Austin FC is the first professional franchise for the city in any of the five major American sports leaguesDON GARBER
MLS Commissioner Don Garber yesterday officially recognized Austin FC as the league's 27th team, with the expansion franchise "set to begin play" in the spring of '21 at a privately financed, 20,000-seat stadium in North Austin, according to a front-page piece by Bils & Bohls of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. The team will be majority owned by Austin FC Chair & CEO Anthony Precourt, but he also "plans to announce local investors soon." Garber has "hammered home in recent years that local ownership is a key for franchise success." Garber said, "The final ownership structure will be one that would satisfy our real strong desire and preference to have our clubs have local roots." Precourt said that he "plans to be heavily involved in day-to-day operations" and live in the area. Austin FC is the "first professional franchise for the city in any of the five major American sports leagues." While attendance for FC Dallas and the Dynamo has "lagged behind other MLS clubs, the league is extremely bullish on Austin." Mayor Steve Adler declared that yesterday was "officially 'Austin FC Day'" in the city. Meanwhile, team officials "hope to break ground at the stadium site by September and are finalizing plans that would allow construction to begin on a training facility at a yet-to-be-named private site" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/16). Garber on Monday also toured the McKalla Place location where the stadium will be built and said he is "very, very enthusiastic about the site" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/16).
LONG TIME COMING: The AP's Jim Vertuno noted MLS has "long eyed Austin -- although quietly" until last year -- as an "expansion opportunity." Precourt's initial purchase deal for the Crew "included a promise to keep the team in Columbus for at least 10 years, but it also had a clause that would let him move to Austin." Before Precourt announced his "desire to move, MLS had trademarked Austin FC and Austin Athletic as possible names for a franchise even though the city had not applied for expansion." Garber said, "Our journey here to Austin wasn't linear and it certainly wasn't easy. It was the most complicated project in our league's history. Everybody came together to align to bring this team to the city" (AP, 1/15). Precourt said, "I never doubted that we would get this done. We had a vision and we stuck with it. ... There's been a lot of iterations of soccer in this city. This city has wanted this, this city deserves this and today we celebrate that" (ESPN.com, 1/15).
STILL WORK TO BE DONE: SI.com's Avi Creditor wrote Precourt has his "work cut out for him," as Univ. of Texas football will be "hard to displace as the chief sports entity." Austin may be a "young and vibrant place and one of the fastest growing cities in the country, but it's not a major media market right now." For all of the "finger pointing at the business metrics in Columbus, Precourt & Co. will have plenty to overcome in order for MLS to be a hit in Austin along the lines of that same measure of success." Austin "doesn't have the built-in, proven fan support like the one that [has] risen in Cincinnati over the last few years." It also "doesn't have the billionaire backing with the uninterrupted momentum rolling from the start of the project like LAFC and Nashville" (SI.com, 1/15).
EVERYBODY WINS: The AMERICAN-STATESMAN's Kirk Bohls wrote building Austin FC's brand from scratch "could be an advantage because the club doesn't have to rush and risk missteps." While there were "outcries of traitor and carpetbagger against Precourt," it "appears this became a win-win-proposition." Columbus "gets to keep its Crew" and Austin gets its "first major sports team." Bohls: "Maybe you could find a loser in all this." San Antonio "craves an MLS franchise and now goes to the back of the line if it's even in line anymore." So do cities such as Detroit, Sacramento, St. Louis and San Diego, which were "angry that a franchise fell in Austin's lap" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/15).
