New York City soccer fans can grab a $12 ticket to Gotham FC's NWSL quarterfinal starting Thursday morning, as Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and City Hall roll out a limited batch of discounted seats for Sunday's playoff showdown against Seattle Reign FC. The offer covers 3,000 tickets total, a steep markdown from the club's usual pricing, and it's tied to a Gotham FC team that enters the postseason as the NWSL's top overall seed.
According to Time Out, the tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Thursday, November 5, at 10am, with fans able to claim them through Gotham FC's online offer page. The quarterfinal itself kicks off Sunday, November 8, at 12:30pm at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, where Gotham FC will host Seattle Reign FC. Gotham enters the match as the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NWSL Playoffs and as the league's reigning NWSL Shield winners.
City Hall has framed the discount as part of a broader push to make professional women's soccer more financially accessible. Mayor Mamdani said the discounted tickets give thousands of New Yorkers the chance to cheer on Gotham FC, adding that sports should be accessible to all New Yorkers, not only those who can afford admission.
A Pattern of Discounted City Offers
A Pattern of Discounted City Offers This isn't the first time Mamdani's office has partnered with Gotham FC on a ticket giveaway. Earlier in 2026, the administration offered $15 tickets for The Queens Classic, which pitted Gotham FC against longtime rival the Washington Spirit, the same report notes. That match drew a sellout crowd of 42,175 fans at Citi Field, according to Sports Business Journal.
Before that, Mamdani and Gotham offered 1,000 tickets for $5 to the club's May 9 match against Boston Legacy, and those sold out in less than an hour, per The Athletic. The discounts stand in contrast to the team's standard pricing — Gotham FC had announced that single-match tickets for the 2026 regular season started at $24 when they went on sale to the public in February.
Attendance Climbing Across the League
The ticket giveaways arrive as Gotham FC rides a wave of growing fan interest. The club's average attendance rose 23% year over year to 10,943 per match in 2026, the largest increase in the NWSL, Sports Business Journal reports. Excluding the Queens Classic and a match at Icahn Stadium, Gotham's average attendance for home games at Sports Illustrated Stadium was still up 1% for the year, the outlet notes. League-wide, NWSL matches averaged 11,003 fans during the 2026 regular season, a 3% increase over the prior year.
Looking Ahead to a Queens Stadium
The quarterfinal in Harrison also marks a step toward the end of an era for Gotham's home venue. The 2027 season will be the club's last in Harrison before its planned move to Etihad Park in Queens in 2028, according to Sports Business Journal. The club plans to play at Etihad Park beginning in 2028, Time Out reports.
For now, the focus remains on Sunday's quarterfinal and whether the league's No. 1 seed can advance with a packed, budget-friendly crowd behind it. The $12 tickets go live Thursday morning, giving fans a narrow window to grab a seat before Gotham FC's playoff run continues at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
