Atlanta United averaged 55k fans a game but usually get 71k fans when playing their biggest opponents /rivals ..Charlotte FC do occasionally sell out their 76k stadium. But they average 40k a game.
@@chrisnease88 when you consider the sheer size of the charlotte metro area it really isnt that crazy. They are also a new team in an empty market which boosts attendance as well.
In 2022 the average attendances for Atlanta was 43,312, Charlotte was 34,122, Seattle was 33,607 and then you have 9 teams between 20k and 28k. The rest of the league was lower but as you saw some of the stadiums did not even hold 20k so clearly they were going to be lower. So far in 2023 Atlanta and Charlotte both have a higher attendance than they had last year with Charlotte just shy of 40k.
Charlotte FC’s opening match of 76k was the 2nd highest attended match in the world last year. 1st was 85,512 at Wembley Stadium for the 2022 EFL Cup Final between Chelsea and Liverpool.
The reason for the horseshoe with a separate end stand design is that it’s ideal for concerts, which is sometimes the primary event money maker for the facilities.
You would be surprised by the attendance in the joint soccer/football stadiums. Charlotte FC’s opening game was over 75k, Atlanta has had that many fans packed in as well. For a long time the South was thought to be a wasteland for soccer but its really thriving.
The South was never a wasteland for soccer since the 1970s. The problem is that those who own the major league sports have long looked at the South in an unfavorable light, assuming that southerners don't support sports teams other than (American) football. The reality is that the South supports all sports really well. The South has the second and third highest attendance teams in the NHL. It has the first, second, and fourth highest attendances in MLS. The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros are near the top in MLB attendance. NFL attendance is topped by Dallas, which is also southern. NBA teams do well, like the Miami Heat, and the Charlotte Hornets had the highest NBA attendance every year for like ten years from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. In reality, IN MLB, the worst attendances are in the Midwest. In NFL, there isn't really a worse as all do really well. In NHL, the west has the worst attendances. In NBA, Midwest and South are probably the worst, but it varies by team. In MLS, the worst attendances are in the Northeast. Overall, if you were to average it out, the South has the highest overall attendances across the five major league sports leagues, in my opinion, from what I can tell. Also, you need to understand that the South has the highest youth participation in baseball, (American) football, and soccer amongst the regions, and it isn't even really close. Yet, there is still some nonsensical, irrational stereotypes regarding the South with regard to sports that still continues, claiming we only support college football and NASCAR, which is just ridiculous. They ignore the fact that their own regions are performing subparingly to southern cities in these sports, on the whole. They'll even claim that cities that have low attendances in their regions are good sports towns. It is an extreme bias based on ignorance.
@@willp.8120 The PNW is the same (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver) for awhile we had one nba team (Portland) one nhl team (Vancouver) and one mlb, nfl team (Seattle) but if you put any sports team in those cities they’ll sell out and have devoted loyal fan base. PNW just gets ignored by most the US. One correction; Being from Miami, Miami isn’t part of the south any thing south of Vero Beach isnt considered the south it’s more metro upper east coast/Latin American mix.
Inter Miami and NYCFC are both in the process of getting new stadiums. I also want to mention that the city of San Diego is getting an MLS team as well. They will play their first season in 2025 and play at Snapdragon Stadium which has a capacity of 35,000
Inter Miami's new stadium will play in Miami Freedom Park in 2025, the "Pink" stadium will turn into a practice stadium and college soccer for them after that. Messi mania has already started there, as he is finalizing papers. First game with Messi is July 21st.
MLS does not playing in the South American Copa Libertadores We play in the CONCACAF champions league against teams from Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, the Caribbean, and other countries. It’s being rebranded as the CONCACAF champions cup for next season, and will feature 27 teams. Much like the UEFA champions league, the Asian champions league, the Copa Libertadores, the African one, and the Oceania one the winner of the CONCACAF champions league or CONCACAF champions cup gets it’s bid into the club World Cup.
No matter how big or small the sport, we Americans prioritize huge screens and taking in views of the land/seascape over seating -- except for college football.
Mercedes Benz stadium is usually limited to 45k for MLS but opens the upper deck for bigger matches. Atlanta routinely has one of the top attendance numbers worldwide. Come to the Messi match in September.
Km69 fk yeah. They should totally react to the sounders and timbers rivalry. It's one of the few good ones in the MLS cause it's been going on a while.
This Sunday, June 24, the Chicago Cubs and the St Louis Cardinals are playing a MLB game in London, England. It would be a great thing if you got tickets and live streamed your experience
OBDaz is correct…. The Mercedes Benz stadium is home to both Atlanta United FC & the Atlanta Falcons. Both teams owned by Arthur Blank. Interesting side note, and it may not be the case any longer, but I recall that about 2 or 3 years ago more seats were sold at that stadium for the MLS games vs. the NFL games.
I'm a FC Cincinnati fan, and I'm glad we have a good stadium now. TQL Stadium looks beautiful. Glad they finally moved out of University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium.
FYI - Inter Miami’s stadium is just their temporary ground. It’s actually in Fort Lauderdale, outside of Miami. Our pro system is similar to Germany where MLS second teams play in their 2nd or 3rd division. The stadium shown at the beginning of the video is where Inter Miami 2 play their home games. The first teams ground is being built in Miami right now and it’s going to be impressive.
And fun fact about Providence Park: originally it was a baseball field put down in 1893, and stands were added over time, until in the 1920’s when it was fully built out into a baseball stadium. Then in 2001 it was renovated for the Portland Timbers who were in the 2nd division at the time (big support, but relatively poor owner that didn’t meet MLS requirements at the time). When it was built out for soccer in 2001, they made the great decision to keep as much of the original stadiums wood as they could, which is why you’ll notice it’s got that dark brown color on the top side and back behind the stands, and why it’s got that unique shape behind one of the goals and along one of its sidelines. If you go to one stadium in America go there. Big, loud, and absolutely beautiful from the inside.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is used for Atlanta United, Atlanta Falcons, Georgia High School football championship games, a few college football games (specifically The SEC championship and a CFB Kickoff game) and also live events like concerts (Taylor Swift, Beyoncé etc).
That is why he saw the Georgia and Ohio State symbol for the college playoffs, as college football games are played there for championships and playoffs. That was probably right before or during those events that the picture displaying the banner of those colleges was on the side of the stadium.
Thanks for taking an interest in North American association football. Our champions league is Concacaf champions league, soon to be renamed (again) to Concacaf champions cup. Copa libertadores is indeed only SA but US and Mexico teams have historically been invited on a one off basis. There is a new Leagues Cup between MLS and LigaMX kicking off as well. There is also the US Open cup that is equivalent to the FA cup which has been running continuously since 1913.
It should also be noted that the winner of the Concacaf Champions League/Cup moves on to the FIFA Club World Cup where they face the winner of the European Champions League as well as the winners from all the other conference champion leagues. To date, only one MLS team has made it that far, the 2022 CCL winner, Seattle Sounders.
Hi, Daz and Aidan, Jason here in St. Louis, USA. (Never been first to anything in my life) ; 3 years ago, if you'd said I wouldn't have set foot inside our stadium during City's inaugural season, I'd have called you mad! Yet, it's true. I can't get near the place unless I'm willing to spend $150 on resale tix (which I'm not) ; I knew 22,500 was too small the day they announced it. (Geodis Park in Nashville seats 30K). Nonetheless, watching the club on the Telly's been amazing. Daz, "Office Blokes" is one of the few channels that kept me sane during COVID. I've prob. watched 80% of your videos - certainly all the "Key and Peeles!" Your take on Jordan Schlansky is prob my fave - your reactions never get old ; Cheers!
I heard there is a 13 year wait list for season tickets in St. Louis already and they’ve only been a team competing for five months. They severely under size that stadium! The problem with most of these MLS stadiums especially now that Lionel Messi is coming in five years about 20 of the 29 teams will have outgrown their stadiums. I would much rather have the stadiums be about 15,000 seats too big now so that way there they will still be usable and affordable when the sport grows. Now either casual fans will get priced out for the have to build new stadiums which is very expensive in five years.
@@shawnanderson6313 yeah but I’m not talking about just the games against Miami… After Lionel Messi leaves, you’re not going to retain all the fans but you’re going to grow the sport so much. More than 66% of the league already averages a full capacity crowd… The stadiums won’t be big enough to keep the ticket prices reasonable in a few years because of the extra interest brought into the league by Lionel Messi. That’s putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole.
I'd like to point out a couple of things. One- in some instances, an MLS club will build a stadium with a capacity of 20k or less and that's not because they are unable to sell any more tickets than that. Now, in part, they want to have a full stadium even when the team is bad and they want to charge more per ticket when the team is good. The other part, however, is that a lot of these small market teams are building infrastructure with the national teams in mind- both men and women. Even with the men's team, it is difficult to bring together more than 20,000 dues-paying supporters group members for more than half of these games. If it's a semi or a final against one of the major rivals, there's no problem there. But if the US is playing Jamaica or Guyana or Panama or Cuba in whatever competition at the early stages, those games- and these are most of the games- will bring in between 15 and 20k supporters, including those who travel in. Granted, this works a bit different in certain very large markets. New York and LA have so many international residents, there are certain matchups that the national team will avoid playing there. They want people in the stands that will actually cheer for the US, not against it. Therefore, in those cities, the stadium situation is more specifically about the MLS club. However, if you look at some smaller markets- let's do that for a second. The Columbus Crew built the first soccer specific stadium in the US, and it became the unofficial spiritual home of the US men's national team. Dos a Cero number one and two both happened there. The Crew have a new stadium now- lower dot com field- and they clearly want to continue to have a piece of these hosting duties. Staying in the state of Ohio, FC Cincinnati is fortunate to be in the league. It's another small market and the main reason they even got in is Probably because, at the time, it seemed like the Crew might be forced to leave. They were able to stay and TQL Stadium is so, so nice. They already hosted a US vs Mexico game there, the ticket prices were high, and the US won two to nothing. Nashville went ahead and built the largest SSS in the US and I do believe they are angling for some of the bigger matches. Very big matches are best hosted in dual purpose NFL stadiums though, but maybe they want to be the first choice for kind of big matches. Finally, we'll have a look at MNUFC. The Minnesota team. The coolest thing about their field is that it has some pretty high tech heating elements underground, right below the field. During the brutal cold of the Minnesota winter- even if it gets down to around 10 below freezing, which is zero in Celcius- they can gradually heat the field from below over the course of several weeks. They have to do it gradually because the grass and the root system has a certain tolerance for temperature change. If they really plan ahead though- and they have absolutely done this- they can get the grass looking green and perfect during the months of January or February even though the temperature is below freezing. And then the US men's national team plays a World Cup Qualifying match against a team from Central America in the dead of winter. It's well below freezing and the visiting team is absolutely not ready for it. The stadium seats 18,000 if I recall correctly, and the MLS team has good support. They can easily fill that stadium even if the team is bad. Meanwhile, the USMNT will come close to filling the stadium in February against a lesser opponent while it's brutally cold. They wouldn't come close to filling a 30k seat stadium in similar conditions. Let's also think about the NWSL, which usually plays games in the same stadium as the men's team. And let's think about the US women's national team. Where are they going to play games? These very nice stadiums- these soccer specific stadiums, with a capacity of 18 to 20k usually- are also the infrastructure for the national teams. Sometimes, anyway, and especially in the small market areas. They want to host those international games, and they plan around that. There's one more thing that I want to address at the end here. 1994 was a turning point for soccer in the US. The World Cup was hosted here and MLS officially came into existence as an entity shortly thereafter. Started play in 1996. Kids during that time frame were introduced to the game, and their parents brought them to it even though they weren't really raised in it. This was the Millennial generation, and no generation before that was really raised with the game. Millennials are in their 30s now. They are not college kids- that's too young by about 10 years at this point. Millennials have kids now, or they don't and they continue to live like kids to some extent. A lot of them have kids though, and their children represent the first generation of kids that are raised in a culture of soccer because their parents came up in a culture of soccer. When you look at which cities are going to do well with MLS attendance, you can't just look at total population. You also need to look at what percentage of the adults in that area are Millennials. Charlotte, Nashville, and Austin score really high on that metric. I think Charlotte is number one among cities at that size or larger. Larger cities like Chicago, Houston, or even New York City may not do nearly as well with bringing out MLS fans because their adult population tends to be older. Their older adult population is plenty busy with the Big Four sports leagues, these very large cities probably have all four sports leagues in town, and these older adults were never raised with soccer being a thing. They just don't care, and in some of these cities we are talking about a Huge portion of their population. MLS has done very well in its expansion to smaller markets. There are a lot of options to choose from, but they won't do just any smaller market. They're going after the Millennial parents- people who grew up during the 90's, got introduced to the game, and saw MLS come into existence. MLS is figuring out where that generation has tended to go to in order to have families and raise kids, and MLS is going to those places. Charlotte is absolutely number one on the list of such places, and it's not terribly surprising to see that they're able to fill a really large NFL stadium for some soccer matches. It's not surprising to see a bad team in Charlotte that averages around 35,000 fans in attendance per game, and a mediocre team is averaging better than 40,000. If Charlotte FC gets really good and they make deep runs in the Champions League in consecutive seasons, I promise you they will average better than 50k per game. Side note, it helps that there's no MLB team in the state of North Carolina. That really, really helps. It helps a lot. MLB teams sell so many tickets during the summer, and it's a long season that mostly coincides with the MLS season. I remember one example of something that happened in Seattle, and Seattle is known for having incredible support for the Sounders. I remember one game against the Timbers, though. Late in the season, rivalry game, and there were about 35,000 fans in the stands. You would have thought they would do 45 or 50k, but the Mariners were playing a game at the same time and they had about 30k in attendance at the exact same time. The Mariners were the worst team in baseball at the time, and I think they were on the verge of being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. They still pulled some fans though, and I'm sure a lot of them were season ticket holders. Anyway. Charlotte FC doesn't have to deal with that, and I do believe their current NFL stadium will get a face-lift and an upgrade well before they ever move into a smaller SSS. They will be there for the long haul, and they're probably going to lead the league in attendance per game. Everyone else that plays in an NFL stadium has a baseball team in town (or two if you look at Chicago) and nobody has Millennial parents like Charlotte has Millennial parents. That's all. End of post.
Charlotte FC season ticket holder here lol. We typically get around 34-36k (which I think ranks 2nd behind Atlanta for average attendance but not sure) each match; good atmosphere/good time but would love a football specific stadium. We usually just fill the lower bowl of the stadium. Open the upper bowl on occasion but not often. Will never forget that first home match, 74k+ there to watch football in America... electric!
Spot on with the FC Dallas stadium! It is for concerts, but it used to be our beer garden where +21s could go to scream things that parents wouldn't like their kids hearing. Unfortunately in the US they don't allow that "language around kids" when they decided to merge the new standing only section with kids being allowed 🤬😭
Sporting kansas city is a fun one. Its one of the only pure european style stadiums, and it shows in the fan showouts. Also, our original owner started the MLS
1. The Portland stadium that looked "naf" is basically the Craven Cottage of MLS, it is the oldest stadium and packed into the middle of downtown Portland and renovations have had to stay fitted into a small space. 2. Seattle Sounders/NE Revolution/Atlanta United/Charlotte FC all play in NFL stadiums, three of those teams (NE/ATL/CHA) are owned by the same team owners as the NFL teams. Seattle used to be part owned by the Seahawks but no longer are. Chicago plays in an old NFL stadium (the NFL team moved to a new one outside of Chicago). 3. Inter Miami's stadium is a temporary one outside of Miami in Ft Lauderdale, they are getting an amazing new one built in Miami. NY City FC are also getting a new stadium in Queens and won't play in Yankee Stadium for much longer (the Yankees are small part owners with City Group). 4. If you pay close attention to the years they were built you can really see how MLS stadiums are improving and becoming way more modern and "soccery" so to speak.
2. Should also be mentioned that Seattle, NE, and Atlanta had those stadiums designed from the beginning for both soccer and American football; Charlotte and Chicago were designed just for American. Also, the Bears haven’t even broken ground yet on that new stadium in the suburbs.
Thank you. They seemed so distracted by the tennis court on a neighboring building them missed the fact Providence was built in 1926. It's kind of a mix of new and old located right downtown. So while it didn't perk their English interest, the location, history, and atmosphere of Providence Park make it very unique and a great place to play football (now if they would only get grass!)
MLS teams compete in the CONCACAF Champions League (now Cup as of 2 days ago) which covers the US, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The US also has it's own version of the FA Cup. The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
Re: your discussion of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta at the 14:02 mark - Yes, it is the home stadium for both Atlanta United in MLS and the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL (both teams owned by Arthur Blank, the founder of Home Depot). All told there have been 106 soccer games played at MBS with an average attendance of 49,346 (not counting the COVID season in 2020 when attendance figures were not released). Several of the games there have managed to hit the 70,000 mark (14 of them in fact) and the venue is one of the 11stadiums being used by the US for hosting the 2026 World Cup. You also mentioned the Georgia and Ohio State logos. That's because in addition to Atlanta United and the Falcons, MBS is plays host to a number of American college football games. Georgia and Ohio State played each other at MBS in the College Football Playoff on New Year's Eve just last year. All told MBS has played host to 22 college football games with an average attendance of 63,254
You guys mentioned Sofi Stadium in California. I work at several large sport's venues in Orange County California/ LA County California. Sofi stadium is my favorite stadium/ venue to work at. I love the energy the fans bring to the environment. Whenever I hear the entire stadium sing a long to the National Anthem, it gives me chills. I also work at the Angel Stadium (Baseball), Honda Center (Hockey), LA Coliseum (Football), and BMO Stadium (Soccer).
Real Salt Lake's America First Stadium holds just over 20,000 rowdy fans. With one star on their Kit from their 2009 MLS Cup win the team has been and continues to be a joy to watch play! Undefeated in June we have high hopes to Rock the Riot and hoist another cup! Cheers
I attended the inaugural match for Charlotte FC. Absolutely electric atmosphere with nearly 75K in attendance. That said, they regularly fill up the lower bowl, despite pretty mediocre results thus far. Average attendance is around 35K. I honestly think it would be higher, but they don't always have the upper sections available for sale. I'm biased obviously, but the Charlotte FC supporters consistently show up and maintain high energy throughout matches. For The Crown!
Here in San Diego, CA the proposed team is set to play at one of our college's American football stadium called 'Snapdragon stadium', but I do believe they plan on building the team's official stadium closer to the border in the Chula Vista area, at least that's what the word has been so far. Thanks for taking an interest in this recent boom in our football league by the way!
As someone who has followed MLS since day one, its incredible to see how much the stadium situation has changed in just under 30 years. From playing in football stadiums to now most teams having their own grounds. Alot of interesting tidbits....Columbus had the first soccer specific stadium, their current stadium is actually their second after the commish forced them to move downtown or relocate. Some of the older stadiums, Dallas, Colorado, Salt Lake were built smaller and in the suburbs. Now these are seen as out dated as new teams are building in more central locations. Chicago actually had a soccer stadium in the burbs, then relocated to an NFL stadium in downtown. Yankee stadium still the joke of the league to be playing soccer in a baseball stadium. Luckily they have a planned soccer specific stadium, unfortunately its quite a way from where their playing today. Alot of support for the club, hope the new location doesnt hurt that
RSL fan, America First Field is super old, but the new owners just replaced the whole sound system and upgraded a bunch of things, so its probably here to stay for a while lol
@NiteTerrur I havnt been to RSL, but looks like a nice stadium. Not saying there's anything wrong with the likes of RSL. COL, or DAL just know they were built during the "Phase 2" of stadiums when MLS was pushing for them to be built as part of economic development projects in suburbs to allow them to utilize public funds. At the time it made alot of sense for MLS, allowed teams to build soccer specific stadiums and get out of the half empty NFL/college football stadiums. However now the league has grown the push is for teams to build centrally located stadiums. Feel like alot of the new fans to the sport don't understand where the league was 10-15 years ago. This older teams/stadiums don't get the credit they deserve for building the foundation of where the league is today. Completely unfair to expect a team like RSL to abandon what they got and build a brand new stadium downtown just bc that's what others are doing as "Phase 3" mls
We Atlanta United fans turn Mercedes-Benz Stadium (also where the Atlanta Falcons play) upside down when it’s a home game. It’s such a vibe in there and the tickets are too expensive, so you could go to multiple games in a season.
I saw a game at FC Cincinnati last season. Now that's a great place to see a game. They really did that one right. Also, my wife's company did some work on it, so I'm a bit biased. 😋
Went to my first soccer game at the new Nashville stadium a few months ago. It's MLS's largest soccer exclusive stadium. Every stadium after it on this list are shared stadiums.
yeah i live in atlanta and i can say, we definitely have the best looking stadium.... went in for a game once. and was surprised how big it was. and yes the falcons do play there.
I'm in Portland, Providence park. It says 25000, but the women's team, Thorns, sold the place out over r 28000. The men's team, Timbers, must have had more than that when the final game of the championship was played there. I couldn't find a seat I stood somewhere next to the beer.
I was at that game too, packed halfway up to the rafters in the Army. That last second equalizer is the best sporting moment I’ve ever been in attendance for.
City Park is one of the nicest stadiums I’ve had the privilege to be at!! Food and service is amazing very up to date with technology and how they go about doing things there
The thing about a lot of these stadiums, is that they are situated for the current attendance metrics that the teams can pull however, as the MLS grows a lot of these stadiums have the space and capability to be expanded into 60K+
Charlotte FC set Major League Soccer Single-Match Attendance Record with 74,479 at Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte FC.Mar 5, 2022 I was there. It was incredible
NYCFC's new stadium will be next to Citi Field, so the story there is that since they'll share the same parking lot, the teams will be forced to avoid simultaneous games. This situation is somewhat offset by both grounds being served by the NYC subways and the Long Island RR commuter trains. But they'll still need to play day games when the Mets play at night (and vice-versa) on weekends, and midweek games will need to be scheduled for weeks that the Mets are on the road.
MLS and Liga MX created a tournament this year called the “Leagues Cup” and all MLS and Liga MX are competing in a huge bracket win or go home. It starts in a few weeks. Only it’s first year but it will be prestigious in a few years, it already is.
Some MLS teams that are owned by NFL owners play in NFL stadiums. And the Columbus Crew are playing in there second built MLS stadium owned by an NFL team. The first was built in 1999 and was the first soccer only stadium in the US. Some of those older stadiums in MLS that were built in the early 2000's had no roofs or small roofs until Redbull Arena came and was the first real European looking stadium build in the league. I'm from LA but thanks to all the early owners that built this league took a risk when it didn't have a bright future! You guys needed me to give you a full history of each of these stadiums.
I live down the street from DRV Pink stadium. It was made for practice and an academy but the stadium in Miami has been delayed for years so they have had to play here. Walk to see Messi, I’m here for it!
I'm an LAFC fan, and I really love the unique design of our stadiums. The North End is where our supporters section is at (The 3252), which actually has 3252 safe standing seats. The stadium atmosphere is amazing and nearly sells out almost every game. But it's also amazing to see MLS grow these past few years.
Sporting KC have a pretty good following admittedly I've yet to be to children's mercy park even through their MLS runs.KC Current also built/are building the first purpose built woman's soccer stadium in the US.
Arthur Blank is the owner of both the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. The field is turf but will be real grass for the world cup in 2026. Before the stadium opened, United played about a mile away at Grant field on the campus of Georgia Tech. It seats 55,000 and most games were sold out or close to it.
You must really really follow MLS to remember the old Columbus Crew logo with the 3 workmen. That was their logo as one of the inaugural MLS teams in 1996. I miss that logo. By the way, all of the stadiums after Yankee Stadium were NFL stadiums. Lumen Field in Seattle and Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta were actually built in the first place to be able to convert to soccer. Believe it or not, they often fill their stadums for soccer.
Inter Miami’s stadium is only temporary. They’re building their stadium in Coral Gables right next to the airport. I think it’s gonna be called Freedom Park or something like that.
Providence Park (Portland Timbers) was originally built as a baseball stadium in 1926. In the early 1980s, the city made it multipurpose for baseball, soccer, and Am. football. When the minor league baseball team was relocated, the MLS redesigned the stadium to be what we see it today.
There’s talk of MLS and Liga MX competing in Copa Libertadores in the future, but for now we compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup which historically has been heavily dominated by Liga MX, but MLS is starting to hold their own in the tournament now.
MLS does a lot with Liga MX. They recently had a summer tournament called the leagues cup that involved all the teams from both leagues. As a fan here in the USA, I can say enjoyed watched the games live and on TV. Outside if the concacaf champions league the MLS doesn't seem to be willing to play away games outside of their league.
If you look at USL Championship stadiums, which it the second tier of U.S. soccer(football). Most are like three times smaller than the average MLS stadium. Many are getting new stadiums which could give them a bid for MLS expansion.
I will be interested to see what Oakland Roots does in the coming years. I think they're currently third-tier but that entire coliseum complex is going to be nearly vacant (the arena still gets some touring acts) and the city will have incentive to push a pro sports team after losing their others
MLS does have the CONCACAF Champions League which has teams from North America, Central American and the Caribbean. They also have the US open cup, but its not really a tournament with other leagues, its more similar to the FA cup
@Office Bloke Daz Sports Edition A lot of the stadiums are designed with one end detached from the rest of the stands on purpose because they are designed for concerts and other shows which probably get used more than the stadium does for actual futbol games. It might not look as nice but it's for a purpose
On the topic of international competitions that you have at about the 2 min mark... the MLS participates in what is called CONCACAF Champions League (similar to the European Champions League but obviously not as competitive) They also compete in the US Cup (similar to your FA Cup) ... AND now they compete in another tournament vs LIGA MX teams that I don't recall the name of right now. So.... they really do have a lot of competition already on their plate.
Also the average attendance for Charlotte FC stands at 38,990. Their record breaking attendance was 74,479 .... so... they could actually pack that stadium depending on a few factors like who are they playing ... time and day of game... how well they are currently doing... etc.
I'm sure you guys have already heard of most of these players especially David Beckham but these are our MLS greats Top Five #5)Dwayne De Rosario Position: Midfielder/forward Teams: San Jose Earthquakes (2001-05), Houston Dynamo (2006-08), Toronto FC (2009-11, 2014), New York Red Bulls (2011), DC United (2011-13) Honors: Four-time MLS Cup winner, 2011 MLS MVP and Golden Boot winner, six-time MLS Best XI, two-time MLS Goal of the Year award winner De Rosario had a knack for scoring dramatic goals, including the golden goal to win the 2001 MLS Cup. #4)Robbie Keane Position: Forward Team: Los Angeles Galaxy (2011-16) Three-time MLS Cup winner, 2014 MLS MVP, four-time MLS Best XI With David Beckham and Landon Donovan already in tow, Keane was the final piece for a Galaxy dynasty that won three MLS Cups in a four-year span. #3)Jaime Moreno Position: Forward Teams: DC United (1996-2003, 2004-10), MetroStars (2003) Four-time MLS Cup winner, five-time MLS Best XI Fourth all time in goals scored and sixth all time in assists, Moreno was the first to hit the 100 goals-100 assists career plateau. Landon Donovan is the only other MLS player with more than 100 career goals and 100 career assists. #2) Chris Wondolowski Position: Forward Teams: San Jose Earthquakes (2005, 2009-present), Houston Dynamo (2006-09) Honors: MLS' all-time leading goal-scorer, 2012 MLS MVP, three-time MLS Best XI, two-time MLS Golden Boot winner, two-time MLS Cup winner #1)Landon Donovan Position: Midfielder Teams: San Jose Earthquakes (2001-04), Los Angeles Galaxy (2005-14, 2016) Honors: Six-time MLS Cup winner, 2009 MLS MVP and Goal of the Year winner, seven-time MLS Best XI ranks second on the all-time goals-scored list and first on the career assists list. He's also won a quarter of the league's MLS Cup titles. Honorable mentions: David Beckham Position: Midfielder Team: Los Angeles Galaxy (2007-12) Honors: Two-time MLS Cup winner, 2011 MLS Best XI Beckham signing with the Galaxy after playing for European soccer powerhouses Manchester United and Real Madrid was a seminal moment in the league's history. Marco Etcheverry Position: Midfielder Three-time MLS Cup winner, 1998 MLS MVP, four-time MLS Best XI, two-time MLS Goal of the Year award winner Midfield maestro for the DC United teams that dominated in the league's formative years. Diego Valeri Position: Midfielder Team: Portland Timbers (2013-present) Honors: 2015 MLS Cup winner, 2017 MLS MVP, three-time MLS Best XI Arguably the league's most technically gifted midfielder ever, Valeri also scored the fastest goal in MLS Cup history. Nick Rimando Position: Goalkeeper Teams: Miami Fusion (2000-01), DC United (2002-06), Real Salt Lake (2007-19) Honors: Two-time MLS Cup winner, three-time MLS Save of the Year winner Rimando holds the MLS records for career wins, shutouts, saves and overall appearances. His stops in a penalty shootout against the LA Galaxy in the 2009 MLS Cup helped Real Salt Lake win its first title. Jeff Agoos Position: Defender Teams: DC United (1996-2000), San Jose Earthquakes (2001-04), MetroStars (2005) Honors: Five-time MLS Cup winner, three-time MLS Best XI, 2001 MLS Defender of the Year, 2009 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Agoos is second only to Landon Donovan for most MLS Cup wins. Eddie Pope Position: Defender Teams: DC United (1996-2002), MetroStars (2003-04), Real Salt Lake (2005-07) Honors: Three-time MLS Cup winner, four-time MLS Best XI, 1997 MLS Defender of the Year, 2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Pope scored the dramatic golden goal to give DC United the win in the first MLS Cup in 1996. Carlos Valderrama Position: Midfielder Teams: Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996-97, 1999-01), Miami Fusion (1998-99), Colorado Rapids (2001-02) Honors: 1996 MLS MVP, three-time MLS Best XI Still the MLS record-holder for single-season assists (26), Valderrama's popularity was boosted by not only his knack for dropping dimes but also for sporting the most distinctive hair in league history.
Inter Miami actually will be getting a new stadium in the next few years. It was finally approved by the city and has started minimal construction at the moment.
As an ATLUTD ticket holder let me explain. Atlanta United do share the stadium with the Atlanta Falcons, but many would argue that it is mostly theirs. The stadium was built with both teams in mind, including football and soccer specific facilities, so the only thing they share is the pitch. Atlanta United almost always sell out attendance while the falcons do not, thus why most think of MBS as United's stadium first. MLS also plays in the CONCACAF Champions League, so they do play other international leagues.
The United have the upper deck tarped off for most games. The Falcons average around sixty eight thousand per game compared to the United's forty something thousand average attendance.
I know I heard about it, I just didn't know who had done it, but in Utah our stadiums seem to pass ownership a lot and nobody really cares about it. Like they said it was the "America First Stadium" but I've always known it and will still probably incorrectly refer to it as "Rio Tinto Stadium" after the company who first built and owned it. But to give and example, the arena the Utah Jazz play in was owned by Delta Airlines for a long time and was called the Delta Center. Then it passed ownership 2 times after a long time becoming the "EnergySolutions Arena" and then the "Vivint Smart Home Arena". It's now only just getting it's Delta Center name back through a series of deals that are still in the works, but yeah, I think I'll always refer to our MLS stadium as Rio Tinto.
Love your reaction fellas. Many of the smaller stadia that are open air are designed to have additions in the future once clubs start getting higher numbers of ticket sales. Start small and build bigger later. Beckham’s Inter Miami are presently under construction for a permanent proper football stadium that will be very futuristic and loud. Should be ready for next season if all goes well. The Pink stadium that messi will play at this year is rebuilt stadium for old NASL Ft. Lauderdale strikers that Gerd Muller played for.
Montreal FC stadium is right now to the Montreal Olympic swimming arena & where the expos played. Canadians train in the Swomming Arena to train and let the public use it. NYCFC will get their new stadium built in Queens for 750 million dollars, so also playing at Citi Field
Really shocking to me how Atlanta just took to soccer so hard, didn't think it would be that huge there. Also hearing that hockey is back on it's way down there sooner than later.
It is no surprise to me. The South since the early 90s has been huge for youth soccer, more than any other region in America. These youth are now adults and are interested in seeing a game. Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville are first, second, and fourth in attendance. The South in 2023 really outperforms all other regions in attendance in MLS, NFL, NHL, and is competitive with the northeast and west for MLB. NBA is a little lower, but part of that is because they have teams in smaller markets like New Orleans, Oklahoma City, and New Orleans.
