ATLANTA — It's no secret Mercedes-Benz Stadium (capacity: 73,000-plus) stands above all other Major League Soccer venues, in terms of crowd size.
But how does The Benz compare to other soccer venues worldwide, where the passion for the sport burns with white-hot intensity year round?
Earlier in the week, the CIES Football Observatory group provided a detailed answer to the query, conducting a five-year survey of 51 different professional soccer leagues, spanning 42 countries.
The verdict: Mercedes Benz-Stadium, home to the reigning MLS Cup champion Atlanta United, ranks 10th worldwide.
Obviously, United has only been a staple of Atlanta sports for two-plus years, but the franchise also has a large-enough sample size (home outings) to crack the top 10.
In fact, Atlanta represents the only top-10 venue not to have roots in England, Spain or Germany.
Atlanta United isn't the only league affiliate celebrating the results.
**MLS finished as the No. 8 league in average attendance.
**The Seattle Sounders took 29th place in the above survey.
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TOP 20 HIGHEST AVERAGE ATTENDANCES (2013-18)
1. Borussia Dortmund
2. Manchester United
3. FC Barcelona
4. Bayern Munich
5. Real Madrid
6. Schalke 04
7. Arsenal FC
8. Hamburger SV
9. Vf8 Stuttgart
10. Atlanta United
11. Borussia M'gladbach
12. Manchester City
13. Newcastle United
14. SL Benfica
15. AFC Ajax
16. Celtic FC
17. Hertha Berlin
18. Rangers FC
19. 1. FC Koln
20. Eintracht Frankfurt
