Major League Soccer had a historic year this season with attendance at stadiums, product consumption and growth in social media.
Rodrigo SerranoRodASerranoAndy HallUpdate: Oct 19th, 2023 17:44 EDT
MEGAN BRIGGSAFP
This weekend five teams will seek a direct ticket to the Major League Soccer 2023 playoffs. There are still two tickets up for grabs in the Eastern Conference and three in the Western Conference. After 34 weeks we will find out which 18 teams will be competing for the MLS Cup to culminate an historic year for the league.
The records broken this season have set the bar high for the 2024 MLS season, the 28th since the league was inaugurated in 1996. It will be almost impossible to top the signings which arrived this year, especially the arrival of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to Inter Miami last summer.
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Oct 18, 2023; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) in attendance for the match between Charlotte FC and Inter Miami at DRV PNK Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY SportsSam NavarroUSA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
There is already speculation that more world class players will move to MLS next year to continue raising the level and attracting more fans. Here we review some of the records that were broken during 2023, which was a historic year on many fronts.
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FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 07: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF warms up against the FC Cincinnati during the second half at DRV PNK Stadium on October 07, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Megan Briggs/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Megan Briggs / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)MEGAN BRIGGSAFP
Stadium attendance
Expansion franchise St Louis City, was the pleasant surprise in its MLS debut. The team finished top of the Western Conference, securing home field advantage, at CITYPARK stadium, for the playoffs. Major League Soccer set the record for the highest total attendance in a single campaign with a total of 10,432,703 fans turning up to watch games. At the end of week 34, regular season attendance is expected to end at 10.9 million.
The match that had initially been scheduled to be played in the first week of the 2023 season between the Los Angeles Galaxy and LAFC broke all attendance records in MLS. Due to the rains that hit California, El Tráfico was scheduled for United States Independence Day, July 4, and 82,110 fans gathered at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
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Jul 4, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; A general overall view of MLS record crowd of 82,110 during the game between the LA Galaxy and the LAFC at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY SportsKirby LeeUSA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
It broke the previous attendance record for a single regular season match that Charlotte FC had established on March 4, 2022. That match was played against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Bank of America Stadium and 74,479 fans turned out for the first home game played for the then-Major League Soccer expansion team. Atlanta United became the first team in league history to reach 5 million spectators when playing at home, at their Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in 103 regular season games. The 5-Stripes set the record with 42,684 supporters in the stands for Columbus Crew’s visit on 7 October.
