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Austin FC has announced its preseason schedule ahead of its second season. (Austin FC/Twitter)
The wait is (almost) over! Austin FC is just three weeks away from the start of its second season with four preseason-friendly matches slated for Feb. 9-19 ahead of its Feb. 26 home opener.
The four-match schedule will include two matches at the club's practice field, one friendly at Q2 Stadium, which will be open to the public, and one away match. Here's the schedule:
- The club will take on Toronto FC for the first time to date to kick off its preseason at Austin's practice field, St. David's Performance Center, on Wednesday, Feb. 9.
- Austin FC will then hit the road in a match against Texas foe Houston Dynamo on Sunday, Feb. 12 at Houston's PNC Stadium.
- They will take on current Liga MX champions Atlas FC for an international friendly at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at Q2 Stadium.
- The club will close out its preseason with an away scrimmage against Chicago Fire FC on Saturday, Feb. 19.
Only the Atlas FC match will be open to the public. Tickets to the Atlas FC friendly are included in season members' packages, while single-match tickets are available to the general public at SeatGeek.
Austin's regular roster will also be joined by five trialists including defender Graham Smith, midfielder/forward Milan Iloski, midfielder Dillon Powers, winger/forward Veljko Petkovic and defender/midfielder Tony Rocha. Each player will train and play with the team but is not guaranteed a spot on the team.
The regular season opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26 at Q2 Stadium.
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(Project Connect)
Designs for stations along Project Connect’s Blue Line were presented this week, giving a detailed look at what part of the rail system extending from downtown to the airport could look like.
The planned stations that have gotten the latest focus include Waterfront, Travis Heights and Lakeshore stations past Lady Bird Lake.
At the Waterfront station, the preliminary design aims to prevent visual obstructions and save on costs. This is accomplished by a transit guideway that will lower from the bridge to a level station.
Heading onto East Riverside Drive, the light rail faces a curve requiring a slow down to about 10 miles per hour.
The Travis Heights station could involve relocating a pedestrian crosswalk zone at Alameda Drive to Blunn Creek. Since light rails can't effectively operate on a steep grade, this allows the transit guideway to avoid that.
From there, the rail will extend to the Norwood Park area, and though it will reach along the right-of-way zone, the park will be able to remain open.
A view of the Blue Line by Lady Bird Lake. (Project Connect)
The line involves some coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation. That's because the department is working on an intersection that will have to be built before the phasing of the section of the Blue Line involving an I-35 crossing.
When it comes to the safety of cyclists and walkers, design ideas include a pedestrian hybrid beacon by East Bouldin Creek that would provide a protected signal to cross. And for the intersection TxDOT is carrying out, Project Connect is working with them on pedestrian access across the intersection. It could involve shared use paths along the street and crossings beneath it.
This summer, the public can expect 30% of design and cost estimates to be released. Though the project was $7.1 billion when voters approved it in November 2020, the latest estimates factoring in inflation and supply chain constraints show it could ultimately be upwards of $10 billion.
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(Amazon/Facebook)
Plans for an Amazon warehouse in Round Rock—a $250 million project slated to be a large distribution center—are on hold.
This comes just after the tech giant had its worst financial quarter in seven years.
The details:
- Late last year, it announced an expansion at the Domain adding 2,000 more corporate and tech jobs.
- Amazon still owns the site in Round Rock. Plans for it are unclear.
- Early this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is aiming to scrap warehouse space as it faces a slowdown in its e-commerce operations.
Part of that effort involves exploring the possibility of ending or renegotiating leases with outside warehouse owners. Another aspect is a plan to sublease warehouse space.
“It allows us to relieve the financial obligations associated with an existing building that no longer meets our needs,” an Amazon spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal. “Subleasing is something many established corporations do to help manage their real estate portfolio.”
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