ATX PULSE 5/21-22/25 (free): ATC Shortage Causes Ground Delay at ABIA Delaying Flights Wed // Is Austin Tech Scene Receding? // Council Split on Size, Cost of Cap-and-Stitch // KXAN: Audit of Austin LPR Program Finds General Accuracy, Missing Data // Tesla to Launch ATX Self-Driving Car Service in Late June // ABJ Profiles ATX MLB Expansion Effort // #1 UT Baseball Faces Tennessee Today at 3pm // #6 UT Softball Begins Super Regional vs. Clemson

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2025 & THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2025

Compiled by Matt Mackowiak

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TOP NEWS

“City winds up to make pitch for Major League Baseball someday,” Austin Business Journal’s Justin Sayers — “When the country's four largest sports leagues are analyzed, it's easy to see why many view Major League Baseball as Austin's best chance for expansion.

The National Football League hasn't shown much interest in expanding, and a local bid would have to go through the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys. The San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association play some games in Austin, but they are pursuing a new arena that would deter any proximate efforts. The National Hockey League is the most keen on expansion, but Houston — one of the country's largest markets without a team — is viewed among the favorites.

"If we want to become a city with a top-four sports franchise, this is it," said Matt Mackowiak, one of the founders of the Austin Baseball Commission, an organization that has been raising awareness and money — about $150,000 received out of $450,000 in pledges since early April — with the goal of putting Austin into the MLB expansion conversation.

At this point, it's important to note that the following story is filled with hypotheticals. MLB has not announced an expansion, and while some expect that to happen, there are many barriers. The league has to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement, mitigate television rights issues, finalize the future of the Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays, plus fix an emerging divide between the league's top and bottom teams, among other to-dos.

It's also costly. An MLB expansion franchise is easily a multibillion-dollar economic development project between expansion fees, operations and a stadium district, all the way down through the minor league and spring training ecosystem. Is there someone local, or otherwise, willing to take on that cost in Austin?

Austin is ready — how about MLB?

If there's an opportunity to bring a team here, you can trust Austin will be a part of it. So will others like Salt Lake City, Nashville, Portland and Charlotte. Local stakeholders are maneuvering to be part of the conversation.

"If you look at Austin today, could it support a team? I think under the right economics, yes, it could support a team. Does that mean it will be the favorite child in an expansion process? I don't know," said Reid Ryan, CEO of the triple-A Round Rock Express and Ryan Sports & Entertainment.

The Express is celebrating 25 years playing at Dell Diamond. When Ryan — whose dad, baseball legend and now local resident Nolan Ryan — and others brought them to Round Rock, the region was among the biggest markets without a professional sports team. He said it's now turning into the MLB market they once envisioned.

But while he feels "that Austin would have as good a shot as anybody" at another team, Reid Ryan believes that it's not something on the table "as of right now." He would know more than most, as he has sat on boards for the major and minor leagues and stays in contact with MLB leadership.

"I feel good because we're a growth market. I feel good because we now have supported double-A and triple-A baseball for 25 years. I feel good because there are large companies that have relocated here, and it takes a lot of money when you're playing 81 baseball games from the community to support a club with tickets and suites and premium areas and all those kind of things," he said.

Ryan said it comes down to "cold, hard economics." Right now, the top MLB teams are generating more revenue than those at the bottom, and while half the teams are eligible for revenue sharing, it's not creating parity. He's not sure adding two more teams — let alone teams that may not be competitive, initially — would solve that.

Real money is moving

Since the Austin Baseball Commission launched on the Friday of last year's All-Star Game weekend in Arlington, Mackowiak, Derrik Fox and Dustin Byington estimated they've had more than 500 meetings, collected over 130,000 email addresses, had 400 people sign up to serve on committees and had people fill out request forms for 3,500 season tickets.

The trio launched the group as they felt Austin was falling behind other cities, like Nashville, Portland and Salt Lake City, which have already made moves to identify real estate, secure state incentives and identify majority ownership for a potential baseball team. They expect an expansion process to kick off next year.

"Austin has operated like a small city, like a college town, for too long," Mackowiak said. "From my perspective, losing a competition to Salt Lake City because we didn't get in the game would be unacceptable. We believe that if it's an apples-to-apples-to-apples comparison, we will be one of the two teams that's awarded the bid. And there are two gold medals."

The group has not communicated directly with MLB leadership. But it has engaged with consultants and is being advised by former deputy MLB commissioner Bob DuPuy, who Mackowiak said "is very bullish on Austin as a market for expansion." They've also brought on Nick Sakiewicz, formerly of the defunct Arizona Coyotes, who will be their "Stadium CEO;" have engaged with architect HKS, which has designed professional sports stadiums; and an unidentified law firm with a direct line to the league.

Austin Baseball Commission — now an LP — launched a $2 million seed round in April and is aiming to raise $1 million by Labor Day. It has held investor events at places like Headliners Club and SoHo House to first pay for an economic impact study, real estate study for five finalist sites and to engage with more consultants. Leaders plan two more seed rounds as they keep moving forward: a $5 million price tag for an actual bid and an estimated $4.5 billion for the team itself.

As part of their efforts, they connected with a former general manager who sent them a list of seven criteria needed to successfully operate a team.

The big piece is finances. They estimated an expansion fee would run them $2.25 billion, a stadium — minus incentives — would be about $1.5 billion and an operating budget would be around $500 million, along with ancillary costs. They're aiming to identify a majority owner, and while a number of high-net-worth individuals are moving to Austin along with their companies, that person could come from anywhere.

A stadium is the next big piece. Mackowiak said his team identified five sites in Travis County, three in Williamson County and a handful in Hays County that could work. That list includes Northline in Leander, officials confirmed, but it has barriers as adjacent public transit cannot move enough people at a time for a big stadium, he said. Downtown Austin sites were not big enough.

They think they'll likely end up with a location east of I-35 in Travis County as they can master-plan it out easier and be a draw for future public transit. Mackowiak hinted one site is on the water — and wouldn't confirm whether it's the Dog's Head, which has been tied to speculatory conversations for professional sports in the past, only saying that "irrespective of baseball," he thinks it's going to be developed into something significant.

"The further you are away from the city center, the worse it is for attendance," Mackowiak said, citing an analysis that stadiums lose 700 people in attendance for every quarter-mile you are away from downtown.

They estimated a stadium would have 35,000 to 40,000 seats with a retractable roof, saying the key would be to follow the lead of many teams by having a stadium be a part of a mixed-use district as a way to generate revenue and drive year-round economic impact. They'd also like it to be similar to Q2 Stadium, home to Major League Soccer's Austin FC, which is tech-heavy, on a transit line and representative of the community.

"We don't want to put an undue burden on the citizens of Austin," Byington said. "To make the math work and to make the economics work, that entertainment district really goes a long way not only to finance a stadium but for us to be good stewards of the community and to make a positive economic impact, which is something we're really committed to."

The market is another gray area. While they are less concerned about Austin's perceived smaller size compared to other markets, they do foresee TV contracts being an issue. The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros likely wouldn't want a third team eating into their revenue — although Mackowiak said another team would create "intense baseball interest" in the state that would lead to more people traveling to games.

Remaining factors include spring training hubs and international development, corporate support and season ticket commitments.

Fox joked that his sales background had him selling mediocre products in crowded markets. The difference here is that Austin is an open market with a good product. It's got the population density, wealth, corporate industry and culture that they hope MLB will eventually see.

"There are several cities involved but I think we have the best product," Fox said.” ABJ ($)

“Austin airport went under ground delay due to staffing issues” Fox 7 Austin

“Report: Austin's tech scene is losing momentum” ABJ ($)

THE BLOTTER

“Woman charged for killing 1 pedestrian, injuring 2 others in downtown Austin crash” Fox 7 Austin

“Downtown Austin police chase ends in crash” Fox 7 Austin

“Austin man sentenced to 12 years for firearm possession after 2023 standoff with police” CBS Austin

“Man dies after crash in southeast Austin” CBS Austin

“Leander ISD student-teacher arrested for improper relationship with student” Fox 7 Austin

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

“Parks over I-35: In final push, some Austin city council members pitch new $143M plan” KXAN

“Audit of Austin license plate camera program finds general accuracy, missing data” KXAN

“School closures on the horizon for Austin ISD” KXAN

BUSINESS NEWS

“Dell World 2025: AI Factories, Turbo-Charged Data & The Intelligent Edge Dominate” CBS Austin

“Tesla to launch self-driving car service in Austin by end of June amid safety concerns” CBS Austin

“Longtime South Austin semiconductor supplier plans $100M expansion” ABJ ($)

“Ascension Texas names new CEO” ABJ ($)

“American joins Delta in offering flights to and from Austin for 2025 college football season” KXAN

TEXAS SPORTS

TEXAS BASEBALL: “Texas goes trophy hunting in ‘mini Omaha’ as No. 1 seed in SEC tournament” KXAN

QUICK LINKS

FAA issues ground stop at Austin airport over staffing issues; 160 flights delayed - Austin American-Statesman

Elon Musk’s Cybercab robotaxi is headed to Austin. How much will the self-driving car cost - Austin American-Statesman

Texas Education Agency accountability scores expose longstanding inequities in Austin ISD - Austin American-Statesman

How expensive is it to live in these Texas metros? Here's how much renters need to make - Austin American-Statesman

'We can use more people like him' | Close friends remember the life and legacy of CapMetro stabbing victim - KVUE

Woman arrested after fatal hit-and-run in downtown Austin - KXAN Austin

4 Central Texas cities ranked among the Top 10 to live in the state - KVUE

State appeals court moving forward with appeal in case involving former Williamson County sheriff, county attorney - KVUE

East Austin post office set to relocate to Manor Road - KVUE

Austin-Travis County EMS announces death of Captain JJ Barr - KEYE

Man sentenced to nearly 300 years in prison for habitual sexual abuse of minors - KVUE

Austin's airport sees flight delays Wednesday due to air traffic controller shortages - KUT

Woman surrenders to police in hit-and-run that killed Austin, Texas woman - KWTX

Charges filed in deadly Downtown Austin hit-and-run - KVUE

Emma Stone Asks $26.5 Million for Freshly Renovated Austin Home - Realtor.com

Woman turns herself in after downtown Austin hit-and-run crash that killed Erica Garza - KEYE

Austin Bar to Pay $42K Over Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit - Insurance Journal

News | The multifamily supply wave is not thinning everywhere in Austin, Texas - CoStar

HSEM Reschedules Emergency Preparedness Pop-up - AustinTexas.gov

Eanes ISD board receives first look at potential districtwide campus renovations - Community Impact

Stretch the Noodle brings Chinese hand-stretched noodles to Georgetown - Community Impact

Austin City Council to vote on $244 million funding increase for I-35 project - Spectrum News

Bitcoin reserve, new business fee relief: 5 legislative updates from Austin-area lawmakers - Community Impact

Lakeway moves forward on Highlands Boulevard safety improvements - Community Impact

Affordable housing showdowns, license plate readers and the future of I35 (again) - Austin Monitor

Georgetown council members sworn in; Kevin Pitts re-elected mayor pro tem - Community Impact

External review finds data inconsistencies in APD reporting on use of force - Austin Monitor

The Texas Longhorns fight for every dollar in Austin's entertainment ecosystem - ABJ

Holiday celebrations among 13 events to take place in Pflugerville, Hutto - Community Impact

Petco now open in Georgetown - Community Impact

AUSTIN CULTURE

~ MUSIC FESTIVAL: “Austin's Hot Luck festival releases last-minute 2025 music lineup” Eater Austin

~ DINING: “Where to eat: Summer escapes” Eater Austin

~ DINING: “Where to Eat at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA)” Eater Austin

~ COCKTAILS: “11 frozen cocktails cool Austin down this Memorial Day weekend” Culture Map Austin

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

~ TEXAS BASEBALL: Texas vs. Tennessee. 3pm. SEC Tournament. Hoover, AL. Airs on SEC Network.

~ TEXAS SOFTBALL: Game 1: #6 Texas vs. #13 Clemson. Super Regional. McCombs Field (Austin). 8pm. Ticket info here. Airs on ESPN2.

~ LIVE MUSIC: Tiesto. Concourse Project. 9pm. More info and tix here.

WHAT TO DO TOMORROW

~ TEXAS SOFTBALL: Game 2: #6 Texas vs. #13 Clemson. Super Regional. McCombs Field (Austin). 8pm. Ticket info here. Airs on ESPN2.

~ LIVE MUSIC: Ryan Adams. ACL Live. 8pm. More info & tix here.

COOL JOB ALERT

~ Assistant General Counsel. Texas Department of Agriculture. Salary: $6,142-$6,300 / monthly. Info / apply here.SUBSCRIBER: $5/mo or $50/yr