Premier League fan fest coming to Austin

Every weekend from August until May, fans of the Premier League in Austin know their places.

Liverpool supporters scurry for B.D. Riley’s Irish Pub; Manchester City and Chelsea fans flock to Haymaker; Arsenal die-hards head for the Tavern; Tottenham Hotspur backers take over Mister Tramps.

For two days next month, there will be a place for all of the above and more, as NBC Sports takes its coverage of the world’s most popular sports league on the road for a “Premier League Mornings Live” fan festival Oct. 26-27 at Scholz Garten.

“It’s Comic-Con for the Premier League,” said Dan Palla, director of consumer engagement marketing at NBC Sports. “You’ve been to a place with a couple dozen, maybe a couple hundred (fans) in a bar. You’ve never seen thousands, and you’ve never seen all different fan bases.”

The Austin event will be the first event of its kind away from the East Coast, after installments in Boston, New York and Washington during the 2018-19 season. The fan fest debuted in Manhattan in November 2017, and in March, NBC reported attendance of more than 12,000 throughout the two-day event in Boston.

“I was just blown away. It’s so cool,” said Joey Bacon, the president of the MCFC Austin supporters group that follows Manchester City. “We’re always in the top 10 in (TV ratings) and we’re getting this MLS team. You’re seeing this buzz around town for soccer, and now to have NBC validate that choosing us as the fourth city is incredible.”

The familiar crew of host Rebecca Lowe along with analysts Robbie Earle, Kyle Martino and Robbie Mustoe will broadcast live from Scholz Garten, and personalities Michael Davies and Roger Bennett will host a live episode of “The Men in Blazers Show” on Friday afternoon that will not be open to the public.

For fans in the U.S. who often wake up before dawn to catch their favorite teams, those faces have become almost as much a part of the experience as the athletes and managers.

“We’re seven years in now,” said Earle, a former midfielder who played for Wimbledon FC in the 1990s. “If you were doing this day one, you’d see nothing like the size of now going over a whole weekend. It’s become a big part of the calendar now, something we try and do at least two or three times during the season.”

The marquee match of the weekend will feature current league leader Liverpool against Tottenham in their first meeting since the UEFA Champions League final won by Liverpool in May. That match will kick off at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Programming will begin at 6 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday at Scholz Garten with “Premier League Mornings Live.” Reigning champion Manchester City will kick off against Aston Villa at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, the first of five match windows over two days.

It’s not the first time a sports network has done a soccer activation in Austin. Last year, Fox Sports promoted its coverage of the 2018 World Cup at South by Southwest by taking over the Hangar Lounge downtown. In previous years, NBC included Premier League programming at its SXSW events. This summer, Austin rated No. 1 in the country for viewership of the Women’s World Cup, and Austin ranks No. 9 this season for Premier League broadcasts.

"It felt very obvious to us that Texas was going to be on the short list” of next places for the event, Palla said. "We believe Texas is a very big emerging soccer market, and we continued to narrow it down. Austin is a great fit. The Premier League fandom that already exists is crazy. There are thousands of people who are part of supporters clubs. It’s (Scholz Garten) a really cool place to throw one of these events."

Palla promised Austin flavor with programming and special guests to be announced.

Palla said NBC Sports officials have been in touch with the ownership group from Austin FC, the Major League Soccer franchise that will begin play in 2021, about finding an “authentic tie” to include during the weekend, though NBC is not an MLS broadcast partner.

The Premier League Trophy will be on display, and ex-players and mascots from several teams will be at locations around the city throughout the weekend. Attendance is free, but the network is asking fans interested in being there to RSVP via its website.

Premier League schedule

These matches will be shown during the NBC Sports "Premier League Mornings Live" fan festival at Scholz Garten.

Saturday, Oct. 26

6:30 a.m. — Manchester City vs. Aston Villa (NBCSN)

9 a.m. — Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Everton (NBCSN), Watford vs. Bournemouth (NBC Sports Gold), West Ham vs. Sheffield United (NBC Sports Gold)

11:30 a.m. — Burnley vs. Chelsea (NBC)

Sunday, Oct. 27

9 a.m. — Newcastle vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (NBCSN)

11:30 a.m. — Liverpool vs. Tottenham (NBC), Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace (NBCSN), Norwich City vs. Manchester United (NBC Sports Gold)