MLS sets 5-year attendance record for playoffs and Conference games

Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Soccer has set a 5-year attendance record for their playoff games and Conference semi-finals and finals, increasing attendances by 19% compared to last season from the wildcard games through to the Conference Finals.

The top flight US/Canadian league benefitted from well-supported teams such as Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders being featured in the latter stages of the MLS playoffs and Conference games.

In total, for the 2016 MLS wildcard games through last night’s Conference games, MLS averaged 27,276 fans per game. Last season, it was 22,909. The 27,276 number this season broke the 5-year record of 23,390 from 2014.

With their 40,000+ attendance numbers, the Seattle Sounders have been an outlier since its entrance into the league. Although this season the showing of 60,000+ for Montreal in their home match of the Eastern Conference finals was quite impressive.

Of course, the numbers do mean a lot to the franchises that are showing strong playoff numbers as it adds revenue via ticket sales, food, merchandise and increased exposure.

For the 2016 MLS regular season, the average attendance was 21,690, which is an 0.66% increase compared to last season.

The 21,690 number is the third year in a row that Major League Soccer has broken its own attendance record. And it means that the league now has a greater average attendance than Argentina’s Primera Division, France’s Ligue Un and the Netherlands’ Eredivisie.

Here are the MLS attendance numbers:

PLAYOFF TOTALS (NOT INCL. MLS CUP)

Year	Average	Plus-Minus
2012	21,774
2013	21,911	0.63%
2014	23,390	6.75%
2015	22,909	-2.06%
2016	27,276	19.06%

WILD CARD GAMES

Year	Average	Plus-Minus	Home Teams
2012	12,813		Chicago		LA
2013	21,340	66.55%	Houston		Seattle
2014	12,899	-39.56%	Dallas		RBNY
2015	22,576	75.03%	DC United	Seattle	Montreal	Portland
2016	22,202	-1.66%	DC United	Seattle	LA	Toronto

QUARTERFINALS (CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS – BOTH LEGS)

Year	Average	Plus-Minus	Teams
2012	20,690		DCU, HOU, LA, RBNY, RSL, SEA, SJ, SKC
2013	22,789	10.15%	HOU, LA, NE, RBNY, PTL, RSL, SEA, SKC
2014	21,275	-6.64%	DCU, LA, NE, RBNY, FCD, RSL, SEA, CLB
2015	23,412	10.04%	CLB, FCD, DCU, MON, PTL, RBNY, SEA, VAN
2016	23,767	1.52%	COL, FCD, LA, MON, NYCFC, RBNY, SEA, TFC

SEMIFINALS (CONFERENCE FINALS)

Year	Average	Plus-Minus	Teams
2012	28,423		LA v SEA – DCU v HOU
2013	20,441	-28.08%	PTL v RSL – SKC v HOU
2014	32,864	60.77%	LA v SEA – RBNY v NE
2015	22,237	-32.34%	PTL v DAL – RBNY v CLB
2016	39,368	77.04%	SEA v COL – TFC v MTL