Major League Soccer (MLS) is the premier professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The league has 30 teams in 30 stadiums as of the 2025 season: 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada. At the time of the league's inauguration in 1996, MLS teams used multi-purpose stadiums, often shared with National Football League (NFL) or college football teams. Because of lower attendance, these stadiums had rows of seats covered in tarps to limit capacity. Starting in 1999 with the Columbus Crew's construction of Historic Crew Stadium, the league has constructed soccer-specific stadiums which are tailor-made for soccer and which have smaller capacity. Today, the majority of MLS stadiums are soccer-specific stadiums. While the league's early stadiums relied heavily on public financing, several modern soccer-specific stadiums have been majority-funded by clubs and their owners. [1]
The league's soccer-specific stadiums, with the exception of Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, have grass playing surfaces. The remaining stadiums with artificial turf surfaces are mostly used by teams sharing their venues with other sports, including American football. [2] Pitch sizes range from a width of 70 yards (64 m) used by New York City FC at Yankee Stadium and the Houston Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium, to 80 yards (73 m) used by the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park. [3]
As with the other major North American sports leagues, the majority of MLS stadiums have sold their naming rights to corporations. BC Place, Soldier Field, and Yankee Stadium are the only current MLS stadiums without a corporate-sponsored name.
The following is a list of current primary MLS stadiums.
Soccer-specific stadium |
Reduced capacity (Full capacity) |
‡ Stadiums with a retractable roof |
The following is a table of future MLS stadiums that are undergoing construction, have been approved for construction, or are existing venues that are planned to be used by a future team.
The New England Revolution have reportedly been in negotiations over a potential site in Everett, Massachusetts. [41]
Soccer-specific stadium |
Reduced capacity (Full capacity) |
‡ Stadiums with a retractable roof |
Stadium | Team | Location | Capacity | Construction begin | Planned opening | Surface | Roof type | Soccer specific | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Etihad Park | New York City FC | Queens, New York | 25,000 | 2024 | 2027 | Grass | Open | Yes | [42] |
Miami Freedom Park | Inter Miami CF | Miami, Florida | 25,000 | 2023 | 2026 | Grass | Open | Yes | [43] [44] [45] |
The following is a list of former MLS stadiums.
Soccer-specific stadium |
Reduced capacity (Full capacity) |
Reduced capacity (Full capacity) |
Image | Stadium | Team(s) | Location | Used for MLS | Capacity | Opened | Surface | Field Dimensions | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Houlihan's Stadium | Tampa Bay Mutiny | Tampa, Florida | 1996–1998 | 16,000 (65,857) | 1967 | Grass | unknown | ||
Lockhart Stadium (1959) | Miami Fusion | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 1998–2002 | 20,450 | 1959 | Grass | 116 by 75 yards (106 m × 69 m) | ||
Miami Orange Bowl | Miami Fusion | Miami | 2000-2001 | 23,739 (74,476) | 1937 | Natural Grass | [58] | ||
Raymond James Stadium | Tampa Bay Mutiny | Tampa, Florida | 1999–2002 | 32,000 (65,857) | 1998 | Grass | 115 by 72 yards (105 m × 66 m) | ||
StubHub Center | Chivas USA | Carson, California | 2005–2014 (Chivas USA) | 18,800 (27,000) | 2003 | Grass | 120 by 75 yards (110 m × 69 m) | [16] |
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 30 teams. MLS is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference Final. The MLS Cup winner is awarded the title of league champion.
The Eastern Conference is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Western Conference. The division of the conferences broadly follows the path of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, with clubs east of the river in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO Field, located at Exhibition Place on Toronto's shoreline west of Downtown Toronto. Toronto FC joined MLS in 2007 as an expansion team and was the first Canadian-based franchise in the league.
The Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup is a Major League Soccer (MLS) series between FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew. The series is named after the late Lamar Hunt, who was one of the league's early major investors and a key supporter of American soccer. Initially, the series was contested between the two teams still owned by the Hunt Sports Group. However, Columbus was sold in 2013, and thus FC Dallas remains the only MLS team still owned by the Hunt Sports Group. The Pioneer Cup is the second event in American soccer named after Lamar Hunt, whose name is also given to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Major League Soccer is the top level of professional soccer in the United States. It began play in 1996 with 10 teams and has expanded several times since 1998. From 2005 to 2025, the league expanded rapidly and has added an average of one new team per season. The league will reach 30 teams in the 2025 season with the debut of San Diego FC.
Jalil Anibaba is an American former professional soccer player who last played in Major League Soccer for Columbus Crew. He is currently a club ambassador for Nashville SC.
Major League Soccer is the premier professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Competition began in 1996 and attendance has been increasing rapidly since the early 2000s, making it one of the fastest-growing sports leagues in the world. On average, MLS draws to its games the third largest crowds of any professional sports league in North America, ranking behind the National Football League and Major League Baseball. Similar to the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball, attendance is based on the number of tickets distributed.
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, better known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Inter Miami plays their home matches at Chase Stadium, with plans to move to Miami Freedom Park in 2026.
The History of Major League Soccer began in 1988, when the United States Soccer Federation pledged to create a Division 1 professional soccer league as a condition to FIFA awarding the 1994 FIFA World Cup to the United States. Major League Soccer was officially formed in 1995. The league began play in 1996 with 10 teams, and in 1998 grew to 12 teams. MLS experienced some difficulties in its first seasons, with the league losing money in the early years, resulting in two teams folding after the 2001 season. MLS has rebounded since then, with increased attendance and the development of soccer-specific stadiums. With an average attendance of over 20,000 per game, MLS has the third highest average attendance of any sports league in the U.S. after the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), and is the seventh highest attended professional soccer league worldwide. MLS currently has 29 teams, with further expansion to 30 teams planned with the addition of San Diego FC in 2025. As of 2023, MLS is the largest first division professional soccer league in the world by number of clubs.
Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as in partnership with Toronto FC Academy.
The 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 25 and ended on December 9 with MLS Cup 2017, the 22nd league championship match for MLS. This is the 22nd version of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. Twelve teams, the top six of each conference, compete in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs was the 25th edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. The tournament culminated the 2020 MLS regular season. The playoffs began on November 20 and concluded with MLS Cup 2020 on December 12.
The 2020 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's twenty-fifth season of existence and their twenty-fifth consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. Columbus were also set to compete in the U.S. Open Cup, before its cancelation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season covers the period from November 11, 2019 to the start of the 2021 Major League Soccer season.
The 2020 New York City FC season was the club's sixth season of competition and its sixth in the top tier of American soccer, Major League Soccer. New York City FC usually played its home games at Yankee Stadium in the New York City borough of The Bronx. However, the 2020 MLS season saw the club play several of their home games at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey due to scheduling conflicts at both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field as well as winterization procedures during the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League which were unavoidable.
The 2021 Major League Soccer season was the 26th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The 2021 season included the addition of Austin FC as an expansion club, which took the league to 27 teams.
The 2021 Club de Foot Montréal season was the club's 28th season of existence, and their tenth in Major League Soccer, the top tier of the American soccer pyramid. This was the first season under the club's new name, being known as the Montreal Impact up until this point.
MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clubs and 2 independent clubs. MLS Next Pro is classified as part of the third tier of the United States soccer league system.
The 2024 MLS Cup playoffs was the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It was the 29th edition of the MLS Cup playoffs, the tournament culminating at the end of the 2024 season. The playoffs began on October 22 and concluded with MLS Cup 2024 on December 7.