Barring a huge final weekend, hopes that MLS was going to break its all-time average attendance record will go unfulfilled.
MLS Attendance Heading Back In Right Direction
The final numbers will probably be anywhere from 500-1,000 short of the average attendance the league announced during its inaugural year. That season, the league reported 17,406 average paying customers while the league filled the 12-year-old void left by the NASL.
Since then, MLS has never again cracked a 17,000 average, coming closest in 2007 when David Beckham was largely responsible for an average attendance of 16,770.
That Beckham-related number is highly unlikely to be surpassed this season, but the current average of 16,621 is the best mark in a season that didn’t have an obvious gimmick pulling fans in (novelty in 1996, Beckham in ‘07).
As an online article for the Wall Street Journal points out, five of the 13 MLS clubs that are in the same market as an NBA team outdraw their indoor competitors.
The most extreme example of this is the New York Red Bulls averaging about 42 percent more fans than the New Jersey Nets.
No one is claiming MLS is more popular than the NBA. But it seems clear that the league is starting to make a real foothold in the consciousness of the American sports fan. Seven teams are averaging at least 16,000 fans and Seattle is now among the top-40 teams attendance-wise in the world. Next year, it stands to reason that the league will get another decent bump with the opening of the Wizards new stadium. Real Salt Lake just broke 20,000 for a CONCACAF Champions League match.
There are still plenty of trouble signs -- the Rapids, Crew and FC Dallas are all struggling to draw in soccer-specific stadiums; New England, San Jose and DC really need to find new homes; and the TV numbers are pretty ugly -- but nearly 4 million people will see MLS matches in person this season despite the country being in one of its worst recessions in history.
This may not have been the banner year many were hoping for, but it’s undeniable step in the right direction.
See More:
