Apr 26, 2008
Leones Coverage in the (Houston) Chronicle
Finally, some signs of life from our soon-to-be PDL arch-rivals, the Houston Leones, in the form of two articles from the Houston Chronicle.
The first is a fairly brief blurb covering the basic facts of the new team and the league itself, though it does have a little info on some of the players: Leones ready to roam pitch in Houston
The second is a more in-depth piece on the owner, Juan Carlos Hernández: There's nothing amateur about Hernandez's venture. At least there were never any anguished decisions about where they would play, as Hernandez owns Soccer World Center, a 17-acre private soccer park in Richmond (southwest of Houston).
Sounds like a nice outfit. I can't wait for the Aztex to start beating them!
The first is a fairly brief blurb covering the basic facts of the new team and the league itself, though it does have a little info on some of the players: Leones ready to roam pitch in Houston
Adhering to league rules, the team is made up of mostly college-age players, many of whom attend local schools, including the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Houston Baptist and San Jacinto College. . .
The team also boasts developmental players from Mexican teams UANL Tigres (two) and Cruz Azul (four), the latter with whom the Leones have a partnership.
The Leones will be coached by Carlos Ayala, who previously coached Cruz Azul's team in First Division A, Mexico's equivalent of a second division.
The second is a more in-depth piece on the owner, Juan Carlos Hernández: There's nothing amateur about Hernandez's venture. At least there were never any anguished decisions about where they would play, as Hernandez owns Soccer World Center, a 17-acre private soccer park in Richmond (southwest of Houston).
Proof [of Hernandez' seriousness], in the way of a brand-new 4,500-capacity stadium, is as hard as the white-coated concrete it is made of. A simple yet efficient facility consisting of two long bleacher structures along the sidelines that rise some 25-30 feet, a small but cozy press box (complete with A/C), and a no-frills scoreboard, sound system and lighting. The field is getting greener and should be in good shape come May 3, when the Leones host the New Orleans Shell Shockers.
The Leones will be one of only five PDL teams, out of the more than 60 this season, to own their stadium.
Sounds like a nice outfit. I can't wait for the Aztex to start beating them!
Mar 25, 2008
We Have A Stadium!
Finally, the answer to one of the biggest remaining questions of the 2008 Aztex season -- "Where will we play?" -- is out.
The answer is (drumroll please...) Round Rock High School's Dragon Stadium, located north of town, near the intersection of I-35 and 620.
I've added Dragon Stadium to the Google Map included with my original stadium speculation post (it's the solid green marker at the top of the map). You'll see that it's farther out from downtown than, say, the big new RRISD stadium complex, but I think it will be much simpler to get to from the south.
Sure, it might be lacking a couple of things that would make it ideal (e.g., real grass, closer in to town, no American football lines) but honestly, what could anyone expect? There is no Easter Bunny, Gwyneth Paltrow is already married to someone else, and the Aztex didn't find a secret soccer-specific stadium between the couch-cushions of downtown Austin. Okay; mourning period over!
In all seriousness, I'm looking forward to seeing this place. With a little over a month until the season begins, I'm sure the team is being put together as quickly as possible. Let the countdown to the home opener begin! (That's Saturday, May 10 vs. the Houston Leones, if I need to remind you).
Mar 1, 2008
Stadium News Soon
Aztex owner Phil Rawlins, on his Aztex Chief blog Wednesday, hints that a stadium announcement is coming soon:
Along side our coaching appointments I have been working around the clock on securing a stadium for us. I have now reviewed and met with organizations representing more than 16 stadium alternatives. Many of the options are not available in '08 due to scheduling conflicts, field reconstruction or policy issues but I am determined to find us the very best option. That means a stadium we can call home for the whole season, that has a good location and is the right size for us to create a good atmosphere. We have a couple of great options and I am confident that in the next few days/week we will have good news to share.
Labels: stadium
Feb 6, 2008
AISD Fields: No Grass
After my recent post on possible stadiums (and the discussion in the comments), I've learned that grass is on its way out in Austin ISD's stadiums. Two of the three I mapped, Nelson Field and Burger Stadium, have already been converted to artificial turf, and House Park is scheduled to be switched over, though I'm not sure when.
In addition to a project page Google found on the website of "Sports Engineering Technologies, Inc.", an artificial turf company site, there are also mentions of the de-grassification as part of AISD's 2004 Bond project. There are separate pages for Burger, Nelson Field and House Park, but they all share the same bullet point: "Replace natural turf with a synthetic playing surface".
As commenter ERic pointed out, it boils down to AISD -- certainly not the most well-off school district in Austin -- having to support more schools and more teams with the same number of stadiums.
So of these possibilities I'm tracking here, it looks like that leaves UT's Myers Stadium and Veterans Stadium in Del Valle as the only grass options.
In addition to a project page Google found on the website of "Sports Engineering Technologies, Inc.", an artificial turf company site, there are also mentions of the de-grassification as part of AISD's 2004 Bond project. There are separate pages for Burger, Nelson Field and House Park, but they all share the same bullet point: "Replace natural turf with a synthetic playing surface".
As commenter ERic pointed out, it boils down to AISD -- certainly not the most well-off school district in Austin -- having to support more schools and more teams with the same number of stadiums.
So of these possibilities I'm tracking here, it looks like that leaves UT's Myers Stadium and Veterans Stadium in Del Valle as the only grass options.
Labels: stadium
Feb 1, 2008
Possible Aztex Stadiums
Last week's Austin American-Statesman article covering the Aztex announcement had an interesting comment from the owner about possible stadiums where the team might play:
The team's own stadium, built just for them, will be a dream come true. But that's a long way off, of course. So, where will the Aztex -- the U-23s this year, and both teams next year -- play? There's been a good bit of discussion of this most important of decisions on the BigSoccer forums. I skimmed through those posts again, and came up with the following list of possible Austin-area stadiums the Aztex could play in:
Then I found and marked them all on a Google Map (if you click that View Larger Map link, you'll see the legend for which tag goes with which stadium; you can also click each tag to see it).
View Larger Map
I figure this is a work in progress, and I don't claim it's complete, or even completely accurate. One handy page pointed out in comments is this list of all the area stadiums on the TexasBob site. Feel free to comment or email me with further information, corrections, etc.
For my part, and with the benefit of more or less complete ignorance, I'm hoping for House Park. I gather that it's narrower than it should be for soccer, and that parking can be a problem. But there's something about it that just seems like it has good character, somehow. Oh, and it's less than a mile from my office. ;-)
Update 1: replaced link to Statesman page with TexasBob; added Hawk Stadium (Pflugerville) to map; added links to TexasBob for all high school stadiums
Rawlins said he's talking with five organizations about renting a stadium for games, but that the long-range plan is to build a facility, as other teams in the league have done.
The team's own stadium, built just for them, will be a dream come true. But that's a long way off, of course. So, where will the Aztex -- the U-23s this year, and both teams next year -- play? There's been a good bit of discussion of this most important of decisions on the BigSoccer forums. I skimmed through those posts again, and came up with the following list of possible Austin-area stadiums the Aztex could play in:
- House Park, Austin ISD
- Myers Stadium, UT
- RRISD Athletic Complex, Round Rock ISD
- Burger Stadium, Austin ISD
- Chaparral Stadium, Eanes ISD
- Connally Stadium, Pflugerville ISD
- Nelson Field, Austin ISD
- Veterans Stadium, Del Valle ISD
- Hawk Stadium, Pflugerville ISD
Then I found and marked them all on a Google Map (if you click that View Larger Map link, you'll see the legend for which tag goes with which stadium; you can also click each tag to see it).
View Larger Map
I figure this is a work in progress, and I don't claim it's complete, or even completely accurate. One handy page pointed out in comments is this list of all the area stadiums on the TexasBob site. Feel free to comment or email me with further information, corrections, etc.
For my part, and with the benefit of more or less complete ignorance, I'm hoping for House Park. I gather that it's narrower than it should be for soccer, and that parking can be a problem. But there's something about it that just seems like it has good character, somehow. Oh, and it's less than a mile from my office. ;-)
Update 1: replaced link to Statesman page with TexasBob; added Hawk Stadium (Pflugerville) to map; added links to TexasBob for all high school stadiums
Labels: stadium
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
Jan 29, 2008
U-23 Schedule & Season Tickets
Although the USL-1 team won't play until next year, the Aztex U-23 team (formerly the Austin Stampede) has announced their 2008 schedule and availability of season tickets.
The ticket prices for adults are $50 for all 8 home games, vs. $8 per game (that would be $64 for the season, just to help you out with that tricky math ;-).
The other benefit of buying season tickets is that it shows some fan commitment. It's a pledge to support the team, financially at the very least, through their season.
The Aztex U-23 team will play this season against the DFW Tornadoes, Laredo Heat, El Paso Patriots, New Orleans Shell Shockers, Baton Rouge Capitals and Mississippi Brilla. Also of note: our first home game will be against another brand new team, the Houston Leones, who are affiliated with Mexican club Cruz Azul.
Personally, even though I'm really more interested in the USL-1 team next year, I'm ready to buy some season tickets. But there is one big thing holding me back... I don't know where they're going to play!!
I don't think that's been announced yet, and if it has, I sure can't find it.
The ticket prices for adults are $50 for all 8 home games, vs. $8 per game (that would be $64 for the season, just to help you out with that tricky math ;-).
The other benefit of buying season tickets is that it shows some fan commitment. It's a pledge to support the team, financially at the very least, through their season.
The Aztex U-23 team will play this season against the DFW Tornadoes, Laredo Heat, El Paso Patriots, New Orleans Shell Shockers, Baton Rouge Capitals and Mississippi Brilla. Also of note: our first home game will be against another brand new team, the Houston Leones, who are affiliated with Mexican club Cruz Azul.
Personally, even though I'm really more interested in the USL-1 team next year, I'm ready to buy some season tickets. But there is one big thing holding me back... I don't know where they're going to play!!
I don't think that's been announced yet, and if it has, I sure can't find it.
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