The first sporting event at U.S. Bank Stadium is expected to draw the largest crowd for a soccer match in Minnesota in 38 years.
More than 55,000 tickets have been sold for the Aug. 3 match between European teams Chelsea and A.C. Milan, according to Relevent Sports, a soccer promotion agency affiliated with the match. The game is part of the International Champions Cup competition in which top teams from around the world play in North America, Australia and China.
The record for soccer game attendance in Minnesota was set in 1978, when 46,370 fans came to Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington for a match between the Minnesota Kicks and the star-studded New York Cosmos, led by Giorgio Chinaglia and Franz Beckenbauer.
The host team for next week's match is Chelsea, a Premier League team managed by former Italian national team leader Antonio Conte and featuring players including Eden Hazard, John Terry and Gary Cahill.
Ticket prices on Wednesday ranged from $40 to $680 on Ticketmaster.
Harder to know is how many fans are going to see top-end world soccer, or whether it's primarily for the novelty of the first game in the stadium.
Then again, those Kicks games lured lots of fans with free parking and tailgating outside the old Met that was known to keep many from ever getting inside.
