Euro Soccer Drawing the Austin Bar Crowd
Austin has been a soccer-watching town at least since the 2010 World Cup. Photo by KUT NewsBy Olivia Gordon
With students heading home for the summer, some bars and restaurants around Austin are seeing a drop in business. But for those marketing themselves as soccer hotspots to watch the 2012 European Football Championship, business lately has been bigger and more boisterous.
It seems that Austin sports fans are embracing soccer. Nielsen ranked Austin as one the top 10 markets during the final of the 2010 World Cup, for both English and Spanish stations.
Cuatros bar and restaurant on 24th Street has aired this year’s Euro 2012 games on a giant projector screen on the patio.
“We’re still seeing a strong soccer support and large community coming out and watching it, but it’s not as big as World Cup,” owner Cuatro Kowalski said.
But he says the Euro Cup still draws a crowd.
“Our business has increased around 20 to 30 percent since the Euro Cup started,” he said.
The first Euro 2012 quarterfinal will feature Portugal against the Czech Republic tomorrow afternoon. The championship match is July 1.
