And The Results Of MLS’s 2010 Attendance Stats Are…
By: Ben | October 27th, 2010
On the whole, it was a year of varied results for MLS attendance. With an overall average of 16,675, and an increase of about 4%, it was the league’s third best ever. However, while some teams soared, others floundered. The full team by team breakdown looks like this:
The biggest gains took place in New York (which, with a new stadium and two new DP’s to play in it, should be expected), Seattle (who went from biggest to, well, even bigger), and Colorado (still one of the smaller sides), with honorable mentions going out to LA (5%, whose attendance still in no way reflects their star power), Chicago (7.6%), and RSL (4.39%). Cutting out teams whose attendance shrunk, the average increase league wide was 9.56%, a very strong number.
However, at the same time, there were those whose attendance took a turn for the worse. This included Chivas (-3.42), D.C (-9.67, but understandable considering the dismal season), New England (-5.43%), and the two biggest losers; Dallas (-13.07), and San Jose (-31.57, a whopping percent). The overall decrease of these teams averaged out to be -12.632%.
What we can take from these numbers is that our league continues to be both a steady success and a constant failure simultaneously. Some cities are showing a growing, if not already strong interest in professional soccer, while one third of the teams which played last year are still decreasing at an alarming rate. MLS’s respect in the mind of the average American sports fan will come not from single soccer-crazed cities like Seattle, but from a strong backbone of solidly attended teams. This leaves no room for stragglers, as, frankly, there is now way outsiders will respect MLS if it still has teams averaging below 14,000. That may still be a huge reach for many markets, but it’s what will be necessary for the league to be seen as legitimate. Consider that if each of the teams with attendance below 14,000 had reached that exact number, the overall league average would stand at 17,485, setting well above the NBA and NHL.
However, its important to look at the positive side of these numbers. We increased overall. Stadium capacities averaged 78% (which, by the way, show just how desperately San Jose and Kansas City need their own stadia). And, while having no teams with attendance below 14,000 is still a dream on the whole, it is a great goal for franchises to strive towards. Overall, MLS is keeping its head above water. Now is our time to swim.
What do you think?
Category: Attendance
Comments
-
I watch highlights on the MLS website, and just by eyeballing, FC Dallas looks like it has 3,000 or so fans per game, maximum. It really looks like one day nobody will show up to those games.
With that said, I think things look pretty good overall. Just please no more stadiums out in the middle of depressing suburbs.
-
@kabir
basketball stadiums are usually roughly the same size as MLS stadiums, or slightly smaller, holding approximately 20,000 people
-
HOME SWEET HOME is a true soccer fans theory, well in my opinion it is. I am a season ticket holder with the New York Redbulls and believe me there is nothing more mesmoring than having your own stadium. Kansas and Houston are in the process physically and mentally establishing their facalities. I can feel for New England And DC United who really need their own soccer specific stadiums. San Jose were supposed to get their own stadium deal, only time will tell. All I can say to the team owners is, your on your second strike. It also really saddeneds me when I see how strong FC Dallas is playing only to a weaken attendance. I don’t understand why there crowds are small? Chivas in my own opinion should relocate to San Diego and get their own establishment. Seattle what can I say?, there fan base is amazing and still continues to grow. The two Rocky Mountain area teams are Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids. First, Real Salt lake manages to hold their own attendance figures but the Colorado Rapids on the other hand could do with a few minor volume ajustments. The Philadelphia Union defintely has an exciting fan base and so too does Chicago Fire and LA Galaxy too. Columbus Crew of which is the Father stadium of this great leagueand still manages to attract a decent attendance. Our three new expansion teams Montreal, Vancouver and Portland I am sure will probably hold their own. Toronto will probably continue to have decent attendance, but their team needs to sharpen its numbers. For the number twenty slot, there has been a serious discussion for the rebirth of the New York Cosmos. Living in the New York metro area, there would be nothing more exciting than having a second team across the Hudson. Soccer is a continuing growing sport in this country and Canada too. My thoughts for the future? I believe soccer will continue to gain popularity. We have to be optomistic but have caution at the same time. I would love to look into a crystal ball and see the MLS as one of the most competitive and enthralling leagues in the world.
-
As an FC Dallas season ticket holder…I can tell you the major problem with FC Dallas attendance. They don’t play in Dallas. Pizza Hut Park is in Frisco (which is a little more than an hour away for me, as I live in Fort Worth) which is a suburb of Dallas. It is a very affluent, suburb that doesn’t have much soccer in its blood. A move to a more hispanic-centric area would be huge for FCD.
-
I have a few problems with the above assessment and conclusions. 1) Qwest Field “capacity” being listed at 101.9% is misleading as the Sounders/Seahawks front office tarp off the upper bowl of the stadium. Essentially, the Sounders can adjust actual capacity (but not listed) to accommodate nearly any number. 2) Seattle’s unprecedented (and anomalous) attendance success skews the data as to virtually add another franchise (if you split its 36K into, say, 20K/16K or 18K/18K). 3) Claiming that per game attendance is on per, or stronger, than NBA or NHL is factually true, but also misleading as those two sports play 41 home games per season, which is more than double MLS. While encouraging to see stronger attendance numbers in MLS, it’s also troubling to see that three of the top four strongest franchises (SEA, TOR, PHI) are all three seasons old or younger (honeymoon/novelty effect), and NY (#5) also experienced a large honeymoon/novelty boost from its new stadium. Subtract recent expansion from the above list, and suddenly the view of league healthy is not so rosy.
-
Honesty Dallas is small because in all honesty Dallas has every sport, and the “Big Attrations” of the DFW Metroplex are all in Arlington Texas, which is covienently located in the center of the Metroplex. A Move to this City would place FC Dallas on the big map as they would be located next to the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Six Flags Over Texas, and Hurricane Harbor. plus Arlington is a very hispanic area in DFW so support could easily increase by around 3000-6000 per game and help allow Dallas to get a hold of a distingquished DP in the next transfer window, can’t wait to see how the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps fill out next season, and whether World Cup fever being done hurt attendance as a whole
-
I have to re-emphasize what the other 2 Dallas/Fort Worth based posters mentioned about FC Dallas attendance…. the team actually plays NOWHERE NEAR the actual DFW Metroplex! Frisco is also about an hour away for me and it’s still a 45 minute drive from downtown Dallas. Frisco is so far away from the vast majority of the population that the Texas Rangers were comfortable putting their main minor league team there! If they moved the team back into the Metroplex proper, where the 5 million residents of Dallas and Tarrant Counties could have easier access, I guarantee the attendance would increase massively. I know that I for one would certainly look into season tickets if they played closer the actual city centers.
-
I suspect that the FC Dallas posters are correct. While Frisco isn’t that difficult to get to, and I find the experience there to be a good one (the food excepted–see name of stadium), the team is absolutely off the radar in Dallas (which is surprisingly soccer-friendly). Playing in Arlington certainly wouldn’t hurt. There is definitely enough fan support in the Dallas area for the team to do better.
-
I think the problem with Dallas is that Texas will not embrace soccer. They are a football state and will remain a football state. However, like one of the posters above said, if they had built the stadium in more hispanic based area, they would gain much more support.
Also, as a Seattle fan I agree that the capacity % is completely bogus since our FO can make our capacity whatever they want using the tarps. However, I strongly disagree with Drew with his analysis that the attendance in Seattle and Toronto is some sort of honeymoon affect (I’m not sure about Philly). In the next few years I see Seattle’s attendance probably leveling off around 40k, but it will never drop down to the levels of some of the other MLS teams. Also, Portland and Vancouver will be strong additions that should put up attendance numbers in the top 5.
-
-
so keep doing dis….agar hair ki band bajwani hai tu plxxx keep using hair fall solution…..:d….. advice hmari decision apka….:) Plumbing Services Philadelphia iphone blog
-
Good article.
-
Really, the saddest part of all the numbers is how well and entertaining FC Dallas played this year just to see their attendance numbers continue to drop. I applaud the fans that do go to the games, but those that are staying home should be a bit ashamed….
http://www.thestraightredcard.com
-
In 2011, we will have two new cities in the MLS: Portland & Vancouver in the mix with brand new or renovated facilities. We shall see how the numbers grow.
-
Does it sound crazy that a vacation could simply be driving this for a road trip to nowhere in particular just for the sake of driving it?
-
soccer is a working class sport. put the stadia in downtown areas and you will sell seats.
-
Pretty sure I’ll be hooked the moment I get my hands on the wheel
-
It would be nice if more people had access to these vehicles. Reality is most people won’t even see these cars where they live
-
It’s still soccer…and it’s still gay. Nothing will take that away from the grass fairies.
-
I can just imagine getting behind the wheel of that bad boy, I mean how can you not?
-
Right about now nothing sounds better than getting behind the wheel and taking it for a little cruise through the city
-
Time to start saving up if I’m going to get behind the wheel of this bad boy
-
I would love to just cruise this bad boy around the city for a little while and I’ll be hooked
-
There’s no doubt Ford is coming back and as strong as ever, definitely a good thing to see around this time
-
Nothing sounds better right now then getting behind the wheel and taking it for a spin
Read the rest of the comments
Home 
