What Swope Park and Titan Village Tell Us

This USL offseason we’ve seen several new teams join the league for 2016. Though it will be at least a year before we see them play against an Austin side, there are aspects of a couple of these announcements that stand out.

One new entrant is Sporting Kansas City’s new team: the Swope Park Rangers. The reception of this new club’s name, logo, and branding has been very positive, and with the solid SKC organization behind them, success is … Read the rest “What Swope Park and Titan Village Tell Us”

Austin Chronicle on a New Bar Football Culture

Austin Spurs at Mister Tramps, 8/22/15

If you’ve spent much time at Aztex games, Scorpions matches, or the Austin Soccer Fan Zone on Facebook, you’ve probably run across Lee Nichols. He has an article in this week’s Austin Chronicle, Game Changer – A new football culture for Austin bars.

The season kicking off is soccer – the very first match of the 38-game English Premier League schedule that will last until May. This opening battle pits Manchester United (a team even the soccer-ignorant have

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Stadium Standards & Smoke Signals

On October 2nd the Austin Aztex announced that they will not be participating on the field in 2016, with the intention to return in 2017. The press release made clear that the Aztex are under pressure from USL to find a suitable long-term home for the club. If they are truly returning in 2017, the owners and the remaining staff must be working furiously to accomplish their goal. Their only public step so far is the nice-looking Stadium for Austin … Read the rest “Stadium Standards & Smoke Signals”

Kenn.com on 2015 USL Attendance

The most diligent keeper of attendance stats in American soccer over the years has to be Kenn Tomasch. With the 2015 USL regular season just completed, he has a new post with all the numbers: Taking Attendance 10/4/2015: USL First Division III League To Draw A Million.

There are lots of interesting facets to check out there, but here are the more Austin-specific bits.

The Aztex averaged 3,227, putting them 11th out of 24 teams. That’s solidly middle-of-the-pack, whether … Read the rest “Kenn.com on 2015 USL Attendance”

Is a Stadium Enough?

The Aztex organization recently announced that they would be sitting out the 2016 season, because they need to continue their “quest for a soccer friendly venue in which professional soccer in Austin can thrive”.

Concerns, plans, and fantasies related to a soccer-specific home stadium for Austin’s soccer team are nothing new. For that matter, the issue is hardly unique in American soccer. Ask any team in the country, at any level: D.C. United, the New England Revolution, and Miami … Read the rest “Is a Stadium Enough?”

It’s Aztex Déjà vu All Over Again

Earlier today, the Austin Aztex announced that they will not be participating on the field in 2016. The announcement ends speculation around the club’s immediate future but does not help with lingering concerns about the viability of soccer in Austin.

The United Soccer League announced today that it had granted permission for the Austin Aztex to not participate in the 2016 season due to the unavailability of a stadium that meets league standards and the unforeseen delays in the development

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