That has not dampened enthusiasm in the Queen City, where more than 65,000 tickets have been sold for the March 5 home opener against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Bank of America Stadium.
The MLS attendance record for a stand-alone regular season game was in 2019 with a crowd of 72,548 for Atlanta United — which on Sunday is expecting some 70,000 for its opener against Sporting Kansas City at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
MLS’s pace of expansion is matched by the christening of stadiums designed for soccer. The latest is in Nashville, where the third-year club has left the NFL venue for new digs at the fairgrounds three miles south of downtown.