MLS attendances increase 1.39% compared to last season

So far this season compared to last year, reported attendances in MLS have increased by 1.39%. The marginal increase is based on the reported (not actual) attendances for the first 52 games of the season compared to the first 52 of the 2015 MLS season.

The reason ‘reported attendances’ are mentioned is because attendances in Major League Soccer always have to be taken with a grain of salt. While teams such as Seattle Sounders and Orlando City generate impressive numbers that can’t be denied, there are always some teams that report home attendances that are considerably more than what we can see in the stadiums and on television.

Having said that, the average attendance in MLS for gameweek 6 of the 2016 season was 19,150, with disappointing attendances reported in the usual places (FC Dallas, DC United and — surprisingly — Philadelphia). New England Revolution improved with an attendance of almost 17,000.

Here are the reported attendances for gameweek 6 of the MLS season:

MLS GW 6
Dallas	13,386
DC United	14,088
Houston	20,975
Los Angeles	25,667
Montreal	22,053
New England	16,935
NY Red Bull	21,406
NYCFC	22,930
Philadelphia	15,011
Salt Lake	19,224

Last but not least, here are the attendance numbers for this season (compared to last year):


MLS Attendance – Equal # of Home Games
	2015		2016
	Att	Cap	Att	Att +/-	GP	% of Cap	Cap
Orlando	42,135	46,174	40,101	-4.83%	3	97.53%	41,116
Seattle	39,606	38,500	39,747	0.36%	3	99.37%	40,000
LA Galaxy	24,362	27,000	25,667	5.36%	3	100.00%	25,667
NYCFC	28,328	35,514	25,317	-10.63%	4	84.39%	30,000
Montreal	19,133	27,340	24,799	29.62%	2	82.66%	30,000
Vancouver	20,646	21,000	23,759	15.08%	3	107.41%	22,120
Houston	21,454	22,039	21,390	-0.30%	3	97.06%	22,039
Portland	21,144	20,674	21,144	0.00%	2	100.00%	21,144
Sporting KC	20,059	18,467	20,199	0.70%	3	109.38%	18,467
Red Bulls	19,168	25,189	19,292	0.65%	3	76.59%	25,189
Salt Lake	20,538	20,138	19,253	-6.25%	2	95.61%	20,138
San Jose	18,000	18,000	18,000	0.00%	3	100.00%	18,000
Columbus	15,826	20,145	17,015	7.51%	1	85.21%	19,968
Philadelphia	17,027	18,500	16,019	-5.92%	2	86.59%	18,500
NE Revs	12,650	22,500	14,962	18.28%	3	66.50%	22,500
D.C. United	14,105	19,647	14,541	3.09%	3	74.01%	19,647
Chicago	14,121	20,000	14,149	0.19%	3	70.74%	20,000
Colorado	14,571	17,424	14,123	-3.07%	2	81.05%	17,424
FC Dallas	15,162	20,500	13,828	-8.80%	4	83.80%	16,500