Austin FC at Q2 Stadium
The 2021 MLS season saw the league expand to 27 total teams with the introduction of Austin FC. Based in Austin, Texas, the club plays at Q2 Stadium, Austin's first major league sports stadium that opened in June 2021. While Austin FC didn't make the playoffs in their first season, finishing 12th out of 13 teams in the MLS Western Conference, their off-field success was impressive. The Texas capital's first professional sports team was the only MLS club to sell out 100% of its home games in 2021, thanks in part to the local Austin FC supporters clubs. Austinites welcomed their first professional sports team with open arms, leading Austin FC to rank fifth in the league for attendance during the 2021 season with an average attendance of 20,738. The club also achieved an MLS record in June 2019 when they secured the largest number of season ticket membership deposits in a single day.
As Austin FC co-owner, and award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey would say, Austinites think it's "alright, alright, alright, alright" that a new MLS team has made their city its home.
Austin FC History
Austin FC made history in January 2019 when it was announced as the first major professional sports league team to play in the Texas capital. Before Austin FC played their first season in 2021, Austin was the largest city in the United States that still didn't have a major league team. But, the team that is now Austin FC almost wasn't a team.
At first, Austin was going to get its first top-division major league sports team when in 2017 Precourt Sports Ventures - who operated Columbus Crew SC - announced their plans to move the club to Austin for the 2019 MLS season. But an Ohio-based group that included Jimmy and Dee Haslam - owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns - came to the rescue and acquired the Crew. So, Columbus got to keep their MLS team and Precourt Sports Ventures went on to develop Austin's first MLS team.
Austin FC is owned and operated by Two Oak Ventures (formerly Precourt Sports Ventures), a privately held investment and management firm that was announced in July 2019 and includes Chairman/CEO Anthony Precourt. Later that year, in August 2019, it was announced that award-winning actor, and Texas native, Matthew McConaughey would become a co-owner of the Austin FC.
On the field, the club is led by head coach Josh Wolff - who was announced as the team's first head coach in July 2019. Wolff held previous coaching positions as an assistant coach on the U.S. men's national team staff, and assistant coach with Columbus Crew SC from 2014-2018. As a professional soccer player, Wolff played on the 2002 and 2006 World Cup teams. He played on several professional teams, including the Chicago Fire, Kansas City Wizards and D.C. United, where he finished his playing career in 2012.