership gets you the basic benefits, plus: a lapel pin, a membership card and lanyard, invitations to pre- and post-season team events, a chance to win a trip to an away game, and discounts on camps and merchandise. Premium members will also have a voice with the team, via an elected commissioner who will be able to address the Aztex board. And when the ranks of premium members exceed 1,500, an Alliance representative will be given a full seat on the board.

The Alliance memberships are separate from season ticket purchases, but you can buy both a season ticket and a premium Alliance membership for $285, a savings of $10.

And there's one last way you can save a few bucks: members of the Chantico's Army supporters group get 10% off the season ticket price (saving $19). Membership in that group — which is free, by the way — is a lot of fun and has its own benefits (discounts, online forum, etc.).

Labels: supporters

Just a quick happy anniversary to myself: today marks two full years that I've been doing this. Yay me; yay Aztex, top to bottom; yay USSF for ensuring we have a league to play in this year; and most of all: yay fans, current, past & future.

Labels: meself

A few other folks have taken pictures of the construction of the new fieldhouse (i.e., locker rooms) at House Park. But I work only a few blocks from there, and drive right past it every day. So I'm going to do my darnedest to get regular, weekly pictures to follow it's progress. Who knows, maybe they'll finish it next Tuesday, and this will be the shortest series of construction pictures ever; we'll see.

Here's a nice blueprint elevation view of the new structure, swiped from the Grassroots Austin Stadium Supporters (GRASS) site.



But as of today, this is what it looks like so far, in bricks and mortar:


Update, Jan. 28: According to Aztex owner Phil Rawlins on AM 1300 The Zone this morning, the fieldhouse won't be finished in time for the start of the season. So pre-season games, as well as the first few regular season games will be back at good ol' Nelson Field. And unfortunately, this won't be the shortest series of construction pictures ever, after all.

Labels: stadium

Just a quick note to help push a new project I'm hoping to get off the ground: StatesCup.net.

You can read the details on that site, but the basic idea is pretty simple: what if U.S. states had "national" teams, like countries do? What if there was a national cup competition for states, the same way there's a World Cup for nations? What players would be on your state's team? Which states would have a dominant roster year in and year out? It'll be like a fantasy soccer league, but with an added dose of regional pride, no actual scoring and more to argue about.

It's still pretty quiet there, as I line up some managers who are willing to step up and organize their states' teams, but come on over and check it out. That web address again: StatesCup.net. You can also subscribe to the blog and/or follow the site's new Twitter account, @StatesCup.

Note: I'm hoping that StatesCup.net doesn't take up too much of my soccer website time. In other words, The Aztexan will continue as always. Go Aztex!

Labels: meself

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.

After months of demonstrating their stubbornness and inability to compromise, the USL and the breakaway NASL were finally made to come to terms by the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF).

More than two long months since I threw in the towel on trying to keep up with the fracas (I followed it myself, but I didn't try to cover it here on the blog), and after plenty of unpleasant bumps along the road, we can now look forward with certainty to a 2010 season of second division pro soccer that will include our own Austin Aztex.

It is a temporary solution, currently slated to last only through the 2010 season. What form the league(s) take in 2011 and beyond will continue to be an issue for the foreseeable future.

But for now, here's what we know so far, according to the USSF press release.

The league will consist of two six-team conferences – the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. The USL Conference will include teams from Austin, Minnesota, Portland, Puerto Rico, Rochester and Tampa Bay. The NASL Conference will consist of teams from Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Montreal, St. Louis and Vancouver.

In the near future, U.S. Soccer will announce details of the new league, including league rules, a match schedule, television rights and other important operational issues.

That gives us the following team/conference alignments:

USL Conference	NASL Conference

A few things are immediately apparent from this array of team logos. There are new teams: Crystal Palace Baltimore, AC St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. There are teams missing from last season: the Cleveland City Stars (now defunct) and the Charleston Battery (moved to USL-2). The Minnesota Thunder are also missing, but replaced by a brand-new, not-yet-named team, owned by Minnesota's National Sports Center (the icon is just a placeholder). And note that although Minnesota, Rochester and Tampa Bay were put in the USL Conference, organizationally they are still members of the NASL itself.

(And I can't help noticing some visual themes: NASL is the conference for birds and fleurs-de-lis; USL is for stripes: red-and-white, yellow-and-green or just plain black-and-white.)

There are lots of details to come — the schedule, for instance — but it already sounds from USSF President Sunil Gulati's comments like things are going to be a bit different in the second division now.

We can’t have this constant issue that bedevils a number of sports, that the offseason is spent primarily to make sure that you can come back the following season. That you’re looking for expansion teams not because it makes long-term sense to build the game and the league, but because you need an expansion fee.

Hopefully with nearly a year to figure it out, the two "leagues" will finally be able to do just that, and we'll all look back at this episode as growing pains that we went through on the way to a stronger and more vibrant 2nd tier of U.S. soccer. For fans, for now, we can relax a bit and celebrate and start planning our season.

As Aztex owner Phil Rawlins put it: "I’m very delighted that we have a resolution for a second division soccer league. With 12 quality teams in our league, we are looking forward to a very competitive and very exciting season."

So are we, Phil! See you at House Park!

Labels: NASL, The League, USL-1

Amid the continuing troubles engulfing the USL's 1st and 2nd divisions, the league is busy organizing their extensive lower divisions' 2010 season. Last week they announced the 2010 "alignment" of the Premier Development League (PDL).

The PDL is made up of amateur teams (with a few pro exceptions), and college-age players (with a few older exceptions) who are, well, developing. At this lower end of the American soccer ladder, teams come and go and get shuffled around fairly regularly. Last season, for example, saw the addition of the West Texas United Sockers and the Rio Grande Valley Bravos, which moved former Austin rivals New Orleans and Mississippi from the Mid South to the Southeast division.

Looking at the 2010 alignment announcement, though, gave Austin Aztex U23 fans a surprise: the team isn't listed under the Southern Conference's Mid South Division. In fact, the team isn't listed at all!

Chantico's Army tracked down the explanation, getting the following statement from Aztex owner Phil Rawlins:

"We have not registered to play in the PDL in 2010, although we continue to reserve the rights to the franchise for coming years and will continue to review our decision of whether we play in the PDL in future years. Our hope had been to replace the U23 team with a U20 team in the Super 20 League. A Texas division was being formed and we felt it was a long term better fit for the Aztex. At the last minute a couple of teams dropped out of the Super 20 League and without a viable core the Texas division was put on the back-burner for another year. By the time the decision was taken, the PDL registration window was long closed."

(According to Wikipedia, the USL's Super-20 league is "an American-Canadian soccer league for players 17 to 20 years of age. Introduced in 2006 it took the place of the U-19 age bracket in the Super Y-League.")

I wondered what this turn of events meant for the U23 coaching staff (head coach Wolfgang Suhnholz, assistant coach Ron Dennie & goalkeeper coach Alex Parra), but found via followup with Phil that Suhnolz and Parra were only on staff part-time during the season (they're both still listed as staff with Lonestar Soccer Club), and that Dennie is now working with the Austin United Capital Soccer Club.

Speaking of area youth clubs, Phil also made the excellent point that if a Texas Super-20 division had gotten off the ground, that would have served as a better stepping stone than a PDL team for bringing youth players into the Aztex fold.

I'm sure I was not alone in wondering, lastly, whether the ongoing turmoil between USL-1 and its breakaway teams, and the uncertainty that situation has created, had anything to do with these plans falling through. Phil, however, assured me that the decisions of the last-minute dropout teams were purely financial.

So, although I remain hopeful that the top-tier Aztex team will find some way, somehow, to play somebody in some league (despite continued brinkmanship), this sad fact is certain: there will be no amateur Aztex team this season.

Labels: coaches, U-23