Boosted by the Messi Effect, Major League Soccer hit record attendance marks and saw expanded sponsorship revenue this season.
With the conclusion of the regular season, MLS on Tuesday reported a 5% increase in attendance over last year with a league-wide total of 11.45 million. That’s a 14% increase over 2022.
Two matches exceeded 70,000 fans and five matches exceeded 50,000. In an April match at Arrowhead Stadium, there were 72,610 on hand to watch Lionel Messi and Inter Miami play Sporting Kansas City.
The average was a league-record 23,234 per match. Ten teams set or exceeded attendance records and there were a record 213 sellouts. Even if Messi’s road matches were excluded, the average attendance figures would still be an MLS best.
MLS is expecting that close to 12 million fans will attend this season’s games through the playoffs, which start this week.
There’s no doubt the league’s superstar attraction is Messi, the clear front-runner for the league’s MVP …