Expansion MLS club Atlanta United leads the league in attendance, averaging 46,482 fans per game, and President Darren Eales has already said that the team has discussed opening Mercedes-Benz Stadium up to its 75,000 capacity for "select games if the demand is there," according to Andy Buhler of the AP. The club has "played its home games at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium" while the M-B Stadium is being completed. It is "undetermined how many seats will be made available in the new stadium, or if the upper deck will initially be cordoned off for United games." Eales said, "I thought it would take us more time to create that soccer culture and our own Atlanta United culture, but from day one it's been the most unbelievable atmosphere. The fans stand for the whole 90 minutes. They've got their own chants with Tifos, big flags that flail before a game." Buhler noted Minnesota United, the other first-year expansion team, is 12th out of 22 teams with an average crowd of 12,260 (AP, 7/12).
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TOP MLS TEAMS IN AVG. ATTENDANCE THROUGH JULY 12
|
|
CLUB
|
HOME GAMES
|
AVG.
|
% CAP.
|
|
Atlanta United
|
8
|
46,482
|
100.5%
|
|
Sounders
|
8
|
42,628
|
108.9%
|
|
Toronto FC
|
9
|
26,765
|
88.6%
|
|
Orlando City SC
|
11
|
25,257
|
98.9%
|
|
Galaxy
|
9
|
23,251
|
85.6%
|
