A special July 4th edition of El Trafico, the affectionate name for the fierce Los Angeles derby rivalry, holds the all-time mark for the highest attendance for a standalone match in MLS history.
The 2023 Independence Day event was held at the Rose Bowl, where 82,110 fans jammed in to watch a shock LA Galaxy win, followed by a fireworks show.
The LA Galaxy vs. LAFC match blew past Charlotte FC's mark of 74,479 set during their expansion season in 2022, just short of a sellout at Bank of America Stadium. According to reports, the Rose Bowl was evenly split between LA Galaxy and LAFC fans.
The Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California once played home to the LA Galaxy, before they moved to their current home, Dignity Health Sports Park, in 2003. Thus, this will be their first match back in their old stomping grounds for over 20 years.
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Making History 🌹✨
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) July 5, 2023
A new standalone @MLS attendance record!
📰: https://t.co/AoWnWhRSYR pic.twitter.com/8r4rm4jI4m
MLS attendance records
Atlanta United, which plays at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, held every single MLS attendance record before Charlotte FC came around in 2022. The Five Stripes were an expansion team themselves in 2017.
Not only did Atlanta previously own all of the top 10 regular season attendances, with the top mark of 72,548, but Atlanta also registered the top MLS playoff attendance at 73,019 for the 2018 MLS Cup final against Portland.
But the Five Stripes and their faithful haven't made a run at the top 10 since the 2020 home opener. The now No. 3-attended game took place in 2019 and the next seven attendance marks were registered before then.
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Top 10 MLS attendances in history (regular season)
| Rank | Team | Date | Opponent | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | LA Galaxy | July 4, 2023 | LAFC | 82,110 |
| 2. | Charlotte FC | March 5, 2022 | LA Galaxy | 74,479 |
| 3. | Atlanta United | Aug. 3, 2019 | LA Galaxy | 72,548 |
| 4. | Atlanta United | July 15, 2018 | Seattle | 72,243 |
| 5. | Atlanta United | Mar. 11, 2018 | D.C. United | 72,035 |
| 6. | Atlanta United | Sept. 22, 2018 | Real Salt Lake | 72,017 |
| 7. | Atlanta United | June 30, 2018 | Orlando City | 71,932 |
| 8. | Atlanta United | Oct. 22, 2017 | Toronto FC | 71,874 |
| 9. | Atlanta United | Oct. 21, 2018 | Chicago Fire | 71,812 |
| 10. | Atlanta United | Sept. 16, 2017 | Orlando City | 70,425 |
Highest USA soccer attendances
The top 10 largest soccer attendances in the United States in history have been split between two stadiums, purely based on their capacity: the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California, and Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The largest-ever recorded attendance for a soccer match in the United States was a friendly between Manchester United and Real Madrid in the run-up to the 2014-15 European soccer season, which entertained 109,318 fans.
In fact, the International Champions Cup (ICC) exhibition series of friendlies between high-profile European clubs produced three of the top four all-time soccer attendances in the United States, all coming at Michigan Stadium.
| Rank | Match | Date | Competition | Attendance | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Man United vs. Real Madrid | 2014 | Exhibition (ICC) | 109,318 | Michigan Stadium |
| 2. | Chelsea vs. Real Madrid | 2016 | Exhibition (ICC) | 105,826 | Michigan Stadium |
| 3. | France vs. Brazil | 1984 | Olympics | 101,799 | Rose Bowl |
| 4. | Liverpool vs. Man United | 2018 | Exhibition (ICC) | 101,254 | Michigan Stadium |
| 5. | Yugoslavia vs. Italy | 1984 | Olympics | 100,374 | Rose Bowl |
| 6. | Yugoslavia vs. France | 1984 | Olympics | 97,451 | Rose Bowl |
| 7. | Brazil vs. Italy | 1994 | FIFA World Cup | 94,194 | Rose Bowl |
| 8. | USA vs. Romania | 1994 | FIFA World Cup | 93,869 | Rose Bowl |
| 9. | USA vs. Mexico | 2015 | CONCACAF Gold Cup | 93,723 | Rose Bowl |
| 10. | USA vs. Colombia | 1994 | FIFA World Cup | 93,689 | Rose Bowl |
The largest crowd ever for a U.S. national team game unsurprisingly came on the world's biggest stage at the 1994 World Cup. The United States played Romania, Colombia, and Switzerland in group stage play, all at the Rose Bowl, with two of those matches appearing on the Top 10 list.
The game against Romania was the highest-attended U.S. men's national game in history with 93,869 on hand.
The U.S. women's national team's highest attendance also came at the Rose Bowl. the 1999 FIFA World Cup final against China officially registered at 90,185.