AUSTIN, Texas ā Austin FC CEO Anthony Precourt, MLS President and Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott, and Austin Mayor Steve Adler came together under a literal big tent on Monday on the site of the club's planned $242 million stadium, set to open in April 2021, to celebrate its groundbreaking.
The event, which included city and county officials, front office staffers, local business dignitaries, and members of Austin FCās first supportersā group, was the latest in the recent series of Austin FC-hosted events reifying the club for Austinites. In the last two months, the front office has announced new head coach Josh Wolff and commemorated the onboarding of four investors who are adding Austin buy-in to the mix.
āThis is really a vision coming to reality,ā Precourt said in his remarks to the crowd. āIāve got chills right now, my heart is pumping, itās an exciting day. Weāve hit a number of milestones, but thereās no bigger one than a groundbreaking.ā
Though Abbott and Adler joined Precourt in speaking at Mondayās groundbreaking event, it was perhaps the final speaker of the morning who best put into context what it means for Austin.
āWe want a team, we want a stadium, and we want an experience that helps us grow the legend that is Austin, Texas, for all of us who call this place home,ā said new Austin FC investor and āMinister of Cultureā Matthew McConaughey, officially announced in the dual role two weeks ago.
Calling the stadium āthe trunk of our tree,ā the Hollywood star went on to talk about the role Austinites would have in building the team. āWeāre going to have to complement each other, and if someone does something really well, itās okay to compliment each other.ā
For the supporters ā who have already created a chant building on one of Austinās favorite movie lines, āAlright, alright, alright,ā from the beloved Wooderson character McConaughey played in his breakout movie Dazed and Confused ā the day was a dream come true.
āToday was another exciting milestone in the journey of bringing professional soccer in Austin,ā said Austin Anthem president Josh Babetski, who founded what is now a supportersā group ā which now counts up to 2,000 members ā back in 2013, well before Austinites thought theyād have an MLS team. āIām glad I could be there with so many of my fellow Austin FC supporters. The shovels were literally in the ground today ā weāre looking forward to the stadium rising up on this site.ā
āThis groundbreaking felt celebratory on all fronts,ā added Natalie Czimskey, who heads up the Ladybirds of Austin Anthem. āI was excited as an Austin FC supporter, a sports fan, and an Austinite.ā
āToday was just another step in a dream becoming a reality,ā added Anthem member Mike Torres. āI feel blessed to be a part of city history.ā
Abbott began his remarks by noting, āItās days like today that I realize what an incredible job I have, to be able to share a community celebrating this groundbreaking.ā Abbott noted that Austin FCās stadium will be the 21st soccer-specific stadium in the league, touting those types of arenas as āthe environment fans deserve.ā
In a post-ceremony interview, Abbott said he expects Austin to be an exemplary MLS city, noting that there are āso many thingsā that attracted Austin to MLS.
āThe global outlook of this community, and the way people [in Austin] think about the world, matches up with our league,ā he remarked. In addition to comment on Austinās civic pride, he added, āYou've got an international reputation for so many things, including music, obviously, and [the University of Texas]. We just think that the environment here for Major League Soccer is going to be tremendous.ā
The stadium is envisioned a part of a larger 24-acre āsoccer park,ā with public spaces that Austinites will be able to utilize year-round. The stadium building is being privately financed by Austin FC under its agreement with the City of Austin forged a year ago; the city will technically own the stadium, being built on city-owned land near the Domain, a shopping center and burgeoning office center being touted as Austinās āsecond downtown.ā
Though the stadium is about 10 miles north of downtown proper, itās within three miles of the geographic center of the Austin metro area, which includes suburbs that stretch nearly 30 miles north and south.
This summer, the club opened an Experience Center at its North Austin offices, giving prospective season ticket holders a VR tour. A giant canopy roof designed to give coverage to all 20,500 seats, resembling an aircraft wing, will be the stadiumās primary distinguishing feature. The club plans for a grass playing surface, and theyāre already creating plans for protecting the playing surface when the stadium is converted from soccer venue to live music venue, with the supportersā section ā likely to be a safe standing zone ā converting to a stage.
Austin fans will be able to check on the progress of the new stadium via a construction cam the club installed today. Stadium design lead Jonathan Emmett from Gensler says the intention is to keep it in one fixed location from start to finish. Thereās already one person who knows heāll keep an eye on it.
āIām going to check it out every day,ā Precourt promised.