Cedar Park sports fans will have a new home team to track when the Cedar Park Center begins hosting the Austin Aces in July.
On Jan. 8, the center announced it had netted the Aces, making them the center's third professional sports team along with the Texas Stars hockey and Austin Toros basketball teams.
The center's high-tech amenities appealed to the Aces, particularly the prospect of playing indoors during a Texas summer, Austin Aces General Manager said Kerry Schneider said.
"We just knew it was a great location to really start the team off on the right foot," she said.
Rick McLaughlin, the center's general manager, said staffers will start preparing the court in April.
"At the end of the hockey season, we take the ice out," McLaughlin said. "There's a court that the Aces have. ... We'll have it set up like a tennis court, similar to what we do for basketball."
Austin resident Andy Roddick, ranked world No. 1 in 2003 by the Association of Tennis Professionals, leads the team roster. On Feb. 11 the Aces announced that 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli will join the team in July.
In March, the team will announce its full season schedule, which includes seven matches outside Cedar Park. Playoffs could bring even more matches to town, Schneider said.
Last fall 2013, the Aces moved from California to Austin after entrepreneur Lorne Abony bought the franchise.
Cedar Park Mayor Matt Powell said the addition of the team is another sign the city is family-friendly.
"It follows on the heels of a large group of residents coming in and telling the council that there's a high degree of interest in tennis," Powell said. "This is professional-level tennis. Having somebody like Andy Roddick as our team captain is a really big deal."
After this season, the team and center will discuss a long-term relationship, McLaughlin said.
"The interest is high," he said. "While the season tickets and all those sales go through the Aces office, we have received numerous calls and inquiries."
Cedar Park Center, 2100 Avenue of the Stars, Cedar Park, 512-508-3069,
www.austinacestennis.com