The city and stadium in which the Los Angeles Rams will play the San Francisco 49ers is a first in NFL history. Given that this game is in Australia, new milestones are being achieved. However, how many people will be in attendance?
Per The Athletic, around 100,000 fans are expected to attend the Rams vs 49ers game at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Hence, a capacity crowd will witness the first-ever regular-season NFL game in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
According to the news portal The Conversation, the game sold out in roughly 30 minutes. Then, secondary sales came out and sold out 24 hours after that. Hence, the Land Down Under is eager to watch NFL action.
There is a caveat for this game
The NFL confirmed that 48% of the ticket buyers are traveling from overseas or from other Australian areas outside of Melbourne to attend the game. That is textbook sport tourism.
The MCG is set up for it’s first ever NFL match
ESPN reported that the overseas tickets are coming from more than 35 different countries, with many Americans making the travel and representing the vast majority of international crowd, accounting for somewhere between 8%-12% of all ticket buyers.
McVay’s vs Shanahan’s records overseas
Sean McVay has a perfect 3-0 record in international games as a head coach. Before traveling to Australia for the 2026 season opener, all of McVay’s overseas games with the Los Angeles Rams took place in London, where his teams won in dominant fashion.
Kyle Shanahan is undefeated with a 1-0 record in regular-season international games heading into today’s matchup. Same as McVay, he is undefeated, but with less games. It was a 38-10 San Francisco 49ers win in 2022 in Mexico City.
