Nearly a quarter of a million football fans flooded the stands at Go Media Stadium as Auckland FC smashed records in their debut season.
An incredible total of 235,316 people attended 13 Auckland FC home games at Go Media Stadium during the 2024/25 A-League regular season.
Auckland FC started from scratch a little over a year ago and since then, football fever has taken over Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
The Black Knights have attracted the highest average home attendance in the A-League with 18,101 fans per match.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s Director of Auckland Stadiums James Parkinson said, “The atmosphere at Go Media Stadium has been electric this season – with record crowds through the gates for Auckland FC’s incredible debut year. It was clear that something special was brewing before a ball was even kicked, and when Go Media Stadium was sold out for the opening Auckland FC match – we knew that that could be the catalyst for an amazing year.”
This campaign has delivered four epic sellout crowds*, including both home derbies with Wellington Phoenix. The memorable derby victories were bookended by the spectacular October opening day win against Brisbane Roar, as well as the final home match title celebration against Perth Glory in April.
New Zealand’s regular-season club football attendance record has been smashed twice along the way. A record crowd of 27,009 attended the 6-1 victory over Wellington Phoenix in February.
Parkinson continued, "Aucklanders have embraced their new home team, turning up each week and building a cultural movement which is once in a generation. Go Media Stadium has proven itself as the People’s Stadium - welcoming record numbers this year culminating with Auckland FC taking home New Zealand’s first A League football trophy. Now we look forward to more incredible experiences they look to go one step further and further cement themselves into Auckland’s sporting folklore.”
Saturday afternoons at the football have been the story of the summer for Aucklanders. 88% of the Auckland FC crowd this season are from Auckland, with the remaining 12% travelling from outside the region. Of the travelling crowd, 87% travelled exclusively to watch their new home team in Auckland.
Auckland FC CEO Nick Becker said, “There has been magic in the air at Go Media Stadium this year and our fans have propelled us to achieve incredible things together. This season has been full of “I was there” moments that will live long in the memory and we are hoping for more before our season finishes.
“It’s been a dream start for our club and the fans have been incredible at Go Media Stadium, week-in and week-out. Now we need them once more. Records have tumbled for us all year but now there’s one thing that matters most – winning our first A-League championship title.”
Auckland FC fans have turned Go Media Stadium into their home fortress and have had an excellent time doing it. Over 92% of fans have confirmed themselves to be having a great time at the venue throughout the season.
There has been plenty to celebrate this year, with the home team losing just one of their 13 home games this season. Celebrations have been fuelled by over 110,000 portions of hot food, 215,000 beverages and 40,000 portions of hot chips sold at the stadium this season.
With such large crowds, there’s always a big cleanup operation ahead. Sustainability is at the heart of Go Media Stadium and Auckland FC’s ethos. Auckland Stadiums diverted over 34,000kgs of waste from landfill throughout the season, equating to 80% of waste.
Go Media Stadium is now preparing to host the second leg of Auckland FC’s Isuzu UTE A-League 2025 Finals Series on Saturday 24 May.
2,700 additional temporary seats are being installed to boost the max capacity and should Auckland FC reach the final, then that match will also be played on home soil at Go Media Stadium, with 800 more temporary seats installed. ENDS
2024/25 REGULAR SEASON - BY THE NUMBERS
- 235,316 fans attended 13 Auckland FC home matches at Go Media Stadium
- A-League-high average of 18,101 per match, compared to the average A-League attendance of 8,788 per match
- *4 sellout matches in the regular season, ranging from 25-27,000 patrons (max capacity depends on event overlay)
- 91% crowd satisfaction through surveyed patrons • 27,009 – highest crowd of the season at Go Media Stadium for the second derby vs Wellington Phoenix on 22 February 2025, breaking the record for NZ’s highest regularseason attendance for a football match
- 12% of surveyed patrons travelled from outside of Auckland for matches. 83% of those travelled exclusively for the game • 80% of waste diverted from landfill, equating to 33,500kg
- Approx. 215,000 beverages served, 110,000 portions of hot food through the season in the stadium. These figures exclude corporate spaces.
- 18 new bike racks installed • 2,700 additional seats being added for A-League Semi-Final. 800 more seats to be added should Auckland FC reach the final
- 1 new big screen installed in the south-east corner
Upcoming events at Auckland Stadiums venues include:
- Saturday 17th May - Moana Pasifika vs Blues, North Harbour Stadium
- Saturday 24th May– Black Ferns vs USA, North Harbour Stadium
- Saturday 24th May– Auckland FC Semi-Final, Go Media Stadium
- Sunday 25th May – One NZ Warriors vs Raiders, Go Media Stadium