Lower.com Field's first Major League Soccer Cup match brought in the most attendees the stadium has had since it opened.
Saturday's championship welcomed 20,802 fans to see the Columbus Crew win 2-1 over Los Angeles FC, according to the Crew. That beats the young stadium's 2022 record-high attendance of 20,757 for a match against the New York Red Bulls.
Strong attendance is to be expected for a league championship, of course. But the record turnout taps a big year for the Crew when it comes to attendance.
Including playoff games, Lower.com Field had 18 sellouts this year, 17 of which were consecutive. The previous franchise record was seven sellouts per season, four of which were consecutive.
The team started its second full season in the downtown stadium with strong fan attendance. The Crew's April match against New England home match brought in the third-largest crowd since the field's opening: 20,562 fans.
Prior to Lower.com Field's July 2021 opening, Historic Crew Stadium (the former Mapfre Stadium) hosted a record-high crowd of 24,741 attendees in 1999, according to StadiumDB.com.
Ahead of Satuday's match, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission estimated roughly $8 million in direct visitor spending to come as a result of hosting Saturday's cup.
Crew leaders said it takes a few days to get full reports on the financial results of these games.
The coming year will bring another major event for Lower.com Field when the 2024 Major League Soccer All-Star Game is played there in July.
The Crew is planning a week-long lineup of welcoming and celebratory events to welcome fans.
The city last hosted the All-Star Game in 2000 and 2005, but this will be the first at Lower.com Field.
According to our sister paper, the Orlando Business Journal, the estimated economic impact of the 2019 All-Star festivities was $4.7 million. Exploria Stadium holds about 5,000 more fans than Lower.com's 20,000.