AUSTIN, Texas—Two Oak Ventures, the parent company that owns the rights to operate Austin FC of Major League Soccer, today announced an expansion of its ownership group, including Austinites Eddie Margain, Matthew McConaughey, Marius Haas and Bryan Sheffield.
“It is my privilege to welcome my new partners to Austin FC,” Anthony Precourt, majority partner and CEO of Austin FC and Two Oak Ventures, said. “This group knows and loves the city of Austin and the beautiful game. I can’t think of anyone better to help us realize our ambitions as a soccer club for this entire community.”
The new investors who have joined Precourt, offer a range of business acumen, entrepreneurial expertise and most importantly, roots in Austin. Their full bios can be found at austinfc.com, and they include:
Eddie Margain - Technology entrepreneur and founder of PIXIU Investments;
Matthew McConaughey - Academy Award-winning actor, Minister of Culture/M.O.C. and local Austin hero;
Marius Haas - Tech executive who is president and chief commercial officer of Dell technologies;
Bryan Sheffield - Energy entrepreneur who is founder and Executive Chairman of Austin-based Parsley Energy.
“It’s been so fun to bring together this group of friends to invest in an amazing organization that will impact so many of our fellow Austinites,” said Margain, who will be appointed Alternate Governor of Austin FC within Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors. “Austin FC is going to bring the best of professional soccer to our city, and my hope is that we inspire more Austin kids to play and enjoy this beautiful sport.”
In an open letter to the Austin community, posted today at austinfc.com, and which will be published in the Austin American-Statesman on Sunday, August 25, the new ownership group wrote, “Soccer is a perfect match for Austin’s first major league team. A global game for an international destination. A beautiful game for a beautiful city.”
“Austin FC is more than a quality investment FOR Austin, it’s a quality investment IN Austin. The most diverse and borderless game in the world is now coming to one of the most multi-cultural, creative and diverse cities in the world. Austin FC is a healthy investment in our city’s culture and future,” said McConaughey.
Precourt will continue to represent Austin FC as Governor on the MLS Board of Governors. An investor-operator in MLS since 2013, Precourt and his executive team made Austin FC a reality with the December 2018 public-private partnership with the City of Austin for a 100% privately financed soccer park and stadium at McKalla Place and the January 2019 announcement from MLS that Austin would be officially welcomed into the league as its 27th franchise in the 2021 season.
In its State of the Stadium address delivered on August 21, Austin FC announced that it is expected to break ground on the state-of-the-art, multi-purpose stadium and soccer park on September 5, 2019 and that stadium construction is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2021.
