Bank of America Stadium underwent $50 million in renovations over the last year. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
Charlotte FC’s home opener is shaping up to be one of the most in-demand games of the regular season, with an expected record Major League Soccer crowd of around 75,000.
- 70,000 tickets have already been sold.
- Of note: Atlanta United holds the MLS regular-season attendance record with 72,548.
Why it matters: When upper deck tickets went on sale in November, they cost $15-$50. Now they’re going for much more.
- Capacity for MLS matches is typically significantly less than 75,000, due to the size of the stadium or from closing sections off, which Charlotte will also do for most matches.
Seeing demand at this level in such a large venue is uncommon, a Seat Geek spokesperson told Axios.
“There’s definitely a lot of excitement around Charlotte FC’s inaugural home match – even in an NFL-sized stadium there is significant demand on the resale market for tickets,” Chris Leyden, Seat Geek’s director of consumer strategy told Axios via email.
“There’s only one ‘first home match’ in franchise history, and it’s clear that many people in the Carolinas are eager to say they were at Bank of America Stadium for that marquee event,” Leyden added.
State of play: Bank of America Stadium’s upper deck has been sold out for nearly two weeks, and plenty of buyers are trying to resell their tickets for more than what some seats in the lower bowl cost.
- Someone is trying to resell a ticket in section 509 row 3 for $150. Another in section 519 row 32 is going for $135.
- In the lower bowl, some resale tickets exceed $360.
By the numbers: As of Feb. 28, the average resale price for Saturday’s match is $107.
- But that’s a steal compared to Carolina Panthers tickets last season, when the cheapest resale price was $139 on Dec. 12 vs. the Falcons.
- Looking ahead, the average for upcoming Charlotte home games against New England Revolution on March 19 is $88 and $95 for March 26 against FC Cincinnati.
Context: Tepper Sports and Entertainment CEO Nick Kelly told Axios in November that $15 tickets were the organization’s follow through on affordable pricing.
- A limited supply of $15 tickets will be available each match.
- They saw backlash when they became the first MLS team to implement a personal seat license fee. Their season ticket prices are also among the league’s highest.
- “There will be affordable prices to all of our matches,” Kelly told Axios.
Of note: Kelly also tweeted Monday they will hold a few tickets for walk ups on Saturday.
