August 3, 2014
FORGET NFL LONDON...:
Man United-Real Madrid friendly at Michigan Stadium sets attendance record for soccer match in the U.S. (Brooks Peck, 8/03/14, Yahoo)
Despite only being a preseason friendly, Manchester United's match against Real Madrid at Michigan Stadium drew a sell-out crowd of 109,318 -- a new record for a soccer match in the United States. The previous record of 101,799 was set by the 1984 Olympic gold-medal match between France and Brazil at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.The massive crowd at Michigan Stadium gave the match between two of the world's biggest clubs a much more lively atmosphere than these teams usually find on their preseason tours. And with tickets ranging from $45 to $189, fans paid a hefty price for the privilege to make history and watch the likes of Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale ease their way into the new season.
...the real money is in smaller clubs playing regular season home games here. Consider that the league doesn't require home teams to share attendance revenue equally and that when Man United plays QPR at home their stadium seats 50,000 more spectators than QPR's does.
Posted by Orrin Judd at August 3, 2014 8:35 AM
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