Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami has once again turned MLS stadiums into must-see events. Led by its captain, the club has been the main attraction across the country this season, and the league made it official on Wednesday by announcing its 2026 regular-season attendance figures.
According to MLS, Inter Miami featured in eight of the 10 highest-attended matches of the season. Among them were two of the three largest standalone crowds in league history, starting with the 75,824 fans who filled Empower Field at Mile High for the April 18 match against the Colorado Rapids, which ranks second all-time.
The third-largest crowd came on Feb. 21, when 75,673 fans attended the game against LAFC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Only the July 4, 2023, matchup between LA Galaxy and LAFC at the Rose Bowl, which drew 82,110 fans, surpassed those figures. Inter Miami’s visit to D.C. United on March 7 also ranks among the biggest crowds in league history, with 72,026 fans, the ninth-largest in MLS history.
These milestones are not new for the club. In recent years, Inter Miami matches have contributed to attendance marks in Chicago, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, where the game against LAFC set the record for the highest-attended match in MLS opening weekend history, and Seattle. MLS reported that the club’s presence has helped establish new single-match attendance records in multiple markets across the league.
That impact comes amid a historic period for MLS, which welcomed 11,251,962 fans during the 2026 regular season, an average of 22,063 per match. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons are now the three highest-attended regular seasons in league history, with MLS surpassing 11.2 million fans for the third consecutive year.
Inter Miami begins its MLS Cup title defense against Columbus Crew
see also
Lionel Messi reaches a new personal record with Inter Miami in the regular season finale
As the reigning MLS Cup champions, Inter Miami will begin the defense of its title as the No. 2 seed against the seventh-seeded Columbus Crew in a best-of-three first-round series. Game 1 will be played at Nu Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m. ET.
The series then moves to ScottsMiracle-Gro Field for Game 2 on Friday, Nov. 27, while if a deciding match is needed, it will return to Miami on Dec. 1 or 2, with the kickoff time yet to be announced.
The Herons arrive led by Messi, who closed the regular season by winning the MLS Golden Boot for the second year in a row, becoming the first player in league history to take the award in back-to-back seasons. The captain finished with 26 goals and 17 assists, the best numbers in the league, and he will be the main reference as Miami chase a second consecutive MLS Cup.
Columbus, however, will not be an easy opponent. The Crew won eight of their last nine regular-season matches, including six straight victories, to climb from last place in the Eastern Conference to the No. 7 seed with 47 points. The winner of the series will advance to the conference semifinals on Dec. 5-6, with MLS Cup set for Dec. 18.
