Near the bottom of a bombshell statement Tuesday that outlined Crew SC investor-operator Anthony Precourt’s intentions to either move the team to Austin, Texas, or remain in Columbus with a Downtown stadium was an important requirement for the Austin market.

“In evaluating Austin, as with any new MLS market, a critical component is the stadium plan,” the statement read. “Without an MLS-approved site, Precourt said the Austin move would not be viable.”

During a Wednesday media circuit in Austin, Precourt expressed his desire for a stadium deal to come together in the “urban fabric” of Austin. Doing so would come at a significant price.

“The Austin (central business district) is literally on fire,” said Sam Houston, office partner for HPI Real Estate Services & Investments in Austin. “The markets, residentially and commercially, are on fire. Land is trading at all-time highs.”

Houston described the Columbus and Austin real-estate markets as “different worlds.”

“The rents in Downtown Columbus are maybe $25 a foot all-in, maybe $30 as I understand it, and that would be a high, high number,” he said. “They are $65 to $75 (per square foot) in Austin, office rents.”

Other potential hurdles to land development in downtown Austin are the Capitol View Corridors, which restrict building heights in certain areas to preserve views of the State Capitol dome, as well as property taxes that could run $10 to $12 per square foot in certain parts of downtown, Houston said.

Regarding a downtown stadium site, Stephen DePizzo, senior vice president at St. Croix Capital Companies in Austin, said “nothing is impossible.”

“It really takes the right vision and hard work to find the development spot. Austin is a very tight market,” he said. “There’s a lot of development going on downtown and it really takes a lot of due diligence upfront to find the right location and have the right development team to make it happen. As far as downtown, it’s always possible.”

Houston, however, listed several factors why Precourt Sports Ventures might have difficulty nailing down a downtown Austin site.

“Between the cost, the lack of land, the Capitol Corridor and the political environment, I really don’t know that there’s any way he could pull it off,” Houston said.

An area that could work for a stadium from a real-estate standpoint is East Austin, which is drawing developers. Another area that might come up in discussing possible sites for a Major League Soccer stadium is the 18.9-acre Austin American-Statesman site just south of downtown. The newspaper site was purchased by the Cox family in late 2015 and is being planned for redevelopment.

“They have a really great piece of land, about 18 acres, but I can’t imagine them doing a soccer stadium,” Houston said.

In an interview with the Austin American-Statesman, Bobby Epstein, the majority owner of the United Soccer League team scheduled to begin play in Austin in 2019, said a top site choice for Crew ownership is the 12.5-acre Butler Shores at Town Lake Metro Park. Given the size of the waterfront park just south of downtown, however, parking might be a concern.

Precourt’s representatives are expected to return to Austin before the end of the month.

In Columbus, several Crew SC corporate partners have posted on social media in the last three days in solidarity with the #SaveTheCrew movement started by supporters, including Roosters and Eye Columbus.

In an Instagram post, Homage described the apparel company’s reaction to the Crew news as “feeling pretty bummed.”

“With so many memories and so many left to make, we stand with the fans, and hope a solution can be found to keep the team in Columbus,” the post read.

Land-Grant Brewing said it was “shocked and saddened” by news of a potential Crew move.

“As we were blindsided by today’s news, we will be taking time to reflect internally on how this will affect our partnership moving forward,” its statement read.

aerickson@dispatch.com

@AEricksonCD