Gotham FC sees months-long marketing push come to fruition for July 15th game in Queens

The GIST: Yesterday, Gotham FC hosted the Washington Spirit at Citi Field in Queens, NY, marking the first NWSL game at the venue, which is more accessible for many New Yorkers. The game sold over 40K tickets, beating the club’s single-game attendance record and NYC’s record for a women’s sports event. Let’s look at the marketing that helped this game stand out.

Gotham FC: Gotham brand marketing and fan experience VP Laura Petro told Boardroom the timing was chosen deliberately to hit right before the city hosted the FIFA men’s World Cup (WC) final. The club’s goal has been to raise awareness by introducing Gotham to new fans and celebrating existing supporters, something it did through promotional collabs and ticket drops around marquee moments.

• The club promised Rose Lavelle bobbleheads to the first 7.5K fans in attendance and conducted several limited-time ticket sales, like a $28 season ticket deposit promo to celebrate Gotham’s permanent move to Queens in 2028.

The mayor: As we covered in April, Gotham had help from a unique ambassador: popular NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani. He played a large part in promoting the game, promising his attendance months ago and leveraging Gotham as an affordable soccer option in the city amid sky-high World Cup (WC) ticket prices.

• Mamdani teamed up with Gotham twice to drive at least 5K ticket sales: Once in April for 1K tickets at $5 each, and again last week to offer 4K tickets at $15 each.

The brands: It’s not just the league, club, and city government hyping up the moment — brands stepped in too, from longtime club partners like CarMax to Khloe Kardashian’s snack brand, Khloud. Prematch celebration Footy Fest featured activations from brands like Bank of America, Panini, and RWJBarnabas Health, while Dove sponsored an afternoon WC watch party.

The blueprint: Other NWSL franchises have brought games to MLB stadiums before and generated massive crowds. However, this effort featured a consistent, months-long strategy that spread far beyond soccer circles, especially thanks to extensive mayoral support driving broader media coverage and brand activations. So, who’s next?