Major League Soccer: Another look at attendance numbers; FC Dallas averaging under 9,000
It’s almost a year into the 2009 Major League Soccer and attendance numbers continue to be low, most noticable with FC Dallas averaging 8,801 (through 6 games) and the overall average at 14,729. Most sports were expected to take a hit in their attendance due to the struggling economy but currently the league is averaging almost 2,000 compared to the 2008 season. However there’s no reason to panic and some good signs when looking at the attendance numbers. Here’s a closer look.
FC Dallas averaging under 9,000
Dallas continues to be uanble to get strong home crowds all season. This past Sunday against San Jose, Dallas drew a ridiculous 5,724. For a team that has their own stadium, exists in a large market, and has the demographics to be a popular franchise; this number has to be an embarassment. There’s no reason why this team should be averaging such low numbers. Part of the blame can be for a team that has been at the bottom of the standings and a poor stadium location. Whatever the reasons, it’s not a good sign for Major League Soccer when FC Dallas is unable to average more than 10,000 in their home games.
Seattle and Toronto lead attendance
Two of the newest franchises, Seattle and Toronto, currently lead attendance with both averaging over 20,000. The Seattle Sounders FC have had strong fan support and continue to average around 30,000 per game while Toronto sells out every home game. Both teams sell out every home game and have to cap season tickets as demand is higher than the supply of tickets. If every team had the fan support of these two franchises then Major League Soccer would be in much better shape on and off the pitch.
It’s still early, don’t look too much into these numbers
It’s not even halfway through the season and attendance numbers tend to be low at this point. MLS will see a boost when Beckham returns as well as the season heats up with playoff spots up for grabs. While it would be nice to see attendance up at this point or FC Dallas to average more than 8800 a game, there’s plenty of time for the attendance to increase.
TEAM ATTENDANCE REPORT - 2009 MLS Season
HOME GAMES ROAD GAMES
DATES TOTAL AVERAGE DATES TOTAL AVERAGE
Chicago Fire 6 70,357 11,726 7 109,292 15,613
Chivas USA 8 122,494 15,312 6 84,706 14,118
Colorado Rapids 4 49,638 12,410 7 95,597 13,657
Columbus Crew 5 61,843 12,369 7 116,844 16,692
FC Dallas 6 52,808 8,801 6 90,474 15,079
D.C. United 7 100,122 14,303 6 80,680 13,447
Houston Dynamo 7 108,359 15,480 5 58,776 11,755
Kansas City Wizards 6 57,539 9,590 7 124,753 17,822
Los Angeles Galaxy 6 115,367 19,228 6 103,570 17,262
New England Revolution 5 57,557 11,511 6 83,055 13,843
New York Red Bulls 7 76,763 10,966 7 117,450 16,779
Real Salt Lake 6 92,691 15,449 6 85,764 14,294
San Jose Earthquakes 6 65,293 10,882 6 70,938 11,823
Seattle Sounders FC 6 176,806 29,468 6 84,301 14,050
Toronto FC 8 162,136 20,267 5 63,573 12,715
MLS Totals 93 1,369,773 14,729 93 1,369,773 14,729
CLUB ATTENDANCE REPORT - 2008 MLS Season
HOME GAMES ROAD GAMES
DATES TOTAL AVERAGE DATES TOTAL AVERAGE
Chicago Fire 15 255,511 17,034 15 264,652 17,643
Chivas USA 15 226,717 15,114 15 255,975 17,065
Colorado Rapids 15 204,884 13,659 15 220,131 14,675
Columbus Crew 15 219,332 14,622 15 227,115 15,141
FC Dallas 15 195,356 13,024 15 281,712 18,781
D.C. United 15 297,531 19,835 15 233,133 15,542
Houston Dynamo 15 254,083 16,939 15 214,773 14,318
Kansas City Wizards 15 160,286 10,686 15 237,319 15,821
Los Angeles Galaxy 15 390,132 26,009 15 421,978 28,132
New England Revolution 15 263,706 17,580 15 211,938 14,129
New York Red Bulls 15 238,925 15,928 15 234,331 15,622
Real Salt Lake 15 242,690 16,179 15 231,367 15,424
San Jose Earthquakes 15 205,695 13,713 15 210,563 14,038
Toronto FC 15 301,793 20,120 15 211,654 14,110
MLS Totals 210 3,456,641 16,460 210 3,456,641 16,460
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