Major League Soccer (MLS) has reported back on a regular season that has set multiple new attendance records, aided by the presence of the legendary Lionel Messi and the implementation of a new business advisory unit for clubs.
The 2024 regular season concluded on Saturday, with the MLS Cup Playoffs swinging into action yesterday (Tuesday) leading into the MLS Cup season finale on December 7. Earlier this month, MLS had already announced a new regular-season attendance record, surpassing last year’s total of 10,900,804 with 16 matches still to play in the 2024 regular season.
With the regular season now concluded, MLS said 11,454,205 fans attended games, an increase of 5% over 2023 and up 14% in comparison to the 2022 season. Some 21 of the 29 clubs were up in attendance.
Regular season average attendance was 23,234 per match, the highest ever, with 10 clubs setting or tying a record for average attendance. Sell outs were reported for 213 matches, with MLS stadia filled at a record 94% capacity. Season ticket sales league wide were up 12% in comparison to the 2023 season.
Across the regular season, two matches surpassed 70,000 fans, seven exceeded 60,000 and nine passed the 50,000 mark. The highest single-game attendance for the 2024 season was set on April 13 when Messi’s Inter Miami took on Sporting Kansas City at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in front of 72,610 fans. The match was moved to the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, to accommodate more fans.
The second highest attendance of the season was set on July 4, when 70,076 fans watched LA Galaxy vs Los Angeles FC at the Rose Bowl Stadium. The third highest was set on April 27 as 65,612 people turned out to watch New England Revolution vs Inter Miami at Gillette Stadium.
Messi signed for Inter Miami in July 2023, making his MLS debut for the club in the following month. Interest in the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has sparked interest across the League, not just for games at his club’s Chase Stadium.
“He’s definitely helped put us in front of a global audience, and he’s definitely piqued the interest of sports fans in our country,” Chris McGowan, executive vice-president and chief club performance officer at MLS, told the Associated Press.
“Our clubs have done an unbelievable job of taking advantage of that and understanding that players don’t play forever. We have the best ever playing in our league, so we got to be on our toes to be able to take advantage of it.”
MLS said total attendance for the 2024 regular season and playoffs is projected to be among the top three across all soccer leagues in the world, joining England’s Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga.
This season has also been the first full campaign in which McGowan has helmed a new unit formed to advise and develop strategies to help clubs perform better, particularly on the business side. As an example, McGowan told CNBC that the unit has helped the New York Red Bulls this season “with some decisions on premium seating that they’re going to launch in their stadium.”
He added: “We foster continued growth by being a great resource for clubs in areas like quickly and efficiently sharing best practices. Being able to quickly get information for clubs to make business decisions… these are things that maybe weren’t happening as systematically and as efficiently as they are now.”
