The Major League Soccer season got underway last week. It was a rough start for the league’s newest franchise, Charlotte FC, which learned the hard way that being an expansion side is not easy — Charlotte traveled up to the nation’s capital to take on D.C. United and got shellacked, 3-0, in the first match in club history.
The bad news is that things won’t get easier in their second match, as the team will take on the Los Angeles Galaxy, which won its season debut in dramatic fashion and boasts a dynamic attack spearheaded by Mexico legend Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. The good news, however, is that they’re slated to have one heck of a home field advantage.
As reported by Alex Andrejev of the Charlotte Observer, the team has sold 73,500 tickets at Bank of America Stadium for the game, which means it will break the league’s single-game attendance record. While they have not sold the game out — the stadium seats 74,867 — it will eclipse the previous record, as Atlanta United held the previous top mark when 73,019 fans attended the 2018 MLS Cup final against Portland.
“It kind of reinforces everything we always thought, which is that this is truly a huge soccer market and that the growing fanbase for the team would show up by the time we hit our first match,” Charlotte president Nick Kelly said. “I think even with all the challenges we’ve faced over the last two years that Saturday should prove that there is a very promising future for soccer here in Charlotte.”
Charlotte’s home debut against the Galaxy is slated to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday evening. The game will be broadcast on Fox.
Source: https://uproxx.com/sports/charlotte-fc-mls-attendance-record-home-opener/