MLS attendance report: July 27, 2010

10 Comments

1. Abram July 27, 2010

   Those numbers are really impressive for the week. Hopefully they stay up. I hope Philly and KC’s numbers improve based on their showing against ManU, and I hope that New York improves after showing up well at the Barcalay Challenge and signing 2DPs.

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   • IL August 1, 2010

     Well, as for Philly, PPL Park seats 18,500. Thus far, (knock on wood) its been a virtual sell out every home game. There is always room for improvement, but for a new team the Union’s attendance is great! Hopefully, it will continue into next season and years to come (but one never knows).

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2. Kasey in Oz July 27, 2010

   Wow, if I read his right, your season average is a whopping 16,671 per game! that is a really big number. I think its a rookie mistake to tie the popularity of Soccer explicitly to the attendance of MLS, but it surely shows the game is growing in America and the fans are recognising the better standard of play(I catch a couple of games on ESPN-OZ) It gives me hope that the A-League can eventually break out of its plateau in crowd figures experienced over the last 2-3 seasons and perhaps on the back of a big event(A better Socceroos performance in Brazil 2014 & we’re odds-on to host the Asian Cup in 2015)we can get a flow on effect to boost our crowd average up beyond the current 10,000 odd…well don USA Soccer fans! Don’t let the indifference shown by ESPN and other media out lets get you down. It seems like progress is being made in spite of the obstacles in your way.
   PS: I imagine things will only continue to improve with the addition of Portland and Vancouver to MLS next year!Big 4, p-shaw!!, it’ll be big 5 before you know it!

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   • eplnfl July 27, 2010

     Have to like that average attendance number for the year so far. Showing a larger number than two years ago is a plus in the down economy.

     Not certain that the numbers out of New York for the recent tournament are all of what they should be. With the Henry signing you would have thought a packed house would have been in order but it was not the case.

     Except for Man U. does any find the numbers for the Summer of Soccer a bit of just ok. could more have been expected?

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     • Charles July 28, 2010

       The Sounders started no one that usually starts and I found the whole thing a little boring when they played Celtic…until the end.
       It is a necessary evil, as the Sounders probably banked a million or so, which is obviously needed.

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3. Peter C July 27, 2010

   Kasey,

   Yes, you read it correctly. No doubt the league has chosen well when it expanded to Toronto, Seattle, Salt Lake(a surprise) and Philadelphia. They are 4 of the top 5 teams in attendance.

   We can choose to ignore ESPN’s indifference, but I am one that believes that in order to take the ‘next step’, MLS needs a lot more TV revenue. Then you can bring in top players and keep domestic talent from going overseas.

   And you are correct, a strong Socceroos performance will bring more attention to the league. Slow and steady has been working here for 15 years.

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4. Peter C July 27, 2010

   eplnfl,

   Yes, RBNY numbers have been disappointing. We’ll see once Henry plays in league matches, and if the Marquez signing is real, how he effects the gate.
   They have announced that the LA match is sold out.

   As for the Summer of Soccer, we got a bit spoiled last year. Lots of international friendlies in prep for the World Cup and on a club level, visits by Inter Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Barcelona. Man City, Celtic, Sporting Lisbon and Portsmouth simply don’t have the same drawing power. Perhaps a sign of an increasingly discriminating US soccer consumer.

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5. Mr. Moneybags July 28, 2010

   Uh. And the fact that people are broke.

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6. Charles July 28, 2010

   I agree on the news on the attendance front, it needs to translate into TV numbers. Some huge number of males have never been to an NFL game. All the money comes from TV.

   Almost all of the gains unfortunately come from expanded stadium of QWest and two extra games played by Seattle.
   Without that, I show the average to be 15,895 ( about 250 per game more ).

   Not too much, but gains are gains….

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   • Kasey in Oz July 28, 2010

     Charles: 2 extra games and some more seats released for sale by SSFC could acount for the increase, but the fact is, people still have to buy the tickets to the new seats and the 2 extra game increased cost of a ST.. in a ‘down economy’ it says something that these tix were bought and that the league as a whole has positive attendance trend(exempting DC – terrible season on the pitch, Chivas, NE and San Jose) I don’t know what the excuses are for the last 3 teams mentioned, but even if we accept your worst case interpretation of the stats, the league has positive trends, which is a remarkable thing when you consider the amount of ‘talking heads’ out there who consistently try to tell America and the World that the USA just isn’t a ‘soccer nation’

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