Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be fully open for at least 6 Atlanta United games

Atlanta United fans fill Mercedes-Benz Stadium to start the match against the Chicago Fire Sunday, Oct 21, 2018, in Atlanta.

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Atlanta United fans fill Mercedes-Benz Stadium to start the match against the Chicago Fire Sunday, Oct 21, 2018, in Atlanta.

The upper deck of Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be open for at least six of Atlanta United’s regular-season games next year.

The stadium was open to its full capacity for five regular-season games in 2018, when the team led MLS in average attendance (53,002) for the second consecutive season.  The team’s original plan was to open the upper deck for four games, but it increased that total. The upper deck also was fully open for playoff games against NYCFC and the New York Red Bulls, as well as for the MLS Cup against Portland.

According to worldsoccertalk.com, Atlanta United and Mercedes-Benz Stadium featured in 46 percent of the 45 most-attended soccer games in the U.S. this year. The most-attended game was a preseason friendly between Liverpool and Manchester United on June 28 at Michigan Stadium, in which 101,254 tickets were sold and distributed.

Atlanta United sold and distributed more than 1.2 million tickets for all of its games in 2018.