(with Quin Snyder having moved to Philly, this is the face of the franchise, believe it or not)
The San Antonio Business Journal’s W. Scott Bailey reports the Spurs’ D-League affiliate Toros have ended a 5 year tenure based in Downtown Austin’s charmless Convention Center, and will be moving to the Cedar Park Center this fall.
The Toros will tip off their first season in the new arena in November. The multi-use venue, which will seat nearly 4,700 fans for basketball, is also home of the American Hockey League™s Texas Stars.
œWe are really looking forward to continuing to present NBA caliber competition to Austin Toros fans at the new Cedar Park Center, says Rick Pych, president of business operations for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, parent company of the NBA Spurs.
œThe move will allow us to improve the fan experience beyond what we have been able to offer in past years, Pych adds.
œThe opportunity to offer our fans a more balanced schedule that includes more weekend games coupled with the convenience and amenities of Cedar Park Center make this a win for everyone, says Peter Lubell, chief operating officer for the Toros.
Translation : even a thoroughly generic, albeit modern sports arena like the Cedar Park Center is likely to provide a better basketball ambiance than the A.C.C. Also, the former is pretty empty most of the year, and perhaps the residents of Cedar Park and surrounding communities, having already accustomed themselves to spending $10 on parking for Stars games, will be a little more willing to splash out than those in Austin.
Austin had the opportunity to build a modest small state of the art arena for its minor league clubs, but failed to do so. Her northern suburbs chose to do so. With better parking, seating, restrooms, concessions, and locker rooms, it was a no brainer to move into a state of the art facility suitable for minor league teams….
The convention center wasn’t state of the art by any means… When a tenant can find a better apartment to lease for the same amount, its no mystery why a tenant moves….
no argument about the Convention Center being a less than suitable venue, but you’re neglecting to mention that Austin already has a pretty substantial basketball venue. It’s called the Erwin Center. And given the town’s almost single-minded devotion to UT athletics, the notion of a purpose built mini-basketball arena was a MUCH longer shot than efforts in prior decades to build a minor league baseball stadium within city limits.
While I’m certain Cedar Park will prove a more suitable home for the Toros, let’s not let the organization or the D-League off the hook. On far too many occasions, Toros home games were played head-to-head with University Of Texas basketball games less than a mile away. And 8 home game during the final 12 games of the season this past spring was simply insane.
I’d also challenge your assertion the Cedar Park Center offers better parking. It was hardly difficult to find free parking downtown for Toros midweek night games or sunday matinees. The last time I attended a Texas Stars game, I paid $10 for the privilege of parking in an auxiliary lot that had turned to mud — several cars were stuck at the end of the night.
Fair enough, you pointed out the negative of paid parking. But you failed to point out the positives. The better sized building for minor league sports: bars, suites, lodge seats, club seats, concessions, rest rooms, locker rooms, and jumbotron. Every seat in the house has a better view up close. While there isn’t free parking, the paved parking is very close and surrounds CPC. I doubt the Toros will require the auxiliary parking, maybe during a playoff finals. Furthermore, the city of Austin didn’t build the much larger Erwin Center, UT did.
Considering the costs of CPC, I don’t blame the suburb for charging a parking fee to help pay the bonds off sold to build CPC. The state of Texas didn’t subsidized CPC as it did with the considerably larger Erwin Center. By the way which is much too larger for minor league basketball without the facilities professional teams desire.
The first year is over. The Toros increased attendance fifty percent playing in the CPC. The fans of central Texas spoke with their pocketbooks…