• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Upstart Austin FC Is MLS’ Sellout King

  • The club has sold out 34 consecutive games — MLS’ longest active streak.
  • Its playoff match against rival FC Dallas this Sunday sold out virtually instantly.
Jacob Gonzalez/Austin FC

When Anthony Precourt sought to bring a Major League Soccer club to Austin, Texas, in 2018, he intended to wake a sleeping giant.

“Austin is the intersection of pent-up demand and untapped potential,” says Austin FC president Andy Loughnane. “The pent-up demand for major league sports in Austin prior to Austin FC’s arrival was a relatively well understood and highly favorable market condition that Anthony and MLS very smartly foresaw — and ultimately very bravely fought to bring into existence.”

More than four years on, Austin FC is validating Precourt and the league’s bold vision.

Austin FC’s regular-season finale, a 1-1 draw against the Colorado Rapids on Oct. 9, was the club’s 34th consecutive sellout — the longest active streak in MLS (Sporting KC holds the all-time consecutive sellout record at 125 games).

The kicker: The Oaks have hosted 34 MLS regular-season games since their inaugural 2021 season — meaning that every home league game in the team’s history has been a sellout.

Celebs Flock to MLS

As an expanding league with team values in the hundreds of millions…
April 18, 2021

The voracious demand for tickets didn’t stop in the regular season — especially given that Austin FC’s playoff run is the first in Austin major sports history.

When tickets went on sale for the club’s first-ever playoff game, fans sold it out in less than six minutes — despite not knowing the date, time, or opponent for the match.

The team delivered with a penalty-kick win over Real Salt Lake last Sunday to send them to this Sunday’s conference semifinals against rival FC Dallas — a match that, due to the online queuing system for buying tickets, sold out virtually instantly.

Austin FC’s popularity in the regular season has prepared it well to host playoff games.

“We’re fortunate in the sense that all of our matches sell out and all of our matches are staged as big events with high show rates, which all produce large crowds,” Loughnane says. “We’re relatively accustomed to the planning elements that tend to appear when the postseason arrives.”

Loughnane attributes much of the club’s popularity in Austin to the “world-class” Q2 Stadium itself. Its amenities not only provide access to the city’s famous food and music, but also relief from its infamously hot climate.

  • The stadium features a significant roof canopy that hangs over 100% of the stadium seats to shield from the sun.
  • Traditional seats can reach up to 60 degrees above air temperature on hot days, but Austin’s breathable mesh seats only max out at about five degrees above air temperature.
  • The corners of the stadium are open, leaving room for natural air circulation.

Q2 Stadium’s construction managed to avoid much of the controversy that often plagues new sports venues.

“It was clearly a city that was not going to spend public funds to build a stadium,” says Austin mayor Steve Adler. “When I suggested to the commissioner and Anthony Precourt that I would love to have a team here, they needed to know that about our city, and there was still continued interest, it was very exciting.”

MLS Keeps Getting Bigger

Major League Soccer is expanding its reach by launching a new professional…
June 24, 2021

Ultimately, the club and city compromised that the stadium would be completely privately financed to the tune of $260 million, and would be built on publicly owned land — which has become a prime location during Austin’s rapid expansion in recent years.

“Picking the location of the stadium is one of the most important decisions that any team in any league will make across its entire life,” Loughnane says. “Four or five years later, that site that was very good at the time is now an exceptional site when you consider the growth trajectory of Austin and everything that’s happening from a development perspective.”

As such, the club lobbied to have a new train station constructed directly next to the stadium that will begin operation in 2023.

If Austin FC’s first two seasons have been any indication, the club holds a significant place in the lore of the city, as well as the future plans for Major League Soccer.

“My goal back [in 2018] was that we would have a team that would bring the city together,” says Adler. “And it’s done that. You find people walking down the street with not a lot in common other than they live here and they’re both wearing an Austin FC Kit.”

“I think it’s fair to characterize our first ever postseason win and postseason match as being a significant moment in Austin sports history,” Loughnane says.

“The growth trajectory of the league is a lot like the growth trajectory of Austin: It’s an unrivaled growth opportunity.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Aliyah Boston

Aliyah Boston Is Latest WNBA Player to Invest in NWSL Team

Boston joins a select group that includes Sabrina Ionescu.

Chelsea Wins $110M in FIFA’s Revamped $1B Club World Cup

Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final match.

Featured Today

May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Bobbleheads are seen at Vintage Indy Sports, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Speedway. The local sports memorabilia store opened recently.
July 12, 2025

Baseball’s Bobbleheads Are the Center of the Collectibles Universe

Baseball’s most important keepsake drives long lines—and big business.
Rimouski, QC - JUNE 1: Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Qc.
July 11, 2025

CHL Is Facing a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of Questions Amid NCAA Talent Departure

As players defect to college, the Canadian Hockey League won’t cede ground.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
July 9, 2025

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
WNBA

Portland WNBA Team Will Be Fire, Bigger Choices Loom

The WNBA’s 15th franchise is bringing back the Fire.
Alex Rodriguez
July 11, 2025

Finally in Charge, A-Rod Says Timberwolves Need New Arena

Rodriguez and Lore would like to repair team relations with Kevin Garnett.
May 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots the ball in the second half during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
exclusive
July 14, 2025

Celtics, Lakers Sales Not on Agenda for NBA Board of Governors Vote

The Board of Governors will meet Tuesday.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Alex Sarr
July 9, 2025

Wizards Pushing Limits of Youth With 11 Players on Rookie Deals

Washington’s 2025 first-round pick is top-eight protected.
July 9, 2025

From Dynasty to Disarray: Red Bull Fires Christian Horner

He served as Red Bull team principal for more than two decades.
Chelsea
July 8, 2025

Chelsea Club World Cup Run Banks at Least $100M for Mark Walter..

The Blues will likely take home between $100 million and $120 million.
July 8, 2025

Texas Sports Teams, Leagues Donate Over $5M to Flood Relief

NFL, MLB, and NBA teams in Texas donate to flood recovery efforts.