MLS Soccer Crowds Cheer To Be Back In The Live Action
The 2021 MLS season celebrates the return of fans back in the stadiums after the long COVID restrictions and enjoys a record-breaking year of stadium inaugurations. As fans return to their old seats, gates to new venues are thrilling soccer fans across the league.
MLS NEWS: As the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) Season enters the summer months, the opening of two new stadiums will highlight the growth of soccer in the United States. MLS will not only conclude the season on a high note with fans back in arenas but will also welcome additional soccer-specific venues to the league. But first ….
Fans will be back in the stadium (hopefully) for the 2021 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target is set for Aug. 25 in Los Angeles. Scheduled to allow fans, the 2021 MLS All-Star Game will see the MLS All-Stars face off against the LIGA MX All-Stars on at LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium.
“Fans have been looking forward to this historic matchup for more than a year, and we have no doubt the 2021 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target will prove to be worth the wait,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “A game of this magnitude in Los Angeles, played in front of incredible fans in one of the greatest soccer stadiums in global soccer, is unlike anything our sport has seen. This event is a perfect expression of the groundbreaking partnership that continues to build between MLS and LIGA MX.”
Around the USA … Fans are supporting soccer
The 2021 Major League Soccer season is the 26th season of America’s top pro soccer league and the sport has grown tremendously in the last decade with soccer specific stadiums opening across America to the delight of soccer fans.
Austin FC opened its gates for their inaugural match at Q2 Stadium on Saturday, June 19. The match had 20,738 spectators packed into Q2 Stadium … slightly over the official published capacity crowd of 20,500 when Austin FC takes on the San Jose Earthquakes. The state of the art Q2 Stadium is already the second new stadium to open this season in MLS, after FC Cincinnati played its first match in TQL Stadium on May 16th.
In Ohio, Historic Crew Stadium hosted its final league match when the Columbus Crew took on Chicago Fire FC on Saturday, June 19. After opening the first soccer-specific stadium in 1999, the Crew will debut the super cool new 20,000-seat Lower.com Field in the city’s downtown arena district, with a capacity crowd anticipated for Saturday’s match against the New England Revolution (5 p.m. ET, Catch the action on ESPN / ESPN Deportes).
As this record-breaking year of Major League Soccer stadium inaugurations continues, Lower.com Field becomes the third new MLS stadium to open this year – the most ever in a single season – and the 25th around the league to be built for an MLS team, following the 2021 openings of FC Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium on May 15 and Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium on June 19.
On May 15, 1999, in front of a crowd of 24,741, Crew Stadium became the first soccer-specific stadium in American sports history.
Since that first match, the Crew has posted a record of 181 wins, 84 defeats and 82 draws.
On July 3, the Crew will open the gates at the newly named Lower.com Stadium during its matchup versus the New England Revolution. The stadium will be the 24th soccer-specific stadium in the league.
Young MLS Talent Turn Heads
Stunning performances by young players in Major League Soccer continued in the last full round of matches when two players added their name to the record books with remarkable free-kick goals.
Gianluca Busio of Sporting Kansas City became the second-youngest player in MLS history to score directly from a free kick when he curled home an effort off the post in the 51st minute of his club’s 3-2 win against Houston Dynamo FC on May 29th.
Gianluca Busio had just celebrated his 19th birthday the day before.
Just a few hours earlier, Cristian Casseres Jr. scored a thrilling effort in the 60th minute of the New York Red Bulls’ 2-1 win against Orlando City SC. At age 21 years, 129 days, Casseres is the 10th-youngest to score directly from a free kick in the league’s history.
Media Credit: MLS
Top Image: Columbus Crew’s Lower.com Field
