Armstrong sells estate: Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong sold his estate in Austin, Texas, to an oil and gas tycoon. Armstrong faces a multi-million-dollar lawsuit related to using performance enhancing drugs.
His framed Tour de France jerseys lined the walls of the games room in his luxurious Spanish colonial-style house in Austin, Texas—but Lance Armstrong will soon be taking the jerseys off the wall, packing up the rest of his things, and clearing out.
Armstrong admitted to using performance enhancing drugs on Oprah in January. SCA Promotions sued Armstrong in February for more than $12 million to recover bonus money it had payed the cyclist for his Tour de France victories, reported the Dallas News. Armstrong asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit this week, reports the News.
Al Koehler, oil- and gas-rights agent and founder of Royalty Clearinghouse, obtained a $3.1 million loan to buy Armstrong’s estate last week, according to a deed of trust filed with Travis County and obtained by local Austin publication the American-Statesman.
Local real estate agents told the American-Statesman the home was listed for $10 million, but Koehler said he paid well below the listed value.
The 7,850-square-foot home on the 1.7-acre property, according to dimensions given by the Statesman, has been Armstrong’s home since 2004. It was featured in a 2008 edition of Architectural Digest.
Armstrong commented on the design to the magazine, “I don’t know if I’m a pro, but I know I like it.”
A stone staircase is visible from the family room; a pool-side fireplace nestled in a cabana and surrounded by gothic lanterns casts a glimmering reflection on the pool’s surface; an inviting and warm living room with A. Rudin sofas and Schumacher drapery silk was the site of a dozen or so parties a year.
The cyclist has laid low since his admission of guilt on Oprah earlier this year. Armstrong’s spokesman Mark Higgins confirmed the sale of the property, and said that Armstrong plans to remain an Austin resident.
