AUSTIN, Texas – Austin FC announced Friday its first 15 hires, as well as a goal to hire more than 100 full-time employees before the inaugural 2021 season.

The announcement came a day after critics of the Major League Soccer team's stadium agreement with the City of Austin filed a ballot petition with the City Clerk, claiming to have the signatures of 29,000 voters supporting it.

• Austin FC announces first round of employees
• Petition, if verified by City Clerk, would go before voters November 5, 2019
• Attorney for Austin FC: petition does not impact us

If certified, the petition would go before voters in November 2019. It seeks to have all agreements involving sports stadiums and concert venues on city-owned land to receive a super-majority approval by the City Council and support by Austin voters.

"The petition does not impact Austin FC," said Richard Suttle, the attorney for Austin FC's ownership group. "The lease is signed and the plan for the stadium has been filed. We look forward to bringing Major League Soccer to Austin."

READ MORE | Group Files Petition Seeking Public Vote on MLS Stadium

The petition drive was led by two groups, which were funded largely by the owners of the Circuit of The Americas, which has a United Soccer League team, Austin Bold FC. Supporters of the COTA-funded petition drive say one of their biggest concerns is the amount of taxpayer dollars Austin will forego rather than having the stadium built on privately owned property.

COTA itself has received almost $100 million in taxpayer money from the state since 2014, according to data published by the Governor's office.

A few neighbors against the Major League Soccer deal joined the petition effort, including Craig Nazor. He lives two miles from the new stadium. 

"If organized sports is going to make as much money as they seem to make and be as popular as they are, then maybe they could help us pay the bills we need money for," he said. "We need money for our schools."

Andrew Urban founded the group, MLS in Austin, to support Major League Soccer. He's concerned about what voters were led to believe by petition canvassers.

"They were paid petitioners," he said. "We are concerned that these signatures are either not valid or people didn't really know what they were signing."

An announcement from Major League Soccer is expected in the coming weeks regarding Austin FC and Columbus Crew SC. Precourt Sports Ventures has owned the Columbus, Ohio, team since 2013. MLS announced last month it reached a preliminary agreement to allow new owners to assumer operating rights of Crew SC, which would allow PSV to retain its franchise rights and form Austin FC.

The league would effectively grow by one team.