Austin FC is a professional soccer franchise in Austin, Texas. In 2021, they will compete in Major League Soccer and will have a new stadium located in central Austin. Austin FC is owned by a company named Two Oak Ventures, which is owned by Anthony Precourt. Other investing partners for this team include local entrepreneur Eduardo Margain, actor Matthew McConaughey, energy entrepreneur Bryan Sheffield, and Dell executive Marius Haas. In this article, we are going to know more about the history of the Austin FC team.
History of Austin FC
Austin FC is the first top-division central professional sports team in Austin. The city’s last professional soccer team was the Austin Aztex FC. Still, it moved to Orlando, Florida, in 2008, where they later became the MLS side Orlando City, SC. The reincarnation of the Austin Aztex went on hiatus after the 2015 Memorial Day floods washed out the House Park, which is their venue.
In 2017, Precourt Sports Ventures announced that they have intentions to move the Columbus Crew SC’s franchise rights to Austin for the 2019 MLS season. In August 2018, the group revealed that they will have a new name and badge at an event at the North door. They said they were now going to be called the Austin FC, and their badge will feature a crest with their signature “Bright Verde” color that projects the city’s creative and vibrancy energy.
But in 2018, an Ohio-based group which includes Columbus-based physician and businessman Pete Edwards, and owners of the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns, Jimmy, and Dee Haslam announced that they have intentions to buy the Columbus Crew’s to keep the team moving in Columbus. The MLS officials said that If the transfer of the operating rights of the Columbus SC was successful, they would allow the Austin FC to be an established expansion team that will be operated b Precourt and will begin to play by 2021.
In December 2018, the city of Austin and Precourt Sports Ventures decided to have a financing arrangement to fund for a new soccer-specific stadium that will be constructed at the McKalla Place. It is projected to open in 2021.
In January 2019, Austin FC officially became an MLS club, and they were set to start playing in 2021. In July 2019, Precourt Sports Ventures was renamed as Two Oak Ventures, and it later involved businesspeople and local celebrities as co-owners. During that same year, Josh Wolff was named as the Austin FC’s first head coach with Claudio Reyna as their sporting director.
The Austin FC will operate the new stadium at McKalla Place. Even if the stadium was built on public land that is owned by the city of Austin, it is planned to be privately financed by Twin Oak Ventures. The stadium can accommodate 20,500 and will host the first Austin FC game that will happen in April 2021.
Today, the Austin Fc currently has a supporters group called Austin Anthem.
