Atlanta United opened up the full capacity of Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Sunday's match against the Seattle Sounders, and the Five Stripes faithful again put their stamp on the MLS record books.
The official crowd of 72,243 at the colossal venue breaks ATLUTD's own record, eclipsing the 72,035 who flocked to this season's home opener against D.C. United, and in doing so takes over the No. 5 spot on MLS' all-time list of largest-ever attendances.
That overall list comes with a big asterisk, however: The four games ahead of ATL's Sunday turnout were all part of doubleheaders with international matches, meaning that Atlanta now own the top three largest-ever single-game regular-season attendance totals.
The Five Stripes also possess the record for largest crowd in MLS Cup Playoffs history, the 67,221 who witnessed their dramatic penalty-kick shootout loss to Columbus Crew SC in the Knockout Round.
Top 5 regular-season crowds in MLS history
- Chivas USA vs. New England, Aug. 6, 2006 – 92,650
- LA Galaxy vs. Tampa Bay, June 16, 1996 – 92,216
- Chivas USA vs. LA Galaxy, Aug. 10, 2005 – 88,816
- San Jose Clash vs. D.C. United, July 4, 1999 – 73,123
- Atlanta United vs. Seattle Sounders, July 15, 2018 – 72,243
Top 5 single-game crowds in MLS history
- Atlanta United vs. Seattle Sounder, July 15, 2018 – 72,243
- Atlanta United vs. D.C. United, March 11, 2018 – 72,035
- Atlanta United vs. Orlando City SC, June 30, 2018 – 71,932
- Atlanta United vs. Toronto FC, October 22, 2017 – 71,874
- Atlanta United vs. Orlando City SC, September 16, 2017 – 70,425
