World Cup attendances are on track for record highs despite daunting ticket prices and Trump administration travel restrictions. Experts say it is less a reflection of America's fondness for soccer, and more a measure of its love of spectacle. Through 44 matches, total attendance topped 2.85 million, with the average stadium about 99.6% full, according to a Reuters analysis based on FIFA data.
"Americans like big events," said Dan Rascher, a sports economics expert at the University of San Francisco. "They want to be there for the big moments." While this year's World Cup is bigger than its predecessors -- totalling 104 matches, up from 64 -- attendance is on pace to break the all-time record well before this year's 64th game. The existing mark of nearly 3.6 million spectators was set in 1994, the last time the U.S. hosted.
