As it gears up for its inaugural 2027 season, Atlético Dallas, a new professional soccer team in the United Soccer League, will announce a multiyear partnership today with Playfly Sports to shape its ticketing strategy.
Sam Morton, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Atlético Dallas, told The Dallas Morning News that the deal with Playfly, a leading revenue maximization company, is a three-year agreement that also includes two one-year extension options. Playfly will provide the soccer club with market analysis, pricing strategies, packaging recommendations and long-term ticketing revenue forecasts as it prepares for its first season at the newly renovated Cotton Bowl.
“Ticketing is just such a crucial part of our business, and our inexperience in that area was pretty glaring,” Morton said. “To me, why try to recreate the wheel? Why not go to someone who is proven in the space?”
Morton was very familiar with the track record of Playfly, which works with 100-plus professional teams, more than 65 college athletic departments — including Texas A&M and Baylor — along with all U.S. local sports networks and associated streaming platforms. Playfly is also the USL’s official supplier for ticket sales solutions and third-party ticket sales.
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Considering the size of the venue, Morton said it will be important to properly “pare down and tighten up” the seating areas in the Cotton Bowl, as well as take advantage of premium seating in the historic stadium.
Gil Beverly, president of Playfly Aspire, said he will hire multiple Playfly employees who will be based in Dallas and embedded with Atlético Dallas.
“Dallas has proven to be a soccer town, and there’s room for multiple players in that,” Beverly told The News. “But, ultimately, I think Atlético Dallas is going to be a flagship, best-in-class franchise for the USL, between the market, which is awesome, and they’ve got a great ownership team … The first time we sat down with these guys, the first thing they said is that we are looking to build a legacy here, that it isn’t just about making money, it’s about serving the community, providing entertainment at a low to modest cost to folks.”
Among Morton’s top priorities in the coming months: increase staffing and secure a training facility. In a year, he said, expect the number of team employees to grow from the current nine to close to 30. And they need to secure their training site in the wake of the city of Garland in September putting the skids on a $71 million soccer complex.
On the ticketing front, with Playfly on board, Morton believes his team is well positioned to begin to grow interest, particularly in Dallas County.
“If we can win Dallas County, which has two and a half million people, I think we can be just fine,” Morton said. “It doesn’t have to be us versus FC Dallas. In fact, it shouldn’t be. They’ve got their own fan base 40 miles from the city [in Frisco], and so we just want to stay and win Dallas.”
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