MLS 2010 Attendance stats final week

It seems only fitting that I should do the last week's attendance figures as the first part of the MLS playoffs draws to a close. Why? It just seems that 3 of the teams with the lowest attendance could win the cup and will be hosting the semifinal: Colorado Rapids (13329), San Jose Earthquakes (9877) and FC Dallas (10874). Only New England (13018) and Kansas City (10286) have lower numbers than the Rapids.

With that said, we turn to another statistic: change from 2009. Both San Jose (-3836) and Dallas (-1567) saw declining attendance compared to last year. Indeed, San Jose saw the biggest loss by any team in the league. The Rapids saw a modest gain of +998.

Let's keep this in perspective, however. With the two highest-attended teams yet to play, Seattle (36500) and LA (21571), the spectacle on ESPN tonight will have a nice backdrop. Indeed, this season saw a significant increase in attendance overall when compared to 2009 (+1678). This is partly due to increasing availability of seats for Seattle (+5603 overall) and the major gains by New York (+5889) after opening the Red Bull Arena and adding Marquez and Henry.

How will next season compare? Given possibly sellout crowds for Vancouver and Portland, as well as strong attendance in Philadelphia, Toronto, LA, Salt Lake and Chicago, we could see the figure go up even more, perhaps by another 1000. And if the on-field success by Dallas, San Jose and Colorado can reignite attendance in those cities, MLS can look even stronger in the world scene.

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 30

These MLS attendance stats graphics may be a bit disjointed as I compile all the seasonal information. Also, keep in mind that some weeks have more games than others. This tends to impact trends somewhat but the numbers remain solid (5% error at most). A final MLS regular season attendance post will also be included in three week's time.

For now, besides the usual updated graphics on the right column, I'm providing two high-res images of the relative attendance vs average attendance. At some point in the first season I started with this project, I had a person point to me that I should provide details on how the two numbers are related. Most notable is the actual size of the San Jose and KC stadiums. This will change starting next year with the opening of KC's 18,500 stadium. San Jose will also be getting a stadium soon, but this has yet to begin construction. Large attendances don't always equal full stadium (LA, Houston, New York), and this analysis confirms it. As always, it depends on the size of the stadium.

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 27

The action in MLS continues despite NFL and College Football. Indeed, the bigger markets (LA, NY, Seattle) continue to have strong attendance. It may be safe to say that the dedicated fans are here to stay, at least in these markets. New England and Dallas have a long way to go. A possible switch of Chivas USA to another market might also shake things up. How about Miami? With New York likely to get another team, it would only be fair to grant the US capital of Latin America its own MLS franchise.

Increased attendance in New York notwithstanding, Toronto's steady numbers (~20500) are highlighted in the pie graph. They hold the larger porportion of attendance compared to the rest of the Eastern Conference. A proposed 30,000 seat stadium expansion may not be a bad idea. Also worth noting is the price of tickets at this venue: $90.78 compared to $79 at Manchester United. Wow. Whether true or not, it should raise a few eyebrows. Maybe TFC can start winning cups for a change?

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 16-22

Yes, I know it's been a long while since I last posted any graphics. As stated on my last post however, important matters needed to be settled.

Most important of all in the new analysis is the presence of Henry, Castillo and Marquez on the die-hard soccer fans in New York as well as the Mexican contingent in Chicago and the Big Apple. Their latest battle (in Chicago, sold out) came to a 0-0 draw thanks to newcomer goalkeeper Johnson. A future USA prospect? Perhaps. This country has a knack for great goalies. I leave you with an amplified view of the change in attendance from 2009. Most glaring is the jump in New York given its new stadium and marquee acquisitions. Seattle also upped its capacity and keeps selling out every week.

More to come. Stay tuned.

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 13-15

Yes, World Cup action is all over the place. Don't forget we have our own league here in the US, and it's back in action after the group phase ended. Note that a lot more people are showing up to games due, perhaps, to increased buzz about the sport. Philly just opened their new PPL Park soccer-specific stadium on the banks of the Delaware river in Chester, PA. The capacity crowd of 18,700 showed once again why the sport is here to stay. Out in LA yesterday fans cheered their hearts out for their players. And no, it wasn't David Beckham. It was the American Hero Landon Donovan. A capacity 27,000 crowd watched the game from the stands (and the lawn). We have to credit Donovan and the US national team for this. Crowds are also up in Dallas, Toronto, Salt Lake City and Colorado. Expect crowds to remain high as the season rolls on.

Stats graphics are on the right column.

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 12

Attendance graphics have been updated for week 12. Note that Dallas has recovered slightly after having a 14K attendance day. DCU also saw a slight rebound with attendance at 15K. Finally, TFC saw its stadium full once more. New York (18K) and LA (20K) also had important gains (not shown, counted for week 13). We can expect fuller stadiums after the world cup.

MLS 2009 Attendance stats week 11

I will be short on this one. Please also be aware that MLS 2010 attendance graphics are likely to come less often for the next 3 months due to the World Cup and other commitments. It's fascinating material, however, so this by no way means that no more graphics will be available.

Most interesting this past week was the great attendance for the Columbus versus Galaxy match... and rightly so since they are the hottest teams in the league. Colorado also sold out a game against Seattle. Decent attendance for RSL at 80% for their last match. Tonight's match at the Red Bull Arena had poor attendance... about 11k, much more like the days of the Meadowlands. But, Henry is (hopefully) on his way, as are one or two other big stars after the World Cup. Expect attendance to rise after the tournament is over. Sometimes Americans can't get enough of a good thing.

MLS 2009 Attendance stats weeks 7-10

Apologies for the long delay. This sort of delay may go through most of the season this season due to other commitments. Do expect analysis on at least a bi-weekly level. In this post we review weeks 7-10. Much has happened since the last MLS attendance post for week 6. Philly has played again in front of a sizable crowd at Lincoln Financial Field (28,000 aproximately). Seattle keeps on selling out 35K+, albeit still beaten at home to teams like LA and San Jose. Dallas is drawing slightly larger crowds and barely outside the 4-digit realm. New England is also weak. Above we present a high-res view at changes in average attendance from 2009 to 2010. New York is a big winner, even if they haven't sold out their brand-new Red Bull Arena. Expect this place to be rocking once Thierry Henry comes to town after the World Cup.

MLS 2009 Attendance stats week 6

Figures have been updated through week 6. You will notice a dip in TFC attendance (below 20K?!). Not by much, but certainly bogs down on their differential from last season. RSL also had a poor showing and has lost its edge. DCU is understandable given their poor form... Too bad ESPN has to cover them (another weak attendance showing on national TV... when will they learn?!). If it weren't for Seattle and Philly's inflated opening match game we may have the same or even lower average attendance compared with last year's. Keep in mind that we average not the games, but each team's average of their own games. This filters out some of the noise. New York remains strong, despite their less-than-stellar numbers (about 15k+ at their last home game). Anything is better than last year's numbers... on and off the field.

MLS 2009 Attendance stats week 5

A quick update on Week 5 attendance. Yes, numbers were lower this week. Why, you ask? People failed to show up to New York's best new stadium--Red Bull Arena. Only 64% full. And Chicago? Well, let's just say a bit more than half as much as opening day. More of the same for Dallas, and, inexplicably, on national television. Not a good way to get casual fans to watch the game. Colorado is also meandering around the half-full mark. Too bad, my experience at the stadium was such a treat. Also, take into account no DC, TFC, Seattle or Philly to boost final numbers.

Another way to look at this is a partial view of total attendance for each team relative to one another for each conference. Not much can be said at this point since some teams have only played once. Still, New York, DC, Seattle and LA all show strong numbers.

MLS 2009 Attendance stats week 4

MLS attendance for week 4 has been updated. Notice the entrance of TFC, always sold out, now increasing seating by 1,000+ seats. Dallas is the weakest marked by far, while SJ drew an underwhelming crowd of less than 10K at a barely 10K stadium. New York also fell, although there's a rumor fans show up at the Meadowlands instead. Week 5 sees New York against a new nearby rival--Philadelphia. Should be interesting to watch.

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 3

Welcome to the Union...actually, more like "Welcome, Union." Watch out, Seattle... another team is selling out 35,000 seats for an MLS match. Well, that is until June, when the Philadelphia Union will move out of Lincoln Financial Field and into their brand new PPL Park in Chester, PA. Their soccer-specific stadium holds 18,500, but that's okay, because it's better to have a full soccer park than to play in a cavernous American football stadium (New England) or a shared baseball field (Kansas City). PS: KC will get their own stadium so this is temporary and better than Arrowhead.

Back to the stats. MLS and their new website has made it harder to get actual attendance numbers, but I was able to find them through other sources. The East is the big winner this week thanks to Philly. Dallas disappointed once more but at least came out of the 4-digits. RSL and Chicago opened at home with sold-out stadiums (20K each). Relative to last year, New England, Columbus and San Jose show losses but we can expect this to change as more games are played. TFC has yet to open at home this season. They will open on Thursday. Enjoy the figures (right column).

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 2

Week 2 served to show if Colorado, DC and Houston would attract fans to opening day. We'd like to argue that DCU and the Dynamo did well in this respect. Colorado could have done better (2/3 full). Granted, the atmosphere at Commerce City was vibrant and plenty of fans on my side of the stands.

Seattle once again marks the difference. LA is drawing decent crowds, especially for its match versus Chivas. Still, you'd expect a sold-out venue for a derby game. Next week is Philly's turn, as well as New England, Chicago and champs Real Salt Lake.

Plots are on right hand column.

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 1

I'm updating attendance stats (always on the right column for new visitors) for the first week of the 2010 season. Seattle is the gold (emerald) standard of the league. Another sellout crowd of over 36,000 fans. New York are, not surprisingly given the Red Bull Arena, also in the top of the list with a near-sellout of their new venue. LA, Chivas and Columbus could have done better but were still acceptable, especially the LA teams. KC and SJ sold out their small 10,000+ venues. We can't hardly wait to see their new soccer-specific stadiums. Dallas is the ugly duckling here... barely 8,000 fans and below 50% capacity.

Colorado opens this week (I will be in attendance), as does DCU and Houston.