Austin FC to play LAFC in season opener, first home game set for June 19

Austin FC will play its first-ever home game in a nationally-televised match on UniMás and TUDN, against the San Jose Earthquakes at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, the team announced Wednesday.

Before they play in the capital city, the team will head to the West Coast to kick off their inaugural season against fellow Californian team, LAFC, at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. Fans can book a flight or sit back and watch the nationally-broadcast match on FOX and FOX Deportes.

The team also announced that its first regionally-televised match will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 as the team travels to the Rockies to play the Colorado Rapids in Commerce City, Colorado.

All three teams are in the league's Western Conference. The LAFC were runners-up in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2020 and won the MLS Supporters' Shield in 2019, while the Earthquakes are host to one of the longest-tenured and top strikers in the league, Chris Wondolowski. The Rapids were fifth in the Western Conference in 2020.

Austin FC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna said in a statement that he was ready to begin a "new chapter" as the city sees its first-ever professional team begin play.

"Our players and staff are excited to begin the journey to represent all of Austin, and today's initial release of dates allows us to begin making plans for the earliest portion of our regular season schedule while circling June 19 for our historic home opener at Q2 Stadium," Reyna said. "April 17 will represent a new chapter in Austin history, and preparations for our inaugural season are officially under way."

The announcement comes as Austin FC ramps up training ahead of their season opener. Official preseason training began on Monday at St. Edward's University and will end at their new home, the St. David's Performance Center, as the practice facility completes construction.

ATXFC will have two closed-door preseason scrimmages at St. Edward's before the season commences. The team will first face off against USL team OKC Energy on March 19 then and Louisville City FC on March 25. More scrimmages are expected in April and will be announced in the coming weeks.

It's all coming together for Austin's first ever professional team, but head coach Josh Wolff said that it is "just the beginning" for the club at the team's first-ever preseason press conference. Wolff said the team's roster is "near completion" and that they are currently focusing on offensive play and molding each player into one cohesive unit.

Twenty-one rostered players are currently training, while recent signees including Designated Player Tomas Pochettino and Slovenian defender Zan Kolmanic are set to come in soon. Pochettino is projected to begin playing next week, while Zan is finishing up with his current team before making his way to the Capitol.

As the team moves closer to their home opener, the Verde fan base continues to grow. Season tickets are currently sold out, while nearly 11,000 sit on Austin FC's season ticket waitlist. While fans wait for the club to make its way home, games will be streamed across Central Texas on the CW Austin, KXAN and KBVO, and Spanish-language options will be announced closer to the beginning of the season.

Austin FC will play 34 regular season matches, but no further details have been released.

The MLS has yet to announce its full schedule, and the team will announce capacity estimates for its first home match in May.