Expansion club Charlotte FC set to break MLS attendance record in home opener

MLS expansion team Charlotte FC will play their inaugural home opener on Saturday in front of what is expected to be the biggest crowd to ever attend an MLS soccer game.

The mark is currently held by Atlanta United who had 73,019 inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the 2018 MLS Cup Final against Portland Timbers.

Atlanta also holds the regular season record when they played LA Galaxy in front of 72,548.

With Barcelona on the road on Sunday against Elche CF and Bayern Munich restricted to 25,000 fans at Allianz Arena for their game against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, the attendance at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, could also be the highest worldwide this entire weekend.

If Charlotte hosts more than 74,221 fans for their contest against LA Galaxy, they will set the highest mark for a regular season game in 2022, currently held by Barcelona when they hosted Atlético de Madrid at Camp Nou on February 6.

The high mark for the year for any game is held by the League Cup Final between Liverpool and Chelsea, which took place at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 85,512.

Charlotte was defeated 3-0 by DC United in their first ever game last Saturday at Audi Field.

The Galaxy opened their 2022 campaign with a 1-0 victory over NYCFC at home in Carson, California.