Off-field factors heat up first playoff meeting between Austin FC, FC Dallas

DALLAS — You can rest easy, FC Dallas fans. Your team has a place to rest its head before and after the conference semifinal game against Austin FC on Sunday.

For weeks, people around the league have been whispering about the hotel availability should Austin FC earn the right to host a second-round playoff game this weekend, the same weekend in which the United States Grand Prix will be run in the south of the city. A since-deleted Reddit post from a hotel employee fanned the flames, claiming their property and a number of others in the area fielded desperate calls looking for blocks of rooms big enough for a soccer team — and with a crêpe bar to boot.

It's just one of the off-field stories fanning the flames of the biggest-ever meeting between Texas soccer's newest rivals.

FCD players and their coach, Nico Estévez, know they'll be able to rest well before the game, that they'll have fans in the stadium — though not as many as in previous Copa Tejas encounters — and that they're eagerly awaiting Sunday's match.

"We found a place to go," Estévez said. "There's another big event this weekend, the F1, and the city is full but I think we've found a really good option close to the stadium, away from downtown and all the things getting mixed up down there, and that will let us be able to get ready calmly, manage all the moments in the day."

FCD's team administrator Tanner Holley noted that FCD had its reservations set Tuesday morning, immediately working with MLS staff to find a hotel that fit its needs. (The needs, he said, did not necessarily involve crêpes.) He acknowledged there was a bit more legwork involved than a typical road contest, but ultimately FCD is happy with its travel dossier and accommodations.

The supporters making the trip down are less pleased, with Austin FC barring El Matador or the Dallas Beer Guardians from bringing their horns and drums, as has been permitted at past regular-season Copa Tejas matches.

While the demand is high in North Texas for away tickets, only a few cherished spots are available.

With a pair of regional rivalries in the conference semifinals, Austin isn't the only team struggling with trying to find the right solution when it comes to the number of away fans. LA Galaxy groups criticized LAFC in advance of Thursday's crosstown contest, with local reports indicating 285 tickets made it into Galaxy fans' hands rather than 600 they had been allocated for league games.

An Austin FC spokesperson told The Striker the club allocated more than the minimum allotment required by MLS to FCD fans, with FCD front office members saying they had around 300 tickets to distribute in the main seating area. The visiting club decides how to utilize its allotment, but player requests for tickets to go to family and friends do have to come out of that block. Suites for traveling VIPs also are allocated.

All told, it means a game with even more spice than it already had, but one that will be played in a Q2 Stadium that won't look or sound all that different than it normally does: It will be full of raucous fans in verde rooting on their team. 

"I'm definitely excited," winger Paul Arriola said. "We're going in as underdogs, no one has really talked about us in the league. I'm excited to play in a game like that with the amount of fans — look, there's no denying they have a great atmosphere, they have an amazing fan base, but we'll go there to spoil the party."

Holley and the rest of FCD's backroom staff would like nothing more than to be put to work again, making preparations for another busy weekend.