 "Messi fever grips Ohio as another MLS club smashes home attendance record")
Another match, another record! That pretty much sums up Lionel Messi’s time in the Major League Soccer (MLS) while playing for Inter Miami. And a new record was made on Saturday as the club clashed with the Columbus Crew at the Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
While the record does not belong to Messi, it was definitely created due to the presence of the Argentine footballing great on the pitch. With Messi in Miami’s starting line-up, 60,614 fans turned up in the Huntington Bank Field stadium, which is the highest attendance a Crew home match has ever seen.
Messi helps Columbus Crew make home attendance record
In fact, anticipating a record-breaking crowd, the match was moved to the Huntington Bank Field, which is the home stadium of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. The Huntington Bank Field is also two hours north of Columbus’s Lower.com Field but it did not matter to the fans as a new club attendance record was created on Saturday.
This is also the highest non-NFL attendance at Huntington Bank Field.
It held Crew breaks its previous record of 31,550 which was set in a 2-0 win over the New York/New Jersey MetroStars at Ohio Stadium during the inaugural 1996 MLS season.
A Massive Milestone 🏟️
— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) April 19, 2025
Thank you to the 60,614 supporters who helped us set a new home attendance record. It is also the highest non-NFL attendance at Huntington Bank Field. This one is for all of Ohio 🖤💛 pic.twitter.com/qt15U64dvr
The interesting bit here is that it is the second time in as many weeks that Messi has helped a MLS club break its home attendance record. Last Sunday, Chicago Fire FC played out a goalless draw at home stadium Soldier Field against Miami. The match was attended by a record-breaking 62,358 fans.
The record-breaking home crowd, however, could not fire up the Crew to a victory over Miami on Saturday as Inter won 1-0 thanks to Benjamin Cremaschi’s 30th-minute header.
The result sees Miami maintain their unbeaten record in the ongoing season of MLS. So far, Messi’s team has won five matches and drawn the other three, picking up 18 points from eight matches. They are currently third in the Eastern Conference.
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