Football
ESPN staff 7y

Atlanta United set to break MLS single-game attendance record on Saturday

Atlanta United is set to break the single-game MLS attendance record in Saturday's game against the Orlando City.

The expansion club announced on Thursday night that it had sold over 69,256 for the first Saturday game, when it will open the entire Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

In United's first game there on Sunday, over 45,000 fans watched a 3-0 win over FC Dallas, while 42,500 saw Wednesday night's 7-0 rout of nine-man New England.

The top deck of the new venue, which is shared with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, was closed off for those games, but it will be open on Saturday.

The move will allow Atlanta to break the MLS record for a standalone game of 69,255 fans, set at the Rose Bowl in 1996 in the Los Angeles Galaxy's first-ever game.

Five other MLS games have recorded higher attendances in the past, but those were all part of doubleheaders, led by the 92,650 that saw Chivas USA face the New England Revolution before Barcelona played Chivas' Mexican parent club.

Atlanta United, which played at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium while waiting for Mercedes-Benz to open, is also on pace to break the MLS record for average season attendance, set at 44,247 by the Seattle Sounders in 2015.

Atlanta is averaging 45,811 and has six more games at home. It will also open the top deck for the regular season finale against Toronto FC in October.

United is currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standing, but hold at least one game in hand over all the other playoff contenders, and are only three points out of third place.

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