The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce threw their support behind the idea of Austin hosting an MLS soccer team Friday.
KVUE reported in October 2017 the MLS team, Columbus Crew, from Columbus, Ohio, were considering relocating to Austin.
The chamber of commerce joined the LGBT Chamber to announce their support Friday.
The chamber said Austin is the only large city in the country that does not have a major league sports franchise. Supporters said bringing a franchise here would create about 1,000 jobs and bring millions of dollars into the local economy.
"These are again, not transplant from one retail shop to another. These are a thousand new jobs that don't exist in our community today," said Rudy Garza with the Austin Chamber of Commerce. "They're the type of jobs that our city council members have been asking for. They're the type of jobs, they're middle-income jobs. They're the folks that are working at the stadium, at the concessions."
"We've long thought of Austin as a potential ideal fit for a major league soccer team," Anthony Precourt, CEO of Precourt Sports Ventures, LLC which has owned the team for the last four and a half years, said in October 2017.
There were also protesters at the chamber of commerce event. They said they do not want Precourt Sports Ventures to come to Austin and use city park land.
The city right now is continuing its talks with Precourt.
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In late January, KVUE reported the club owners would no longer consider Butler Shores at Town Lake Metro Park near Downtown Austin as the club's new home.
Taking Butler Shores off the list of potential host sites leaves the city with only a handful of other venues to select from, including Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park and McKalla Place near The Domain.
However, Austin City Council members told KVUE news partner the Austin-American Statesman in January more potential sites might be added to the list.