Austin FC

The City of Austin has it all—live music, great food, hike & bike trails, and fantastic schools.  But, for a long time, the city has lacked one ingredient that some would say is essential to a major city.  In fact, as the 11th most populous city in the United States, it is highly unusual that Austin doesn’t yet have several of these yet... 

What ingredient are we talking about?  That’s right—a professional sports team.  The University of Texas hasn’t minded the absence, as college sports have basically been our pro team of choice in Austin.  Avid pro fans can also always look north to Dallas, south to San Antonio or east to Houston to scratch the itch even more.

In 2016, the Austin Sol (ultimate frisbee) became the very first professional sports team in Austin, although most Austinites would be hard pressed to tell where and when they play (Can you?).

However, on September 5th, everyone will know that a PROFESSIONAL sports team is coming to town.  Austin FC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team will host a groundbreaking ceremony for a $242 million North Austin soccer stadium. The stadium site, located on 24 acres at McKalla Place near The Domain, is on track to host the league's 27th team beginning in the spring of 2021.

According to the Austin Business Journal, Dave Greeley, the president of the Austin FC parent company Two Oak Ventures, hopes to make an additional announcement in the coming weeks about the details of a separate training facility for the team that is also in the works. 

In addition, we all know one of the investors in Austin FC. We know him not just from the movies, but also from his face at all of the UT home games.  Matthew McConaughy has joined the investor group bringing the team to town.  According to McConaughy, "Austin FC is a healthy investment in our city's culture and future. The most diverse and borderless game in the world is now coming to one of the most multicultural, creative and diverse cities in the world."

So, Austin…How should we react to getting our first MAJOR professional sports team?  Well, in the words of McConaughy, I guess we should all just say, “All right. All right. All right!”

Austin's "Second Downtown"--The Domain

The Domain: photo courtesy of domainofficesaustin.com

Twenty years ago, when the Endeavor group bought 304 acres in NW Austin, they were envisioning a 5-million-square-foot office space campus that would house the many tech companies that were flocking to Austin in the time of the tech boom. It was given the name “The Domain” to reflect the technology era and its founders’ vision for a tech-focused campus. The branding and plans were completed, and it all sounded perfect; what could go wrong? Answer: the tech bust hit, and across Austin, several million square feet of sublease space suddenly flooded the market.

It was time for developers to go back to the drawing board and get a little more creative with the plans at The Domain. Over the next few years, developers began working on the idea of a retail-driven project for the Domain. This was a part of town that was underserved in the area of retail development, so developers began asking, “Could this be the perfect spot for a sizable retail project?”

At first, finding tenants didn’t go very well. Original tenants such as Target and Crate & Barrel backed out. However, right when it appeared the project was still going nowhere, The Domain landed its first major tenant, and it was a good one: Neiman Marcus. Having such a distinguished “anchor tenant” as Neiman Marcus opened up the door for many others to come.

By March 2007, The Domain opened as one of the city’s signature retail centers, unequaled in its size, scope and tenant mix. Soon after, tech companies began to be drawn to the area, making the vision come full circle back to its original roots of office space that was anchored in the tech sector. The Domain’s 3.4 million square feet of office space is a 200 percent increase since 2010, plus it also has 3,700 apartment units and about 900 hotel rooms.

Due to its retail space, hotels, office space, restaurants, parks, entertainment district and free parking, The Domain today is an appealing alternative to Downtown, and has earned the title as Austin’s “Second Downtown.” Now, The Domain has been successful at providing the ‘live, work, play’ environment that many tech companies are seeking for their workers, drawing such giants as Facebook, VRBO, Indeed, and Amazon.

The latest projects in the works at the Domain are three high-rise buildings — two office towers and one residential — proposed in the South End District of the Domain. In combination, the three towers will have more than 1 million square feet of new space. The residential tower will have an average living space of 908 square feet for a total of 384,000 square feet in the building, and will be located adjacent to one of the Domain Office Towers.

So, if you haven’t checked out Austin’s “Second Downtown,” get over to The Domain for dinner, drinks, a movie, and perhaps a little shopping. Thank you, tech bust of the early 2000s. Because of you, The Domain is the fantastic multi-purpose development sight that it is today. Northwest Austin has never been better!