Stadium will house Austin’s first Pro Sports Team
AUSTIN, TX – Aug. 27, 2018 – Greenberg Traurig, LLP is representing the city of Austin in the development of the North Austin Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium, which will house Austin’s first professional sports team. The Austin City Council voted Aug. 15, 2018, to authorize the negotiation and execution of a lease and development agreement for the $200 million project.
“We are thrilled to assist in this bold and significant project,” said Greenberg Traurig Shareholder Franklin D.R. Jones, Jr., who leads the law firm’s team with support from Shareholders Karen M. Kennard and Kenneth M. Neighbors. “Adding an MLS team to Austin—already a vibrant city—will only enhance its appeal and bolster civic pride as well as create economic benefits for the city."
Greenberg Traurig’s selection as counsel was approved by the City Council June 28, 2018, in a 9-0 vote.
Jones has decades of experience representing professional sports franchises and governmental authorities involved in the development, financing, leasing, and operation of stadiums, arenas, and other public assembly facilities. His prior experience includes representations of the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (NFL stadium for Atlanta Falcons), the Anschutz Entertainment Group (Houston Dynamo), the Dallas Cowboys, the Houston Texans, the Miami Dolphins, and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Kennard is the former City Attorney for the City of Austin and has experience representing clients in a number of public private development projects involving local governments.
Neighbors is a former merchant/investment banker and has served as lead shareholder on many of Greenberg Traurig’s previous public private partnership (P3) transactions. He and Jones regularly collaborate on major economic development, stadium, and P3 engagements. His prior experience includes representation of various agencies of the City of Atlanta, the State of Georgia/Georgia Department of Transportation, and various affiliates of a Spanish multinational infrastructure company in connection with all manner of P3 and economic development transactions and initiatives.
Located at McKalla Place, the planned 20,000-seat stadium will house the Columbus Crew Soccer Club, currently in Columbus, Ohio. The teams’ owners, Anthony Precourt and Precourt Sports Ventures LLC, said they plan to relocate the team to Austin in 2019.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP – Texas: Greenberg Traurig has more than 125 attorneys in Texas, serving clients from offices in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.