City's MLS franchise to be dubbed Austin FC
Major League Soccer in Austin took another step toward reality Wednesday night when the franchise that could begin playing here next spring announced its team name, colors and branding.
Austin FC, with a bright green, black and white badge featuring the name “Austin” above a pair of intertwined live oaks, was shown to approximately 300 fans gathered at rhe North Door.
Anthony Precourt, the Columbus Crew SC investor-operator who intends to relocate that MLS team from Ohio, was present at the event. Last week, the Austin City Council voted 7-4 to allow Precourt Sports
Ventures to build a stadium on city-owned land near the Domain.
“A momentous step forward was taken with the successful outcome of City Council’s vote on Aug. 15, and the opportunity to share the brand with supporters in Austin represents yet another step forward,” Precourt said in a statement to the American-Statesman.
The brand revealed Wednesday evening was created by local independent brand studio The Butler Bros, led by siblings Adam and Marty Butler. They received inspiration and collaboration from local voices.
The decision to go with a generic name, Austin FC — with the initials standing for “Football Club” — falls in line with the recent trend of MLS expansion clubs such as Los Angeles FC and Atlanta United FC. It also pays tribute to the team being Austin’s first in a major professional sports league. In August 2017, MLS registered the “Austin FC” trademark but league officials at the time tamped down any special significance. “Austin Athletic” was also registered at that time.
“It would almost be foolish to overlook the strength and cleanliness of owning your first team with your city name,” Adam Butler told the Statesman. “It’s a once-in-alifetime opportunity, and we took it.”
The team left open the possibility for a team mascot and nickname and said it would welcome community input.
The team’s badge is a deep “U” shape. The color “bright verde,” or Pantone 354 in the Pantone Matching System, is the dominant color. It is slightly brighter than the green on the “MLS2ATX” scarves and hats that have been distributed by PSV since the ownership group first announced it was exploring a move in October.
The Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC are the only MLS teams currently with green in their color schemes.
In addition to the name and brand, PSV also revealed a rallying cry, “Grow the Legend,” something that Adam Butler said was a nod to Austin’s history.
“This (team) is an addition to a city that has become legendary for other things,” he said. “The desire of PSV to merge with that energy and grow it, versus that notion that they’re going make the city more legendary.
“No, they’re here merging with what’s come before to grow the legend of Austin while we grow the legend of our club.”
In Spanish, the rallying cry translates to “Cultiva la Leyenda.” PSV said it intends to be bilingual in its messaging and distributed an announcement video in both English and Spanish.
“The spirit of Austin is expressed through the color system, the symbology, and the prominent placement of the name of the city atop the badge,” Precourt said in his statement. “The Austin FC badge is a tribute to the City of Austin and all Austinites, and the live oak stands tall as a symbol of strength, resolve, and unity.”
Adam Butler said Precourt was involved throughout the creative process, taking part in close to 40 hours of what Butler calls blitz sessions and communicating directly with the studio’s designers.
The blitz sessions incorporated close to 30 Austin voices, including musicians, the owner of a craft brewery, founder of a Hispanic marketing agency, a former University of Texas women’s soccer player and a former Liga MX player, according to Butler.
Precourt and his representatives were careful to leave out any direct mention of MLS in the reveal, as the league has yet to make the Crew SC move official. A lawsuit challenging the team’s departure is ongoing in Ohio, with a hearing set for Sept. 4. MLS declined to comment on the Austin City Council vote last week.