World Cup opens with "thousands" of empty seats in Guadalajara
NBC Sports • • sports
Key Points:
- The World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara showed many empty seats despite official attendance figures.
- The stadium, the second smallest among the 16 venues in Canada, the US, and Mexico, reportedly had thousands of unoccupied seats during the game.
- Tickets were priced at $500 for lower-tier seats and $400 for upper-bowl seats, yet attendance was officially recorded as 44,985 out of a 45,644 capacity.
- FIFA clarified that official attendance counts ticket scans and spectators within the stadium footprint, noting some fans were standing in concourses rather than seated, which may explain the empty-seat appearance.
- FIFA emphasized that attendance figures are based on verified data, cautioning against relying solely on visual impressions of seating occupancy.