Troy Bryant

Countdown to 2021: Austin FC news for March 2020

We bring you this month’s Austin FC happenings including important news, wild speculation, and the hottest links on the Interwebs.

March 2020

Austin FC stadium construction march 2020

During Coronavirus and #STAYATHOMEATX work continues on Austin FC stadium for now. While major construction projects are deemed essential, the stadium may not be exempt from the city’s latest shelter-in-place order. We’ll likely find out in the coming week if construction is halted. If construction is significantly stopped, we could see Austin FC playing in a temporary stadium in Austin, or facing months of away games, in 2021. Not sure which option would be worse.

Austin FC officially partners with Silvercar to provide premium Audi vehicles to the club. This slick deal with a local car rental business was the only significant news in March to garner a press release from the club. Coronavirus COVID-19 precautions may have halted any other Austin FC announcements or events planned in March.

Capital City Soccer partners with Last Stand Hats for Austin FC tribute t-shirt giveaway on Twitter. We love to see local businesses embracing Austin FC and these guys put together a great Verde-inspired t-shirt design. Can’t wait to see more creative designs from local businesses for Austin FC fans in the future.

Coming Up

Stadium Sponsor for Austin FC is expected to be named mid-2020. Who will it be? That’s the $10 million+ question. We made our guesses of local and regional companies that could buy the naming rights. Looking at recent stadium deals of expansion teams, plus the other MLS clubs in Tejas, you can see financial and automotive companies dominate.

MLS stadium sponsors

Player Signing rumors are starting to buzz for Austin FC. Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that Austin FC target Javier “Chicharito” Hernández signed with LA Galaxy. Now the question is: can Austin FC land a headline-making DP with experience and name recognition like him? Other names in the DP realm include Rogelio Funes Mori, Memo Ochoa, Andrés Guardado, and Luis Suárez. We’ve seen on social media that Josh Wolff was in Colombia scouting players. 

MLS Expansion Draft coming up for the club. If the expansion draft goes down like last year, then Austin FC and Charlotte can each add a max of five players for their inaugural season. A few MLS clubs will be exempt from naming players for the expansion draft, but most others can only protect 12 players on their roster (leaving the others open to being snatched up in the draft). Last year the draft was held in mid-November for expansion clubs Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC.

Groundbreaking for Training Facility In 2019, Austin FC announced the 23-acre center is coming to Northeast Austin. Officially called the St. David’s Performance Center, it will be a “home away from home” for players and staff. This is a significant investment to create a world-class facility and it should pay dividends in the form of enticing players to sign with the club, as well as showcasing the quality of training to be found here. Expect a mid-2020 groundbreaking and a Spring 2021 opening.

Game Jersey Unveiling One of two official game jerseys will be released in late 2020—just in time for the holidays. We already know YETI will have its name on the front. Our biggest question rn—what color will the home jersey be? Given that the adidas training jersey is green it seems unlikely that this color will be an option. And a black home jersey would bake players in the searing ATX sun. Perhaps the jersey will be white with green accents…what do you think?

HOT 3firesLINKS

#STAYATHOMEATX version of newest Zanate Musical Collective song

Matthew McConaughey inspiration to get you through COVID-19

Italian soccer fans sing their hearts out together, but apart, in Coronavirus quarantine