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Just days before the final home game, the owners of the United Soccer League professional team, Austin Bold FC, reportedly told players and staff that the team would be moving to Fort Worth, according to a report from The Striker Texas.
Former Austin Bold general manager and Striker co-founder Roberto Silva reported the news on Tuesday via Twitter, saying the team will be leaving Circuit of the Americas at the end of the season but could be a year depending on construction in their new hometown have to wait.
The team’s desire to move to greener pastures first emerged in August when The Striker’s Mark Bay said credible sources had confirmed the team’s plans to travel north under new ownership.
A day later, the United Soccer League franchise announced on Twitter that it was “exploring multiple options,” citing MLS team Austin FC’s first year success, implying that Austin was not big enough for either professional sports franchise.
“We love the Austin soccer community and sport and we’re excited to see them grow,” the statement said. “We were hoping there would be room for two teams to be successful in the market, but we also have to make a decision that is best for the future of the team.”
According to Soccer Stadium Digest, the team ranks 25th out of 29 USL teams this season. Austin Bold has averaged 971 entrants this season, up from 2,395 in his first USL season in 2019.
The scene is in stark contrast to Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium, where 20,500 fans regularly populate the brand new stadium week after week and hundreds travel to away games in hordes of Verde.
While some, including the team itself, have said the senior MLS team is to blame, others, including some Austin Bold fans themselves, say that poor marketing is the cause of empty seats.
Some say the stadium’s location within the Circuit of the Americas, which is nearly 20 miles from the city center, contributed to the team’s lack of success, while others say that poor ownership led to the team’s demise.
The team is owned by Bobby Epstein, the chairman of COTA, who donated $ 128,000 to a PAC aimed at keeping Austin FC and its stadium out of town in 2018, as well as Austin Bold’s 5,000-seater stadium Austin FC’s McKalla Place site was also in the works. The move left bad taste on many Austin football fans, including Shawn Collins, who will now support both Austin FC and the women’s team, the Austin Elite FC, but will not wear the signature teal and gold of the Bold.
“The only game I ever went to (at COTA) was Austin FC Elite in 2019 because I didn’t want to support Bobby Epstein after he tried to prevent Austin FC from becoming,” said Collins to Austonia.
Austin Bold has struggled with the leadership of Austin FC since the fateful move, which presumably prevents any partnership between the two professional teams.
The team has yet to confirm the move. Epstein told then-statesman writer Chris Bils that he plans to keep Austin Bold “just for fun” in 2020, even if the pandemic and the upcoming MLS team have seriously hampered the team’s success.
However, north Texas football site 3rddegree.net reported that the team would change ownership to Neltex Sports Group, LLC. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a planned stadium in the city would have 10,000 seats, doubling the Austin location.
It’s been a tumultuous year for Austin Bold – from mid-season head coach changes to criminal charges on the field to a string of injuries – but they’re still very shaky in the playoffs. Fifth in the Mountain Division, they still have a slim chance of making the playoffs if they win their Saturday game, but they will rely on the RGVFC and New Mexico losses to move up the ranks.
Austin Bold will play his (probably) last game – including Austin Bold – against Charlotte Independence at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Austin Bold Stadium.
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