NEWS

Austin Becomes the Gilgronis 

Adam Gilchrist has a unique vision for sports entertainment and his new venture with his acquisition of the Major League Rugby team in Austin. That vision rests on a community first approach that is delivering a first-class sports entertainment product. The new ownership in Austin has begun their redevelopment of the program with plenty of notable changes.

New Branding –

The question everyone has asked, how did they get to the name, Gilgronis?

“A Gilgroni is a premium cocktail we will be releasing. It’s Adam’s vision to use sports to attract the demographic who understand premium entertainment experiences. We’re not ashamed of thinking outside the box and approaching this differently,” said Loyals Rugby CEO Matt Burgess. The rebrand has been a part of the strategy to take a much more direct approach to sports marketing.

New Focus –

The most important focus for Adam Gilchrist is the community-based approach and investment in youth rugby development. The first thing the franchise will do is work on covering the youth player membership fees and help bring the costs of equipment down by delivering kits to youth players at wholesale costs.

Burgess also stated, “we need a team, and that team doesn’t just come from shifting players, that team has to represent Austin. If we are going to invest for a long time in Austin, we want to have a team that properly represents Austin. We need to have players, and support, and a youth program that provides that talent for the Austin Gilgronis.”

Although the new ownership has just gotten their feet wet, the aim is to create a holistic model for player development that is driven from their community investment strategy. Austin is working with the various youth and high school programs, as well as the senior rugby clubs of the Blacks, Huns, and Valkyries. Burgess says his and Gilchrist’s goal is to create an understanding of what it means to achieve success for their players and to “connect the dots for a career path from the very young to the most elite.”

New Stadium –

Originally planning a return to Round Rock Multi-Purpose Complex for the 2020 season, the new ownership quickly secured the Circuit of the Americas’ Austin Bold Stadium to be the new home of the Austin Gilgronis. Matt Burgess discussed how that deal came into being and the urgency behind it.

“The facility [COTA] is incredible, I haven’t seen a facility like it in my experience in sport. I’ve seen multipurpose venues before, but this one is special. It is the only custom built F1 Track in America, it is something that is an icon of America and in Motorsport.

“This is a place that we were fortunate enough to work with and work with quickly. We needed to turn the deal around within days and we did because COTA were very accommodating with our use of the facility and where we aligned within their brand. We’ve been very fortunate to come across a partner like COTA and be so aligned so fast.”

As part of that development pathway for both their senior squad and youth outreach programs is the development of a high-performance center. Working with COTA they’ve identified land for development of a future high-performance facility and youth center.

New Entertainment –

The emphasis on premium entertainment was seen during the opening week of season three with a match at Austin’s new home stadium. The new owner also unveiled Austin’s new match kit at an exclusive season ticket holder event. This event generated some much-needed buzz for a franchise that had finished winless in season two.

The next opportunity for fans to see the added entertainment is Saturday, Feb 22 when the Gilgronis host the Utah Warriors at COTA. Tickets are available here.

New Leadership –

A challenge for the new ownership is addressing the 2019 winless season. And this comes from additional coaching investment.  The Gilgronis have appointed Mick Byrne as their Head of Rugby to assist the coaching staff led by Brent Semmons. Mick was the Skills Coach for the All Blacks during their last two world cup victories in 2011 and 2015.

“We want to understand what we need to be MLR Champions, and Mick Byrne is an incredible resource that we were very fortunate to pull across, he’s hit the ground running from the start and investment in coaching shows how serious we’re taking our performance on the field,” Burgess said.

“We need the team to understand how important that is for our fans and our brand, because it’s based around that, our team needs to reflect Austin and we think Austin deserves an MLR Championship and we expect this team to deliver it.”

The Gilgronis with new ownership and resources are looking forward to building a competitive rivalry with the Houston SaberCats. Burgess stated, “we’re completely committed to building the rivalry with Houston, and we’re completely committed to beating them when they turn up.”

Although the changes have been rapid for the Austin franchise in the past few weeks, for the Gilgronis and their fans, it is a new dawn with a bright future under their new and committed ownership.

Catch the Austin Gilgronis this Saturday, Feb 22 on ESPN+ as they take on the Utah Warriors.