Matchday

New England Revolution set attendance record as Lionel Messi visits Gillette Stadium

24-MD11-NE-Record-Breaking-Attendance

Another road trip for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF, another attendance record broken.

The New England Revolution welcomed 65,612 fans to Gillette Stadium for Saturday's 4-1 defeat to Inter Miami, surpassing the club's previous home attendance record (61,316) from hosting MLS Cup 2002. Messi produced 2g/1a, establishing two MLS records.

This comes just two weeks after Messi and Miami visited Sporting Kansas City, a match attended by 72,610 fans at Arrowhead Stadium – the fourth-largest standalone crowd in MLS history.

Revolution history: Highest single-game attendance
Attendance
Matchup
Date
65,612
New England vs. Inter Miami
April 27, 2024
61,316*
New England vs. LA Galaxy
Oct. 20, 2002
57,407^
New England vs. Tampa Bay
April 20, 1997
42,947
New England vs. Montréal
Oct. 17, 2015
41,355
New England vs. Philadelphia
Oct. 21, 2023

* MLS Cup 2022
^ Doubleheader with USA vs. Mexico

New England's new attendance milestone occurred exactly 28 years after the club's inaugural home match at Foxboro Stadium in 1996. It also follows a 2023 season where New England set a new single-season average attendance mark with 23,940 fans per game.

Aside from hosting Revolution matches, Gillette Stadium is one of five MLS venues that will host games during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Most MLS teams play in soccer-specific stadiums, but Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots) and Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs) were originally constructed for NFL purposes. The Revs have played at Gillette since 2002, while SKC normally play at Children's Mercy Park.