Major League Soccer saves #atxcouncil from itself

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,"
Ephesians 2:8

Some good news:

Austin’s bid to land its first major-league pro sports franchise went into extra time Friday when Major League Soccer announced plans to bring a team here — but not the team the city was expecting.

MLS said it is working on an agreement that would keep the Columbus Crew in Ohio and allow a new franchise — complete with a yet-to-be determined roster — to play in Austin.

A group led by Jimmy and Dee Haslam, who own the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, is negotiating a deal with MLS to keep the Crew in Columbus, the league announced.

The deal caps a year of drama that has played out in the capitals of Ohio and Texas. Austin spent months negotiating a deal for a privately financed stadium on city-owned land to be built by the current owner of the Crew. Now, that team appears set to stay in Columbus, where it was a charter member of the MLS, while Austin starts fresh with a new team.

Phew; it's worth pointing out that our two biggest objections are no longer relevant:

• Austin will no longer be stealing Columbus Ohio's team.

• We're no longer trying to reach a March 2019 deadline that is no longer realistic (and hasn't been for awhile).

The debacle has been averted (for now).

Moving forward, any potential stadium agreement needs to be a good deal for taxpayers.  The team needs to pay for the land.  They also need to pay property taxes.

NO SPECIAL TREATMENT!!!

If that happens, this may yet be a win for the city.

Only time will tell.

Bottom Line: Disaster has been averted, it'll be interesting to see what the final deal looks like.