VENUE SPOTLIGHT > Q2 STADIUM
MLS’s Austin FC Highlights Inaugural Season With Debut of Q2 Stadium
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he state of Texas is filled with professional sports — 13 teams, to be exact — but none have created more excitement than Austin FC. The club has drawn positive headlines for many reasons since the start of the season, including as the 27th and newest organization in Major League Soccer and the announcement of Matthew McConaughey as a minority owner. But the biggest reason was the opening of the team’s new home: Q2 Stadium. One of three new venues in the league, the stadium first welcomed patrons on Saturday, June 19 for the team’s match vs. San Jose Earthquakes, and its christening is another feather in the crowded Stetson of Texas sports. Seen during the construction and concluding phases of a project, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is still felt in new builds around the country. In this case, the virus played a particularly significant role during the development’s earlier stages in 2020. With safety guidelines in place and the health of the folks on the ground in Austin a high priority, both the club and systems integrator Diversified moved with caution. The duo couldn’t fully eradicate the impact of the pandemic, but they made it as much a non-factor as possible.
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SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / FALL 2021
“We were able to mitigate some of the delays from COVID-19,” explained Tony Gaston, senior account executive, sports and live events, Diversified. “Those delays affected our ability to have people onsite at times.” COVID-19 has become a common obstacle over the past year, but another set of challenges came from an unlikely source. In February, a
Diversified and other onsite crews navigated COVID-19 issues to complete the project.
