The Austin Business Journal has named Anthony Precourt, founder, majority owner and CEO of Austin FC, as its Executive of the Year. The award honors strong executives in Central Texas who have demonstrated innovation, outstanding performance and leadership in philanthropic, civic or political arenas.
Precourt received the award at a ceremony on Oct. 6 at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin and will be featured in a special edition of the Austin Business Journal.
“Building Austin FC from the ground up, we were constantly focused on collaboration. Culture is king, and building a caring and deep club/corporate culture was paramount,” Precourt said. Jobs We feel we have laid the foundation for long-term success.”
Precourt led all planning efforts to bring Austin its first major league team, played a key role in negotiating and finalizing a historic lease and development agreement with the City of Austin for the 24-acre property that now houses Q2 Stadium, and Austin FC’s expansion club charter agreement with Major League Soccer.
Construction on both Q2 Stadium, a 100 percent privately funded $260 million state-of-the-art soccer-specific stadium located adjacent to The Domain in Austin, and St. David’s Performance Center, Austin FC’s $45 million training ground located just seven miles from Q2 Stadium on Precourt Lead is complete. Austin FC has finally confirmed six (6) founding partners for its inaugural 2021 season: YETI, Q2, St David’s Healthcare, Diageo, PointsBet and Netspend.
In the year In 2021, Austin FC is the only club in MLS to sell out 100 percent of its home games and has the longest sellout streak in the league at 33 consecutive matches. Austin FC’s first playoff game – the first major league professional playoff game in the city’s history – sold out in less than six (6) minutes.
In its first MLS season, Austin FC led the league in merchandise sales, and ranked second in sponsorship sales, achievements that earned the club a nomination for Sports Business Journal’s Sports Team of the Year award.
Precourt hired sporting director Claudio Reyna and head coach Josh Wolff to make the club successful on the field as well. Austin FC finished second in the MLS Western Conference in 2022, securing home-field advantage in the first two (2) playoff games. The team’s 24-point improvement from the first season to the second is the second-most in league history.
