AUSTIN, Texas — Opponents of the financing arrangement for Austin's MLS stadium deal have delivered a petition to the city seeking a public vote to reconsider the agreement.
- Seeking public vote
- Petition filed Thursday
- 29,000 people signed
A group called Friends of McKalla Place filed the petition, but the 29,000 signatures were gathered by the group Indy Austin.
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The city clerk must now verify that the petition has signatures from at least 20,000 qualified voters.
Among other things, the group takes issue with what it refers to as "one of the single largest corporate welfare packages in Austin's history." In a release, Friends of McKalla Place state that the stadium lease transfers public land to a private, for-profit entity and that this constitutes "virtually the only professional stadium deal in Texas over the last 30 years that has not been brought before voters for approval."
While a stadium deal is in place, and Austin FC has announced key hires and competition dates, Major League Soccer has yet to grant Austin an expansion franchise.
The $225 million stadium is scheduled to open at Mckalla Place in North Austin in the spring of 2021.
The petition asks for the vote to be held in May.