An abbreviated post due to my being on the road.
After week 20 the numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
| WK 20 | 143 GP | YTD | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2005 | 21,232 | 10 | 14,849 | 14,905 | 134 | |||
| 2006 | 17,497 | -17.59% | 7 | 15,496 | 4.36% | 15,449 | 3.65% | 128 |
| 2007 | 23,740 | 35.68% | 7 | 15,942 | 2.88% | 15,899 | 2.91% | 129 |
| 2008 | 13,907 | -41.42% | 4 | 16,542 | 3.76% | 17,049 | 7.23% | 132 |
| 2009 | 12,055 | -13.32% | 6 | 15,412 | -6.83% | 15,412 | -9.60% | 143 |
Here are the attendance comparisons to 2008’s equal number of home games(143):
| MLS Attendance Averages – Equal # of Home Games | |||||||
| 2008 | 2009 | ||||||
| Att | Cap | Att | Att +/- | GP | Cap | Cap | |
| Seattle | 0 | 0.00% | 30,204 | NA | 11 | 94.39% | 32,000 |
| Toronto | 20,173 | 91.79% | 20,278 | 0.52% | 11 | 92.26% | 21,978 |
| LA Galaxy | 25,348 | 93.88% | 19,292 | -23.89% | 9 | 71.45% | 27,000 |
| Real Salt Lake | 15,412 | 74.09% | 16,353 | 6.11% | 9 | 73.69% | 19,340 |
| ChivasUSA | 14,286 | 52.91% | 16,211 | 13.48% | 9 | 60.04% | 27,000 |
| Houston | 15,701 | 69.78% | 15,538 | -1.04% | 10 | 69.06% | 22,500 |
| D.C. United | 20,133 | 89.48% | 15,193 | -24.53% | 9 | 67.53% | 22,500 |
| Columbus Crew | 13,681 | 68.40% | 13,114 | -4.14% | 10 | 65.57% | 20,000 |
| NE Revolution | 16,494 | 73.31% | 13,088 | -20.65% | 8 | 58.17% | 22,500 |
| Chicago | 17,092 | 85.46% | 13,027 | -23.78% | 9 | 65.13% | 20,000 |
| Colorado Rapids | 13,930 | 77.02% | 12,711 | -8.75% | 10 | 70.28% | 18,086 |
| N.Y./N.J. Red Bulls | 17,385 | 69.02% | 12,702 | -26.94% | 9 | 50.43% | 25,189 |
| San Jose | 15,396 | 86.87% | 11,104 | -27.88% | 10 | 51.80% | 10,300 |
| KC Wizards | 9,596 | 92.40% | 10,024 | 4.46% | 9 | 96.52% | 10,385 |
| FC Dallas | 14,420 | 70.34% | 9,407 | -34.76% | 10 | 45.89% | 20,500 |
My disclaimer about the capacity calculations
Observations
Week 20 games drew a relatively weak attendance average of 12,055, down from last year’s 13,907 for four games. Colorado and Dallas drew modest numbers of 10,851 and 10,317, although Dallas’ numbers were up over its pathetic season average of around 9,400.
Meanwhile FC Barcelona and the Galaxy sold out the 93,137 seats in the Rose Bowl as the ‘Summer of Soccer’ rolls on, proving that a great club and celebrity will bring fans to soccer matches in the US.
| YTD – 143 Games | ||||
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>20k | |
| 2005 | 14,849 | 12,199 | 30.07% | 15.38% |
| 2006 | 15,496 | 13,056 | 20.98% | 18.18% |
| 2007 | 15,942 | 14,351 | 9.79% | 23.08% |
| 2008 | 16,542 | 15,276 | 11.19% | 25.87% |
| 2009 | 15,412 | 14,441 | 14.69% | 18.18% |
| Week 19 Games | ||
| Toronto | 1 | TFC Connected |
| New England | 1 | Revolution Soccer |
| Houston | 4 | Soccer y Fútbol – Barnard Fallas |
| DC United | 3 | DCU – Steve Goff – Soccer Insider |
| FC Dallas | 6 | 3rd Degree – Buzz Carrick |
| Kansas City | 0 | Kansas City – Hillcrest Road |
| Chicago | 1 | Chicago – En Fuego Official Blog |
| Real Salt Lake | 0 | RSL – Behind the Shield |
| Colorado | 0 | Colorado – Undercurrent |
| Columbus | 1 | Columbus Dispatch – Crew XTra |
| San Jose | 4 | San Jose Center Line Soccer |
| Seattle | 0 | Seattle Times |
Just Some Stuff
The finalists for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup are DC United and Seattle. DCU looks to defend its crown while the Sounders are looking for their first hardware as an MLS club. The final is on September 2 at RFK stadium in DC.
