Austin FC to break ground on planned stadium Sept. 5

Austin FC’s stadium just got a little more real.

The biggest news coming out of Austin FC’s State of the Stadium event Wednesday was a firm date for groundbreaking to start construction on the estimated $242 million stadium: Sept. 5.

Though the event won’t be open to the public, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber will be making his second official trip to Austin in eight months for the ceremony, following his Jan. 15 appearance at the West 6th District’s Rustic Tap to herald Austin FC as the soccer league’s 27th team.

Like that event, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Austin FC CEO Anthony Precourt will join Garber, media members and a small group of invitees for the milestone in the team's progress toward its inaugural 2021 season. The 11 a.m. ceremony will be streamed for fans via Austin FC’s Facebook account.

Wednesday's event, though it did look forward toward the projected 2021 opening, started by looking back at the progress the front office has made to get to this point since Austin FC’s brand launch celebration about this time last year.

Dave Greeley, president of Two Oak Ventures — known as Precourt Sports Ventures until the entity changed its name last month – noted the 130 units of on-site affordable housing, which became key to City Council support on the stadium, are still on track to be constructed on the 24-acre parcel, to be completed by 2025. Jonathan Emmett, project lead for Gensler, the architecture firm Austin FC is using for the stadium, stated the current plan is to have 835 parking spots on site and that the club is having ongoing conversations with Capital Metro for possible additional bus stops and rail stops important to the club’s overall transportation vision.

Greeley also revealed, “We’re in knee-deep conversations with a lot of entities in the area” regarding parking, noting that shuttles and park-and-walk situations that wouldn’t involve nearby residential neighborhoods could effectively move fans to the stadium.

With groundbreaking set for September, and with a permit secured from the city of Austin last week, the project will move toward completion via an “aggressive” 18-month schedule, according to Jack Archer with Austin Commercial, who will oversee actual stadium construction along with CAA Icon and the Austin FC front office.

While Greeley maintained optimism about meeting the April 2021 deadline, he did also hint that the home opener may be scheduled deeper into the season to allow for the stadium’s completion.

For instance, Emmett’s previous MLS project, Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, opened on April 29, 2018, for Los Angeles FC’s first home match, after the team played six away matches to start the season. This season, the Portland Timbers’ home opener didn’t occur until June 1 after a 12-game road swing, due to expansions and renovations at the team’s Providence Park home.

Two months after the September groundbreaking, Austin voters will be asked to vote on Proposition A, a petition-propelled effort to put stadium agreements like this one and renewal of existing entertainment and sports venues to city voters.

Adler and Armbrust & Brown attorney Richard Suttle, who worked with Precourt’s team to help land the City Council deal, has maintained that the proposition won’t affect this project. Greeley addressed potential confusion for voters.

“The one comment I’ll make is although we’re focusing on building the stadium and don’t think any legislation or referendum directly impacts us, the one thing we have a responsibility toward, and we’re very committed to, is this community, and if anything gets in the way of the Austin cultural fabric, we would be against that," he said.

Austin FC president Andy Loughnane emphasized the groundbreaking will be significant in that “it’s representative of progress.”

“Not everybody in the marketplace understands where we’re at with our construction schedule," Loughnane said. "The groundbreaking will help amplify that this is moving forward, that shovels are in the ground, that the structure is being erected, and we’ll be open for business roughly 18 months after.”

From an architect's perspective, Emmett notes the significance of groundbreakings.

“It’s one of the most incredible days,” he said. “Opening Day is the culmination of when fans enter the building, but I think this is really truly a turning point, where it just turns from drawings and ink on paper to reality.”