There were more than 62,000 fans packing Bank of America Stadium for Charlotte FC's openerGetty Images
MLS opened its 2024 season in full over the weekend, and highlights included more than 62,000 fans packing Bank of America Stadium for Charlotte FC's opener and a new record crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park watching Lionel Messi and Inter Miami take on the Galaxy. Here are the attendance figures for this weekend's games:
PACKING THEM IN: In L.A., Kevin Baxter noted the record crowd of 27,642 at Dignity Health Sports Park for yesterday's Inter Miami-Galaxy match "packed the grass berm behind the north goal and filled temporary bleachers near the south goal." Cocktail tables were set up behind the Miami bench "for the most well-heeled supporters during warmups," helping the Galaxy to also break the record for the "highest-grossing game in stadium history." The team handed out more than 200 media credentials, "four times the usual amount, and still couldn’t accommodate everybody who wanted one." The grandstands "almost matched the field for star power" (L.A. TIMES, 2/25).
FAN FAVORITES: In Charlotte, Alex Zietlow wrote the fandom surrounding Charlotte FC has "reached an interesting point in its maturation," as the team is "no longer the novel thing it once was." Last year’s home opener was just over 69,000, and this year’s was just over 62,000. Only a "handful of players remain" from the original roster, and yet, "traditions have endured." Hometown favorite players "still occupy an important part of the community’s heart," and Charlotte FC’s home opener is "still an event that has a grip on this city." The team’s fandom has "proven, still, that it is in a league of its own" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/25).
