With fans barred from attending due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dresden decided to put tickets on sale at five euros each and appealed to fans to buy them out of solidarity.
Even the former East German champions were surprised when 72,112 ‘ghosts’ bought tickets, nearly three times their average attendance last season and over twice their stadium’s capacity.
Dresden said on its website that it would have been the third-biggest crowd ever to watch one of their games.
Lower tier sides in Germany have been especially hard hit by having to play matches without fans -- known in Germany as ‘ghosts matches’ -- during the COVID-19 pandemic as they depend more heavily on gate receipts than Bundesliga teams.
“Every Dynamo can be proud of this. That is certainly unique in Germany,” said Dresden striker Philipp Hosiner.