>
MLS breaks attendance records on the first weekend of the new season as both Charlotte and Atlanta welcome over 67,000 fans, more than the average crowd across 13 NFL teams!
The new MLS season is off to a bright start with attendances skyrocketing on opening day, with some stadiums experiencing better turnout than several NFL venues on average.
On Saturday, Charlotte FC had 69,345 fans for its first home game in a 1-0 loss against the New England Revolution, while Atlanta United’s dramatic 2-1 win against the San Jose Earthquakes was no slouch with 67,538. Supporters watching from the stands of the Mercedes Benz Stadium.
That’s close to the NFL’s attendance per game of 69,442 last year and marks the first time MLS has had more than 65,000 multiple games on the same day, according to the league Twitter account.
In fact, the two 65,000-plus attendances were better than the average attendances for 13 different NFL teams, with the likes of the Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders far below.
Those four teams rank last in the league in average attendance per game, well below 64,000, according to ESPN.
On Saturday, Charlotte FC had 69,345 fans for its first home game, a 1-0 loss against New England.
Atlanta United’s dramatic 2-1 victory against San Jose had 67,538 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Meanwhile, attendance for Atlanta’s 2023 MLS opener was better than the Cleveland Browns’ average game attendance, which was 67,431 after 17 regular-season games last season.
The Browns rank 20 of 32 in the NFL by attendance, meaning more people attended Saturday’s game in Georgia than the average crowd at games played by the Minnesota Vikings (66,687), Jacksonville Jaguars (66,459) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (66,280).
The Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals also trail the Browns in attendance.
At the same time, participation in Charlotte FC’s home loss to the Revolution (at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday) would rank in the top half of teams with the best average attendance record in the NFL (14th).
Attendance for Atlanta’s MLS opener would rank 20th of 32 in the NFL by average attendance
There were certainly fireworks on the first weekend of the new MLS season.
That includes past teams like the Baltimore Ravens (70,589), LA Chargers (69,955) and Philadelphia Eagles.
However, game attendance would not exceed the average number of fans who attend Carolina Panthers games, which also play at Bank of American Stadium.
Last season, an average of 71,351 fans came to see the blaugranas, blacks and silvers play.
That’s 2,006 more fans than the total number who watched ‘The Crown’ kick off his new MLS campaign over the weekend.