Barcelona pulls in big crowds across the USA
Spanish giants FC Barcelona returned to America this summer, taking part in the Soccer Champions Tour as a headlining participant. And as usual, the legendary Catalan club was very effective at getting fans through the gates. FC Barcelona pulled some of the largest crowds for soccer in the USA to date in 2023.
Originally the club was scheduled for four matches in the Soccer Champions tour, but an outbreak of illness in the Barça camp forced the cancellation of their first game versus Juventus. That match was supposed to be played in Santa Clara, CA, but was not rescheduled.
FC Barcelona attendance this summer
| Game | Attendance | Venue | Capacity |
| 7/26 vs Arsenal | 70,223 | SoFi Stadium | 70,240 |
| 7/29 vs Real Madrid | 82,026 | AT&T Stadium | 80,000 |
| 8/1 vs AC Milan | 38,986 | Allegiant Stadium | 61,000 |
Barcelona was able to fill stadium capacity at a 89% average across the three games, boosted by better-than-a-sellout turnout for the El Clásico vs Real Madrid in Dallas.
The opener against Arsenal at the LA Rams and Chargers spacious NFL palace also was a packed house, filling 99.98% of the seats.
Overall, crowds for Barcelona in the USA this year averaged 63,745 fans.
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The only head-scratcher in the bunch was in Las Vegas, where they took on AC Milan. The Rossoneri are certainly no slouches, but Barça is usually a draw on their own. Perhaps sports burnout has hit Sin City, after the Golden Knights played deep into the summer winning the Stanley Cup. The CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal, between Jamaica and Mexico in the same venue only a few weeks prior, drew only 29,886 fans.
The year 2023 certainly kept up with past Barcelona appearances in the United States, which have been drawing big crowds each summer over the past decade+. Tune up matches or not, fans don’t seem to care and continue to make it a point to see Barça when they make the rounds.
Photo: Imago