A date that could have marked the end for Major League Soccer coming to Austin will pass without much commotion.

Lawyers from Precourt Sports Ventures and the city are still drafting the final lease and development contract for an MLS stadium at McKalla Place. The terms sheet approved by the City Council in August specified Oct. 9 as a day when either side could terminate the deal if a final agreement had not been reached. Although signatures are probably months away, representatives from both sides told the American-Statesman they have no intention of backing out.

“It was there as a fail-safe, just in case there were any substantial roadblocks and things just weren’t coming together,” city spokesman David Green told the Statesman. “It would allow either party to back out, but wasn’t meant as a hard deadline. We’re coming up on Oct. 9, and right now we’ve made very good progress. There isn’t any reason for either party to consider invoking that clause of the terms sheet at this time.”

MLS lobbyist Richard Suttle, who works for PSV, declined to comment other than to say he agrees with the city about Tuesday's date.

According to the city staff, lawyers hired by the city completed a draft of the lease and development contract based on the terms sheet. It then went to PSV for review, and lawyers from both sides will take their time finalizing the language.

The initial terms sheet was 30 pages, and the final contract is expected to be at least double that length, according to the city staff. With a few exceptions for proprietary information, the city intends to make the contract public when it is finished.

“We always said it would take 90 to 120 days,” Green said. “We’re still confident in that as a good window. November, December time frame, probably more likely to be December as both sides go through multiple reviews from their lawyers to make sure everything is aboveboard before anybody signs anything.”

While both sides agree things are moving smoothly, there are still several potential stumbling blocks, starting with the lingering uncertainty surrounding the possible move of Columbus Crew SC. Team investor-operator Anthony Precourt, who announced in October 2017 that he was exploring a move, intended to finalize it for the 2019 season, but MLS has yet to sign off. A lawsuit hangs over proceedings in Ohio, and appears unlikely to be resolved by the end of the 2018 season.

The terms sheet specifies failure of MLS to approve a move by a date to be determined as grounds for termination of the deal, as well as failure to secure financing and failure to enter into a construction contract. City staffers declined to comment on specifics surrounding those dates.

“It’s premature to comment on any individual portion of the contract at this point,” Green said.

RELATED: With the stadium deal set, what’s next to make MLS happen in Austin?

MLS normally releases its schedule for the coming year in early January, with the first games kicking off in early March. PSV had a brand reveal for a potential MLS team, to be called Austin FC, but other specifics for a possible 2019 launch (season tickets, temporary stadium, etc.) are on hold.

Soccer fans in the city can take solace in the fact that a stadium at McKalla isn’t scheduled to open until 2021, and alternative paths to getting a team to the Texas capital by then could still be worked out.

There’s also the matter of local opposition from political action committee IndyAustin, which is circulating a petition challenging the stadium deal. In an interview with KVUE last week, Mayor Steve Adler shot back at the group that also helped kill CodeNext.

RELATED: Petition drive to challenge MLS stadium deal

“I guess my first question is, ‘Who’s paying for this?’ ” Adler said. “IndyAustin is an organization that takes secret and dark money. We’re having a whole raft of these things that are being put on the ballot that are being paid all or in part by we don’t know who. … A lot of these things are intended to preserve the status quo and to slow down forward movement. That’s not a good thing for this city.”

Much like the stadium negotiations, the saga that could bring Austin its first major pro sports franchise is still very much ongoing.