Soccer Draws 93,702 to Rose Bowl Saturday, Highest Attended Club Soccer Match in LA History

The Rose Bowl was in full glory Saturday, packed to its top rows with a sell-out crowd to see international soccer as Spain’s Real Madrid defeated Italy’s Juventus under a postcard-perfect sunset.

The match was not just the highest attended soccer match in the United States this year, it was the highest attended soccer match in the U.S. since 2018, according to stadium officials.

There is nothing quite like the thrill of nearly 94,000 fans turning on their cell phone camera phone lights to make a wave around the stadium.

In the end, Real Madrid handily defeated Juventus 2-0.

The match was the final one in the Soccer Champions Tour — a four-city, five-match series by a number of international teams over a nine-day tour.

Saturday’s game was the third and final game for both teams on the Soccer Champions Tour. Real Madrid had lost to Barcelona, 1-0, last Saturday in Las Vegas, and tied Mexico’s Club America, 2-2, Tuesday in San Francisco. Juventus had defeated Chivas, 2-0, July 22 in Las Vegas and tied FC Barcelona, 2-2, Tuesday in Dallas.

But the real winner could have been the plucky Rose Bowl Stadium, which proved it remains a contender in the Los Angeles venue competition.

The financial future for the Rose Bowl is troubled.

The City recently reported the stadium faces multimillion dollar losses over each of the next four years.

City documents revealed the budget projects for next year expect total gross revenue of $59.6 million but operating expenditures of $62.4 million, for a net loss of $2.8 million. The loss would be covered by operating reserves, but the City may be called upon to cover future losses.