Verde & Black Are Back: Austin FC Opens 2026 Season at Home Tonight
The Verde & Black are back.
Get ready to party, Austin. It’s officially MATCHDAY! 🌳🌳 pic.twitter.com/3L6DzwMURa
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) February 21, 2026
Tonight at Q2 Stadium, Austin FC kicks off its sixth MLS season, hosting Minnesota United FC at 7:30 p.m. CT in what is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated home openers in the club’s brief but electric history. For Central Texas, the occasion is about far more than three points on an opening night — it’s a reaffirmation of what this city’s only major professional sports franchise has come to mean to the region.
Austin FC has sold out all 88 MLS regular season and playoff home matches in its five-year history, owning the league’s longest-active sellout streak with an average attendance of 20,738. Tonight is virtually certain to extend that streak. In a city that has long been defined by its music, its university culture, and its tech boom, Austin FC has carved out a different kind of identity — one rooted in community, color, and a fervent soccer culture that many observers didn’t see coming.
The Los Verdes supporter group and the broader fanbase at Q2 Stadium have become a defining feature of the matchday experience, turning the North Burnet stadium into one of the loudest and most passionate venues in the league.
That passion didn’t happen by accident. It was cultivated from the beginning, in large part thanks to the club’s ownership structure and its intentional focus on Austin’s unique civic identity.
Among the club’s most recognizable minority owners is Texas native and Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, who joined the Austin FC ownership group in August 2019 and holds a role unlike any other in MLS. McConaughey serves as the club’s “Minister of Culture,” a title that is the first of its kind in Major League Soccer. It’s a fitting designation for a man who has spoken often about his desire to preserve the soul of his hometown even as Austin undergoes rapid transformation. “When you take a snapshot above Q2 Stadium on any given night that we play, you should be able to see in the crowd the diversity, creative colors and vibrancy of Austin, Texas,” McConaughey has said.
On the field, tonight’s match presents a compelling storyline.
Austin finished sixth in the Western Conference in 2025, and club leadership has opted for selective reinforcement rather than an overhaul, adding winger Jayden Nelson, defender Jon Bell, midfielder Joseph Rosales, and Designated Player Facundo Torres. Star striker Brandon Vázquez remains out while recovering from a torn ACL suffered last July, making the new arrivals critical for generating goals early in the campaign.
Minnesota arrives with their own intriguing subplot. Midfielder Joseph Rosales spent five seasons with the Loons before being traded to Austin this offseason, meaning he’ll immediately face his former club on opening night.
For Central Texas, though, the scoreline is almost secondary to the spectacle. In a metropolitan region that lacks an NFL, NBA, or MLB franchise, Austin FC fills a void that extends well beyond sport. It gives the region a professional team to rally around, a stadium that hosts concerts and community events, and a shared identity that cuts across the city’s many social and cultural divides.
On a February evening in the Texas capital, Q2 Stadium will once again be sold out and roaring.
Alright, alright, alright — it’s game time.
(Sources: Austin FC, MLS, Minnesota United FC, MLSSoccer.com and Texas Monthly.)
Another homicide in North Austin early this morning.
This is a developing situation this morning. More information to follow.
Austin police are investigating a shooting at a North Austin barbershop on Thursday that left one man injured and involved an off‑duty Austin Fire Department officer, authorities said.
The incident happened around midday at a shop near the Rundberg Lane corridor, where officers found a man with gunshot wounds and detained the off‑duty firefighter who they say was involved in the altercation. APD said the circumstances leading up to the shooting remain under investigation, and no additional details about potential charges or the condition of the victim have been release.
Michael Bullock is the president of Austin’s police union:
Bad guy does bad guy things and suddenly meets a well trained good guy with a gun. The results are what you might expect. #fafo https://t.co/dUD917Faoo
— Michael Bullock (@MBullockATX) February 21, 2026
Austin police are looking for a suspect who fled during a traffic stop.
After reports of yet another stabbing involving a CapMetro bus or bus stop Thursday, @AustinJustice on X went to work.
A pedestrian was struck and injured in South Austin last night.
Austin has finalized a long‑awaited strategic plan to address homelessness, outlining sweeping operational changes through 2027 — from stricter performance tracking to improved public communication and contracting practices. The plan also sets concrete targets, including adding 650 shelter beds and opening two new housing navigation centers.
In the first few days since early voting started, the most populous counties in Texas are seeing a higher turnout than the past two primaries. (KXAN-TV)
Friday in Travis County, more than 15,000 votes were cast. Of the more than 920,000 registered voters, 49,501 have voted early (that’s 5.3%) in the first four days of the early voting period, either in-person or by mail.
Events in the ATX this weekend will affect area traffic.
A reminder for those out on the Butler Hike & Bike Trail this weekend:
Southwest Airlines is continuing its expansion efforts at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, with four new nonstop routes planned for October.
WEATHER
FRIDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 9 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR MOST OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS... * AFFECTED AREA...Most of South Central Texas. * TIMING...From 10 AM this morning to 9 PM CST this evening. * WINDS...North 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 10 percent. * IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended.
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
The Texas Office of the Attorney General filed a lawsuit Friday in Scurry County court that accuses a New York company, Lola Olivia, of allegedly violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) by selling chest binders that Texas says are “medical devices.”
BREAKING: I sued a radical company selling harmful chest binders to girls to “transition” them.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) February 20, 2026
“Transitioning” a minor is child abuse, and any corporation doing it will face swift and unrelenting justice. pic.twitter.com/YXQSAABor1
A San Antonio district judge on Friday ruled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could not represent the state in a suit against Bexar County aimed at shutting down a program that uses county funds to help undocumented people access legal support. In December, a judge rejected a similar lawsuit Paxton’s office filed against Harris County.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this week reported that the death of a 55-year-old Cuban man at a detention facility in El Paso was the result of the staff’s “spontaneous use of force” to “prevent him from harming himself.” Officials quietly updated the cause of death after previously declaring last month that the man died of “medical distress.” (Texas Tribune)
The remote stretch of the southern border that runs through Big Bend National Park in West Texas could see the installation of border barriers under President Trump’s “Smart Wall” plan, according to updates shared online by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in recent days. (KUT 90.5)
Texas is forecast to become a global leader in data center development.
Reporting from San Antonio this week: Big John Cornyn says the future of the Republican Party itself is on the line in this primary season that now features a former Senator buying Jeffrey Epstein’s ranch and Sid Miller’s opponent turning a debate into a public confessional about alcoholism, porn addiction, and infidelity. Meantime a Congressman faces allegations of an affair with a woman who later committed suicide and the Democrats are at each other’s throats after a pretty boring interview was deemed “too hot for TV.” It would be hard to believe all that happened since our last show, but this is Texas. Our producer is the famous Evan Sherer and the original music is by Checkmayne in Houston.
(Episode from February 20, 2026)
A major repudiation of one of the Trump administration’s signature initiatives: The Supreme Court’s tariff decision and the Texas impact today on the Standard.
A new investigative report reveals six deaths in six weeks at immigration detention centers in Texas.
Other stories we’re tracking: As the first week of early voting in the Texas primaries comes to a close, what GOP voters in one reliably red district are thinking about as they head to the polls south of Austin.
Also, why Tejano’s taking center stage at a major Texas university.
(Episode from February 20, 2026)
SPORTS
MLS: Austin FC is set to kick off the 2026 Major League Soccer regular season this Saturday at Q2 Stadium, when the VERDE & Black will take on Minnesota United FC at 7:30 p.m. CT. (Austin FC)
COLLEGE BASEBALL: Ethan Mendoza homered for the third time in five games and Ruger Riojas matched a career-high 10 strikeouts to lead No. 3 Texas to an 8-1 win over Michigan State in front of a capacity crowd at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday night.
GAME 2 OF THE SERIES IS TODAY
First pitch at 2:00 p.m.
NBA: Make it ten in a row.
Anthony Edwards returned to Minnesota with his All-Star Game MVP award and scored 40 points to help the Timberwolves hold off Dallas 122-111 on Friday, the 10th straight loss for the Mavericks.
ON THE SCHEDULE
The Mavs get to sit on that losing streak while both Houston and San Antonio have games today.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The Texas Longhorns are in Athens today.
Game 27: TEXAS (17-9, 8-5 SEC) at Georgia (18-8, 6-7 SEC)
ON THE SCHEDULE
Tucked inside a weathered tin building, Central Texas Tool Company has been doing things the same way since 1937. Long before computers and automation reshaped manufacturing, this family-run machine shop built its reputation on hard work, hand-measured precision, and knowledge passed down from one generation to the next.
