The city of Austin cannot wait for Austin FC to join MLS in 2021. Whenever full capacity is allowed at sporting events once again, the club's MLS games will be one of the hottest tickets in town.
Austin FC have nearly sold out their season ticket offerings, with just a limited selection of supporters' section safe-standing season tickets available. Those are expected to go soon, too, meaning 75% of the 20,500-seat stadium will be accounted for by season tickets.
The club initially broke records in 2019 when more than 30,000 fans made deposits for season tickets within 24 hours of the offering going on sale, while the numbers is now past 44,000 and growing despite the few remaining season tickets.
“From the record-breaking deposit totals when this process launched in 2019 to the speed at which season ticket membership are sold, we recognize our club stands at a fortunate position as a result of incredible support from our community," team president Andy Loughnane told MLSsoccer.com on Thursday. "The incredible demand for major league sports in Austin is palpable and the love of soccer in Austin is real. Our season ticket membership total will position Austin FC towards the top tier of the league. The volume of support validates the strength of the Austin market.”
Austin FC will kick off their inaugural MLS season in 2021.
“People have wanted something to look forward to, but Austin FC have represented a beacon of light," Loughnane added.
Between now and then, there is still much to do on the non-sporting side of Austin FC's path to MLS in 2021. They continue to oversee duel-construction projects, one for the stadium and one for the training facility. The new training facility is set to open in mid-March.
Austin also continue to have discussions with stadium-naming sponsors, talks that are ongoing and positive, Loughnane says. The stadium can expand to add another 1,500 seats, something that the club expect to happen in the future.
They also are excited to unveil their inaugural jerseys, the first of which by the end of the year.
“The first jersey of our two-jersey set will be released around the holidays of 2020," Loughnane said. "It is our desire to have Austin FC’s inaugural kit shared with the world in December.”