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Bottlecap

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NoctambulantBrobdingnagian
NoctambulantBrobdingnagian

Right after the game I had to go take a piss so I didn't burst once we got on the train.  Walking against the grain of the crowd coming towards me and I notice Claudio Reyna, in a suit, a phone to his

Anastasis
Anastasis

So my boy got invited to assessments for the Austin FC Academy.  Three rounds of attrition with each assessment and then a scrimmage if I understand correctly.  Pretty stoked for him.  Managing his ex

Brisketexan
Brisketexan

That. Was fucking. NUTS. Wildly frustrated that we couldn’t put more than one in with a man advantage, but my frustration didn’t appear to help them. My wife had a conflict, so I took one of my olde

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Captain Ron

Captain Ron 12810

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Dirk X West said:

I can only assume MLS thinks the Rooney Rule might cause them problems after all.

Not the Rooney Rule, the Art Modell law. Like many others, I'm not sure the law probably didn't have a lot to stand on.

But I would not be surprised if the potential for going to court and maybe having to open their books worried them. It's been noted in other cases that some of their finances are shady, even for FIFA. They might win the fight and get to move the Crew, but the potential of FIFA being able to coming down on them might have scared them.

I'm just spit balling, but you never know.

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Dirk X West

Dirk X West 772

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

Not the Rooney Rule, the Art Modell law. Like many others, I'm not sure the law probably didn't have a lot to stand on.

But I would not be surprised if the potential for going to court and maybe having to open their books worried them. It's been noted in other cases that some of their finances are shady, even for FIFA. They might win the fight and get to move the Crew, but the potential of FIFA being able to coming down on them might have scared them.

I'm just spit balling, but you never know.

Right, Modell Law, and that was my thought too, i.e. they'd probably win a court case, but didn't want to go to court in the first place.

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futureman

futureman 22416

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Gardner Barnes said:


He is a troll. Best not to feed him.

do you know what trolling is?  I genuinely don’t want a fucking soccer team in austin.  some of you genuinely do.  trying to quiet dissenting opinions is categorically un-american.  perhaps, Gardner, you should finally get out of this country and go to mexico to dodge the draft.  

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wood

wood 11181

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, utee94 said:

That's just way too far out for a soccer game.  Or really, for anything, that is not a race.

Yep. The USL couldn't draw at House Park, but they're gonna get crowds out in BFE SE Travis County? OK. :jlawgif: Frankly I'll believe this even happens when I see it. Epstein's already built in his excuse for not pulling it off with the whole "We're in a tight spot with the COA permitting & inspection process" narrative.

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utee94

utee94 15746

Posted
Posted (edited)

If she spent even 25% as much time representing her own constituents in Austin, as she does kneeling before random people in Ohio that she should have nothing to do with, she might not be a horrible council representative.

Oh who am I kidding, it's not possible for her to be anything other than a horrible council representative.

If any of you idoits on this message board voted for her, you deserve what you got.

Edited by utee94
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wood

wood 11181

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, skittlebrau said:

Sean Kelly, director of Save the Crew documentary, who spent a lot of time in Austin filming City Council over the summer (and interviewed a bunch of us) is also in the photo.

Yeah he's a big F1 tweeter too. There's a photo of him with Epstein somewhere. I was thinking he shot this pic though....

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Hagbard Celine

Hagbard Celine 10763

Posted
Posted
On 4/15/2018 at 1:19 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

"it" all started in 1994...  but i digress.

https://blog.savethecrew.com/2018/04/monday-save-the-crew-recap-4-9-18/

April 9, #SaveTheCrew releases an open letter to MLS Commissioner Don Garber regarding Columbus Crew SC. With news of a local group ready to purchase the team, and private land available downtown for a new stadium, we reaffirm our commitment and ask MLS to do the same. https://blog.savethecrew.com/2018/04/savethecrew-pens-open-letter-to-mls-regarding-the-future-of-the-columbus-crew-sc/

March 16, 2018, Anthony Precourt and the MLS responded to the lawsuit set forth by the Ohio AG, as well as the city of Columbus stating: “If any individual or group of individuals are interested in purchasing the rights to operate Crew SC … then such individual(s) should contact and provide the terms of any such offer and demonstrate their bona fides as a prospective operator of an MLS club.”

About two weeks later, the Columbus mayor has confirmed that the city, as well as the Columbus Partnership have worked together to identify multiple ‘bona fide’ investors as well as several downtown sights. In order to offer a fair value for the team, Andrew Ginter has requested that PSV open his financial records/ books relating to the Columbus Crew. The statement by the Mayor reaffirms that the City believes the Model Law applies, however, he eloquently stated “while we reserve any and all rights and remedies available to us through litigation, we remain open to constructive conversation to keep the Crew SC in Columbus.”

+++

the cabal does not want to do that.  they will sign the deal with all parties in Austin believing the Ohio AG will fold before they have to open the books.

before anyone in austin signs anything, the city of austin should obtain a ruling in federal court with jurisdiction over ohio that PSV has clear title and agency to relocate.

 

requoting my 2nd post in this thread on page 1.

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Hagbard Celine

Hagbard Celine 10763

Posted
Posted
On 4/16/2018 at 1:51 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

Again let me state I'm not taking either side and i want to see MLS in both Austin and San Antonio.

This is the first time in history (dating to the creation of MLS as a legal entity in 1993) that MLS/SUM/USSF ("The Cabal") has been litigated by a truly adversarial party.  There have been player's union filings, NASL filings, WarnerCo/CONCACAF filings, but not a lawsuit filed by a State's Attorney General.  That has teeth, and threatens open discovery in state or federal court.

The United States has left the cabal alone for 25 years, and the evolution to today's soccertainment tax shelter "business model" has never been challenged.  No one except the IRS has ever seen anything close an actual fiscal filing on the structure and mechanics of the complex economic spaghetti that makes up the cabal.

This isn't clutching at straws, "The Modell Law" reads as follows http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/gp9.67v1:

+++

9.67 Restrictions on owner of professional sports team that uses a tax-supported facility.

No owner of a professional sports team that uses a tax-supported facility for most of its home games and receives financial assistance from the state or a political subdivision thereof shall cease playing most of its home games at the facility and begin playing most of its home games elsewhere unless the owner either:

(A) Enters into an agreement with the political subdivision permitting the team to play most of its home games elsewhere;

(B) Gives the political subdivision in which the facility is located not less than six months' advance notice of the owner's intention to cease playing most of its home games at the facility and, during the six months after such notice, gives the political subdivision or any individual or group of individuals who reside in the area the opportunity to purchase the team.

Effective Date: 06-20-1996 .

+++

If The Cabal wants to challenge the Constitutionality of this law, they will have to do so in Federal Court.  Doing so creates the risk of _deep_ exposure of their "interstate commerce" position.  And they don't want to risk that.  The mayor is just the mouthpiece.  The Ohio State AG filed suit 5 weeks ago against PSV (the cabal "investor/operator of the Crew), Team Columbus (owner of the stadium) and Crew Soccer Stadium (lessor of the stadium property from the state).  PSV and MLS are in a tight spot.

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2018/03/05/ohio-attorney-general-mike-dewine-sues-columbus-crew-owner-using-art-modell-law

 

requote#2

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Hagbard Celine

Hagbard Celine 10763

Posted
Posted
On 4/19/2018 at 9:11 PM, CleverNickname said:

I practice law that is about as far away from appellate constitutional interstate commerce law as a person can and still get flooded by constant bar election emails. But the Modell Law is a joke. 

Documenting for posterity and future reference.....

The Modell Law allowed the Ohio AG to file a suit to which the first response was a motion to stay discovery because the cabal's greatest fear is public exposure of their books.  Prima facie, it seems the Judge was going to allow the suit to continue and deny the motion to stay, and thus the "settlement".

Once again, I am for a team in Austin and for a team in San Antonio.  I have to say that so I can then state the following without being accused of being "negative".  I know how the cabal works because of how close I was to it for 15 years, which in the 2019 Austin situation allowed me to precisely write the above posts on Day 1 of this thread.  Said above posts described an outcome that is likely accurate based on what has happened.  Note that I do not claim to have precisely predicted the sequence of events.

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Drew80

Drew80 15

Posted
Posted

I tried to edit my last post - no workie. Here's a better summary.

 

COTA has a USL team with a bunch of old and/or no name players that will play in BFE. They've been funding PACs to spread anti-Adler propaganda and stop the McKenna plan. One of their PACs posted a video recently with Pepe the frog. Oops. COTA dropped them.

Ohio sued the Crew to keep it in the state. After the Browns left in 96 to become the Ravens, the state passed a bill that forces sports teams that have taken public money to wait a period of 6 months before being able to relocate. The idea is to give locals a chance to buy the team and keep it there. Crew fans (all 20 of them) have really been making a fuss.

Nothing has been confirmed yet on McKalla or Austin FC.

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skittlebrau

skittlebrau 474

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Can someone summarize where we are right now for those who don’t follow this religiously?

McKalla place is happening? When does contruction begin? Kickoff in 2021?

COTA is trying to lure people out to BFE with USL tesm and funding anti MLS pacts?

McKalla and Austin FC are happening no later than 2021. 2020 depends on a temporary solution. Construction begins as soon as the deal on the stadium is signed with the city, which will be by the end of the year. RFPs have gone out for construction-related services.

COTA was funding an anti-stadium petition by out of town anti-semites and anti-trans people. They came clean about it on Friday, then renounced the group on Monday after the money was spent. Group claims to have suspended petition efforts but is really funneling them through another group.

Last week, Anthony Precourt had a couple beers in a pub near the stadium site and CM Leslie Pool was in Columbus hanging with Save the Crew. Both show their commitments to their respective cities.

Think that about covers it.

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Hagbard Celine

Hagbard Celine 10763

Posted
Posted

welp, there is a bit more and was hoping others would chime in.

the owner of the browns is being awarded an expansion franchise which will play with the crew name, colors, current players, and retain the crew's historical records.

but it's an expansion franchise.

psv is being awarded an expansion franchise.  which in theory will be used for austin.  psv is technically still the crew's owner until "the end of the season", which could be in an hour, if DC defeats the crew (currently 1-1 @ audi on 45').

the cabal didn't have to open their books.

no one "bought" or "sold" anything.

in the circles i travel in, a majority believe psv will never field a team in austin.  there will be a team in austin, but it's not likely to be psv.  they have the same level of football expertise as john wagner (presdient hsg) and last night's attendance in frisco is all you need to know about their respective acumen and fit for purpose.

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wood

wood 11181

Posted
Posted
38 minutes ago, skittlebrau said:

McKalla and Austin FC are happening no later than 2021. 2020 depends on a temporary solution. Construction begins as soon as the deal on the stadium is signed with the city, which will be by the end of the year. RFPs have gone out for construction-related services.

COTA was funding an anti-stadium petition by out of town anti-semites and anti-trans people. They came clean about it on Friday, then renounced the group on Monday after the money was spent. Group claims to have suspended petition efforts but is really funneling them through another group.

Last week, Anthony Precourt had a couple beers in a pub near the stadium site and CM Leslie Pool was in Columbus hanging with Save the Crew. Both show their commitments to their respective cities.

Think that about covers it.

Yes, it would seem that COTA wants to have their cake and eat it too. They get to distance themselves from Indy Austin while still having their donations do the same work they had always planned for it to do.

Also, the petition canvassers have reportedly been using deceptive tactics in misrepresenting the language in the petition in order to gather more signatures, and they've reportedly been canvassing inside off-limits areas near polling places, and making transphobic comments, etc, when faced with people speaking the truth about what they're telling people to get sigs.

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skittlebrau

skittlebrau 474

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Hagbard Celine said:

in the circles i travel in, a majority believe psv will never field a team in austin.  there will be a team in austin, but it's not likely to be psv.  they have the same level of football expertise as john wagner (presdient hsg) and last night's attendance in frisco is all you need to know about their respective acumen and fit for purpose.

I'm willing to bet money that those people are wrong. There may be local investors, but PSV will be involved.

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Neonmoon

Neonmoon 38127

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Drew80 said:

COTA has a USL team with a bunch of no name players that will play in BFE. But their logo is kinda cool.

Nothing has been confirmed yet on McKalla or Austin FC. Their logo sucks.

 

14 hours ago, Drew80 said:

I tried to edit my last post - no workie. Here's a better summary.

 

COTA has a USL team with a bunch of old and/or no name players that will play in BFE. They've been funding PACs to spread anti-Adler propaganda and stop the McKenna plan. One of their PACs posted a video recently with Pepe the frog. Oops. COTA dropped them.

Ohio sued the Crew to keep it in the state. After the Browns left in 96 to become the Ravens, the state passed a bill that forces sports teams that have taken public money to wait a period of 6 months before being able to relocate. The idea is to give locals a chance to buy the team and keep it there. Crew fans (all 20 of them) have really been making a fuss.

Nothing has been confirmed yet on McKalla or Austin FC.

 

13 hours ago, skittlebrau said:

McKalla and Austin FC are happening no later than 2021. 2020 depends on a temporary solution. Construction begins as soon as the deal on the stadium is signed with the city, which will be by the end of the year. RFPs have gone out for construction-related services.

COTA was funding an anti-stadium petition by out of town anti-semites and anti-trans people. They came clean about it on Friday, then renounced the group on Monday after the money was spent. Group claims to have suspended petition efforts but is really funneling them through another group.

Last week, Anthony Precourt had a couple beers in a pub near the stadium site and CM Leslie Pool was in Columbus hanging with Save the Crew. Both show their commitments to their respective cities.

Think that about covers it.

 

12 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

welp, there is a bit more and was hoping others would chime in.

the owner of the browns is being awarded an expansion franchise which will play with the crew name, colors, current players, and retain the crew's historical records.

but it's an expansion franchise.

psv is being awarded an expansion franchise.  which in theory will be used for austin.  psv is technically still the crew's owner until "the end of the season", which could be in an hour, if DC defeats the crew (currently 1-1 @ audi on 45').

the cabal didn't have to open their books.

no one "bought" or "sold" anything.

in the circles i travel in, a majority believe psv will never field a team in austin.  there will be a team in austin, but it's not likely to be psv.  they have the same level of football expertise as john wagner (presdient hsg) and last night's attendance in frisco is all you need to know about their respective acumen and fit for purpose.

 

12 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

here's a good blogpost on bigsoccer, read the end of the article and the comments starting about halfway down the page.

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/us-soccer-lets-gaze-inward-at-the-meaning-of-holy-stop-crap-the-presses-the-crew-are-saved.2087943/

 

12 hours ago, wood said:

Yes, it would seem that COTA wants to have their cake and eat it too. They get to distance themselves from Indy Austin while still having their donations do the same work they had always planned for it to do.

Also, the petition canvassers have reportedly been using deceptive tactics in misrepresenting the language in the petition in order to gather more signatures, and they've reportedly been canvassing inside off-limits areas near polling places, and making transphobic comments, etc, when faced with people speaking the truth about what they're telling people to get sigs.

+rep

thank you for not making me read the whole thread to figure it out. 

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wood

wood 11181

Posted
Posted

Yeah and the whole thing just looks worse and worse for them with almost every passing day. 

I didn't know it until tonight that apparently Epstein started a new PAC, Fair Play Austin, to continue the petition drive that he'd been funding under the Indy Austin umbrella.

I dunno if the Fox 7 story is up on their site yet, but the Statesman's article is actually pretty informative (shocking). Kudos to them for covering the COTA connection that Fox 7 didn't.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20181107/paid-canvassers-caught-giving-bogus-info-about-soccer-petition?template=ampart&__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR2mEsirwuN3QAdK6MtLQnqQN0ub2Wvgvz9fTIBR9mAa041tKnlJuvTZWmQ


Some proponents of the city of Austin's Major League Soccer stadium deal are crying foul about the petition effort to sink the stadium after they secretly taped paid canvassers giving misinformation about the petition's intent.

"We're trying to build a new soccer stadium here," said one paid canvasser, who identified himself in the video as "SQ."

In reality, SQ is a paid canvasser for Fair Play Austin, a new political action committee being funded by Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein. Epstein's also the majority owner of Austin Bold FC, a United Soccer League franchise that plans to begin play in 2019. Recently, the franchise began construction on a new 5,000-seat stadium at Circuit of the Americas.

Nikelle Meade, general counsel for Fair Play Austin, confirmed Wednesday that Epstein is behind the PAC and that the man caught in the video is a paid canvasser.


"More or less, everything he said was not right," Meade told the Statesman.

The video was shot by Mark Littlefield, a City Hall lobbyist and political consultant who was paid to help seal the soccer stadium deal. The terms call for a 20,000-seat stadium to be built on the city-owned McKalla Place tract in North Austin.

Littlefield told that Statesman that he shot the video while on the University of Texas campus Tuesday afternoon, when he had traveled there to speak to a class. He had just hopped off a scooter when the man approached him. With his phone in hand, Littlefield told the man he was ending his paid ride on the scooter, but then he turned on the video.

"Anecdotally I've heard stories about this for weeks now," Littlefield said. "So I told people to try to get a video of it and never thought that it would be me."


As Littlefield approaches the canvasser, he tells the man that he loves soccer. Littlefield tells the man that he thought the city had already approved a soccer stadium. The canvasser replies that a deal failed to pass twice, and now they needed a petition to get it on the ballot.

"It didn't pass," he says. "So that's why we are trying to get it on the ballot."

Littlefield's video is one of two that are being circulated by some in favor of the city's stadium deal with Precourt Sports Ventures, which plans to bring an MLS franchise to Austin. The other video shows a female canvasser. She tells an unidentified woman during an interaction that the petition is related to the soccer deal, but that it would not undo the McKalla Place deal.

The Fair Play Austin PAC formed Nov. 2 after Epstein pulled his financial support from IndyAustin in the wake of a political video targeting Mayor Steve Adler that included a cartoon character that has been associated with racism and anti-Semitism.


The petition calls for an election to be held regarding the McKalla Place deal as well as any future city agreements to build stadiums or entertainment venues on city-owned land.

Meade said Fair Play Austin has taken action since they were made aware of the videos and would be working with the 20 canvassers they have hired to get signatures.

"It is a training issue," Meade said "They need to answer truthfully or say, 'I don't know.' ... It is a somewhat complicated issue so we are making sure everyone is better informed."

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wood

wood 11181

Posted
Posted

COTA's Epstein paid $50,000 for anti-MLS petitioners

http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/epstein-paid-50-000-for-mls-petitioners

On Wednesday FOX 7 Austin told you about a couple of hidden-camera videos of petitioners near Austin polling places on election day.

Fuzzy facts... "Alright, this is for the soccer stadium, we're trying to bring a new soccer stadium here," one petitioner said.  

And questionable statistics... "You're building stadiums at 3 times the rate of other cities.  Let's slow down and let the people have a say-so," another petitioner said.

The political action committee "Fair Play ATX" who hired the petitioners tells FOX 7 the point is to make sure voters and taxpayers have a say before the city "gives away free rent and waives property taxes" for Precourt Sports Ventures. 

PSV wants to build a Major League Soccer stadium on city-owned land.  Council approved the deal this summer. But that's not what one of the petitioners said.  "It didn't pass so we trying to get it on the ballot now again.  Otherwise they would have built it, think about it," he said.

"I thought to myself 'you know I was pretty sure that I was in council that night when the vote passed' but he was pretty convincing," said Mark Littlefield who shot the video.  


Talk about picking the wrong person...

The petitioner approached political consultant and City Hall lobbyist Mark Littlefield at UT.  Precourt Sports Ventures is one of Littlefield's clients.  So he had heard of canvassers giving out bogus info.  

"And so I told people 'look if you ever get a chance, videotape their spill so we can see for ourselves if this was true or not.'  So I had my phone in my hand because I was ending my scooter ride and then the man approached me and began asking if I wanted to 'sign my petition,'" Littlefield said.  

So who is behind Fair Play ATX?

The group says Circuit of the Americas Chairman Bobby Epstein essentially created the PAC and gave $50,000 to pay their petitioners.  Epstein has his own "USL" soccer team at COTA called the "Austin Bold."

After seeing the videos, Fair Play ATX general counsel Nikelle Meade told us they're "working with the supervisors and trainers of the petitioners to ensure that the information these two petitioners provided isn't used again."

"I think that the responsible thing would be for this group to suspend their activity, retrain all their petition-gatherers, find the petitions that were gathered by this one specific person and toss them out," Littlefield said.

Fair Play ATX also says "No matter what sort of ploys Precourt's lobbyist Mark Littlefield tries to throw out there (and we're confident that he will continue to try to create distractions from the real issues at every turn) fair treatment and fair taxes are the bottom line."

We also contacted the City of Austin about whether they'll investigate the misinformation allegations surrounding the petition.  They say that's not in their power to do that.
                
If you accidentally signed the petition under false pretenses and didn't really want to -- Texas Election Code says you can send an affidavit to the City requesting the removal or come in person to do it.  

But be sure to do it before the petition is received by the city.

 

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