Q2 Stadium, the newly christened name for Austin FC’s home venue, is nearly 90% complete and “scheduled for completion in the spring” despite the pandemic, according to Mark Rosner of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Austin FC President Andy Loughnane said, “Stadium construction is going as smoothly as we could have ever imagined (under) unprecedented circumstances. … I would estimate that our first home MLS match will be in early June.” Rosner notes the club “does not have a specific date” for the stadium to open. Austin FC has sold all 15,500 season-ticket packages, and the remaining 5,000 will be available later for individual matches. However, it is unclear “how many fans will be allowed in the stadium.” Austin FC Founder & Majority Owner Anthony Precourt indicated that league policies “might differ from those of state and local government” (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/26).
INSIDE NAMING-RIGHTS DEAL: No financial details of the multiyear naming-rights deal between Austin FC and Austin-based fintech company Q2 have been disclosed. Excel Sports Management assisted Austin FC in its stadium naming-rights partner pursuit. Conversations between Excel and Q2 picked up steam last summer, while the club was vetting possible partners. They zeroed in on Q2 last fall. "This is an opportunity for them to create a new voice utilizing a pretty unique platform,” Loughnane said. "Q2’s stated objective is to invest in Austin and serve the community and I’ve been pretty transparent about this all along, we wanted to identify a naming rights partner that wanted to give back to Austin." Q2 will have a signature stadium sign in the interior bowl, as well as prominent branding positions as fans enter the stadium and aerial-facing sign positions atop the stadium’s unique canopy structures. It also will put its name on a branded premium seating experience called the Q2 Field Club, located directly next to Austin FC players' walk from the locker room to the playing field. The stadium is owned by the city of Austin, but Loughnane said the MLS club is not required to share naming-rights revenue with the municipality. This marks Q2’s first sports sponsorship (Bret McCormick, THE DAILY).
