The MLS has always faced a battle for its relevance as it competes with other massive sporting leagues like NFL, NBA, and MLB.
But as the years pass and the league finds its viewership, it continues to make its own niche in the saturated American sports market. Its popularity also continues to rise abroad with games broadcast live in many foreign countries and bets placed through best australia online casino websites.
On that note, let us look at the five highest attendances in MLS history that prove the interest people have in the beautiful game in the US of A.
As for now, Bank of America Stadium holds the record of the highest attendance registered in MLS history.
In the match between Charlotte and LA Galaxy on March 5, 2022, an attendance of 74,479 was announced by the MLS broadcasters.
The Bank of America Stadium is the shared home of Charlotte FC and Carolina Panthers of the NFL.
As a result of such an exceptional turnout, Bank of America Stadium broke the record of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2019. The match finished 1-0 to the visitors as Efrain Alvarez scored the winner in the 77th minute.
The new MLS franchise wants to continue breaking such records as they continue to make waves as the tenth new MLS side since 2015.
Before the record of Bank of America Stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium of Atlanta United held the attendance record for almost three years.
In the match between Atlanta United and LA Galaxy, the attendance was registered to be 72,548.
The match was a pretty one-sided encounter as the home side won 3-0. Josef Martinez scored a penalty whereas David Romney and Giancarlo Gonzalez both scored own goals.
In July 2018, the home of Atlanta United was once again in the headlines related to crowd attendance. In a match between Atlanta United and Seattle, there was a crowd attendance of 72,243 people.
The match was equally as dramatic between the two sides. The away side gained an early advantage thanks to a penalty from Nicolas Lodeiro. The lead got cancelled out by Josef Martinez in the 48th minute.
Jordan McCray was shown a red card in the 63rd minute, which meant that the away side finished the match with 10 men.
It is clear to see that the Mercedes Benz Arena continues to remain the leader in MLS attendances.
In March 2018, the beautiful venue once again saw a huge attendance recorded by the MLS correspondents. In a match between Atlanta United and D.C United, the crowd attendance was said to be 72,035.
The match finished 3-1 to the home side with goals coming from Josef Martinez, M, Miguel Almiron, and Héctor Daniel Villalba.
In September 2018, the home of Atlanta United broke the 72k crowd attendance barrier again. In a match against Real Salt Lake, the crowd attendance was said to be 72,017. The match finished 2-0 to the home side.
The exceptional average attendance of 55,289 for Atlanta's home games proves how much interest soccer is gaining in the city.
It is clear to see that MLS needs more stadiums as it grows and more franchises are added to the setup. The league is due to expand again next season with St Louis joining in 2023. The best online casino sites are now taking bets as to which of the shortlisted 3 cities will join MLS next - Las Vegas, Phoenix or San Diego.
As of now, MLS continues to coexist in multipurpose arenas with NFL franchises of the same cities and continues to surprise its critics with some exceptional attendance numbers.
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