The news broke Monday that Atlanta United FC, the city’s newest sports franchise, had sold out its 10th consecutive home game for a match 3 weeks away on August 23rd. It’s no surprise, considering it will be the team’s first appearance in the sparkling Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but it continues a run that has the rest of the country in awe at a recently-awoken giant of a fanbase.
The team is averaging just over 46,000 fans a game, over double the average for all other teams in Major League Soccer. It is on pace to break the league’s single season attendance record, and may break the single game record for professional soccer in the U.S. (72,000 fans) when it opens up Mercedes-Benz Stadium to full capacity for a game later in September. Over 35,000 Georgians have purchased season tickets, a number that would nearly fill the Braves’ SunTrust park on its own.
Indeed it is fair to say that ‘futbol fever’ has swept Atlanta, a town better known for having its stadiums taken over by rowdy northern fan-bases during big games. Arthur Blank’s newest pet project has been a stunning success, its solid results on the pitch overshadowed by the wave of supporters who have changed the way outsiders look at soccer fandom in the United States.
That rabid support is paying dividends for more than just Blank’s wallet though – late last week it was announced that the United Bid Committee, which is trying to secure a hosting bid for the U.S. in 2026, has targeted Atlanta as a potential host city for the event. That bid, which would actually include Mexico and Canada as a joint hosting opportunity, is expected to go through in no small part due to the newfound passion for soccer in the U.S. And what better place to play host than America’s most soccer crazed town and its crown jewel of a stadium?
The city doesn’t have to file paperwork to submit its bid until the World Cup is actually confirmed for North America, but many insiders consider that an inevitability. If and when it does, you can bet that Atlanta, fresh off hosting a Super Bowl, Final Four, and college football national championship, will have the eyes of the world upon it once more as it shows off its newfound passion for its newfound favorite sport.
