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View Full Version : MLS Attendance down... 2008 > 2009



Damien
07-06-2009, 02:10 PM
2009 Average = 15,237
2008 Average = 16,487
Change = -7.58%

On a brighter note, TFC's avg is up...
20,288.10
+0.71%
Link: http://www.mls-daily.com/2009/04/2009-mls-attendance-figures.html

flatpicker
07-06-2009, 02:18 PM
man! Some of those drops in attendance are huge!

I can understand LA going down this year...

But DC, Chi, SJ, NY, Dallas are all big big negatives!

Damien
07-06-2009, 02:18 PM
It's totally to do with Beckham gone... damn yanks!

carefree_cfc
07-06-2009, 02:28 PM
recession

TFC USA
07-06-2009, 02:35 PM
No Beckham = No one cares

Screw the recession because tickets aren't that expensive to watch an MLS game. Well...at least in the States. :D

AdamZ
07-06-2009, 02:35 PM
I'll make the prediction right now that it will be even with or higher than the 2008 figure by the end of the season.

dcdcdc
07-06-2009, 02:35 PM
To me, all these attendances are fabricated.. with a couple exceptions. Paid or turnstile. You can easily see that these parks are more than half empty day in day out.. Real Salt Lake 16K?? Chivas 15K?? Who are they kidding

kodiakTFC
07-06-2009, 02:37 PM
1. Attendance goes up in these months.

2. Attendance will go up next season with new team and new stadium(s?).

3. Do these stats resonate with MLS yet? Hardcore > family

olegunnar
07-06-2009, 02:43 PM
So has the league grown? Here's the 2005 numbers from the BMO field document of 2006

Table 4 - MLS Average Game Attendance
(2005 Season April-October)

Los Angeles Galaxy 24,017
Real Salt Lake 18,318
Chicago Fire 17,238
Chivas USA 17,059 (Los Angeles)
D.C. United 16,277
Metrostars 15,077 (New York)
Toronto (forecast 2007) 14,000
Colorado Rapids 13,638
San Jose Earthquakes 13,037
Columbus Crew 12,916
New England Revolution 12,572 (Boston
FC Dallas 10,733
Kansas City Wizards 9,691
Average: 14,967

Page 18
http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/pec/2009/02-24/8-CSS0013-Document%201%20Appendix%20C%20-%20BMO%20Toronto%20Report.pdf

MUFC_Niagara
07-06-2009, 03:00 PM
When you try and market MLS to families and soccer moms this is what you get. Market to people who love football, make some changes in league structure and things will be better!

mmmikey
07-06-2009, 03:07 PM
The chicago and dc united markets are the ones i find most surprising/disconcerting. Hopefully this is just an early season anomaly for chicago after only 6 home games. DC's declining sales is scary though. For two of the better performing teams in the MLS right now and with great supporters groups, u would hope they would stay fairly steady.

NYRB u can attribute to the fact that the team sucks (as usual) and the stadium delays cant help. But on the back of an mls cup appearance? Wow. Maybe it's all the other new stadiums and seat licensing fees in the area that is jacking everyones pocketbook? Who am i kidding, its their marketing campaign at work.. "Oh man, I'm cancelling my tickets ASAP"

LA? Beckham.

Dallas has put out a crappy product. I mean, they pretty much screwed their support by grabbing Cunningham.

Houston... correct me if im wrong but hasn't fans been having issues with the university campus they play on?

SJ could be the expansion team coming back to earth. Hard to maintain fan support sometimes when ppl turn around and realize how crap their team is. Luckily us Toronto fans are used to crappy performances from our teams. :)

The solid +11 for NE and +6~ for both Salt Lake and Chivas looks encouraging though..

VPjr
07-06-2009, 03:34 PM
The 2009 figures also include Seattle, doesn't it.

Take Seattle out, and the drop off would be even more substantial, I think.

RSL is benefitting from a new stadium

Nice to see Chivas finding some more support.

Really surprising to see how poorly Chicago is doing at the gate.

I think DC's numbers are slightly skewed by the fact that, last year, they played a game vs. Becks and LAG in front of almost 36000 people at the end of June. The uncertaintly when it comes to the stadium situation isn't likely helping them either.

rocker
07-06-2009, 03:54 PM
i need to see 2010 results going down even more to worry.

the trend is more important than any given year.

from what I remember 2008 was like one of the best years ever in terms of MLS attendance. There's a dude on bigsoccer who keeps track of this.

This years attendance probably will be down from last, but it'll be pretty decent in the history of MLS.

mmmikey
07-06-2009, 03:55 PM
I think DC's numbers are slightly skewed by the fact that, last year, they played a game vs. Becks and LAG in front of almost 36000 people at the end of June. The uncertaintly when it comes to the stadium situation isn't likely helping them either.

Saw a comment similar to that that could explain the San Jose numbers. If you remove three games with massive attendance from 2 beckham games, and one vs chicago, their average is actually slightly up so far.

So I guess the conclusion we can all draw is that these numbers are flawed, and for the good of the league we need Beckham gone now so we can properly assess attendance. :D

Kaz
07-06-2009, 05:22 PM
by the end of the year the numbers will even out, but some of the clubs are getting insanely low attendance,
Seattle was supposed to help up break the 17k mark a bring average attendance above that of the Championship in England.

But with the numbers from some of the less popular clubs makes me sad.

Toronto Ruffrider
07-06-2009, 05:51 PM
The 2009 figures also include Seattle, doesn't it.

Take Seattle out, and the drop off would be even more substantial, I think.

RSL is benefitting from a new stadium

Nice to see Chivas finding some more support.

Really surprising to see how poorly Chicago is doing at the gate.

I think DC's numbers are slightly skewed by the fact that, last year, they played a game vs. Becks and LAG in front of almost 36000 people at the end of June. The uncertaintly when it comes to the stadium situation isn't likely helping them either.

Big events and doubleheaders historically skew MLS attendance figures quite a bit. If I remember correctly, New England played a doubleheader at Gillette Stadium last year, and the second game to be played that day was a friendly involving Brazil. The reported attendance was over 50k, which significantly padded NE's average attendance for the year.

Even an average attendance of 15k is very misleading. Take away Seattle and Toronto, and the MLS average drops to just 13,400. Once comp tickets are factored into the equation, the typical MLS team is a joke at the gate.

djking2
07-06-2009, 09:21 PM
The 2009 figures also include Seattle, doesn't it.

Take Seattle out, and the drop off would be even more substantial, I think.



No in fact when Seattle's numbers are included overall attendance is up for this season.

prizby
07-06-2009, 10:01 PM
KC's numbers will go up when they move

Keystone FC
07-07-2009, 01:49 AM
You also need to take into acount that KC and SJ are playing in either minor league baseball stadiums or college soccer stadiums.
Once they get their SSS (if the do) then the numbers will be more true.

the-lower-eastsider
07-07-2009, 02:17 AM
bottomline: toronto FC will ultimately lead the league in attendence real soon. and it will stay that way for years. americans only sing when theyre winning when it comes to fringe sports like soccer ...or even hockey in some US markets.... its a proven fact. xo

Cashcleaner
07-07-2009, 02:19 AM
You also need to take into acount that KC and SJ are playing in either minor league baseball stadiums or college soccer stadiums.
Once they get their SSS (if the do) then the numbers will be more true.

Hopefully.

I have a feeling the club will make a big marketing push for the team and the sport with the opening of the new stadium. The thing is, if they don't attract the crowds soon I don't know what's going to happen with them.

Pookie
07-07-2009, 05:39 AM
Toronto may one day lead the league in attendance but what will that league look like?

What's interesting to me is that some of the teams that are hurting at the gate are also teams that are winning and/or have a Designated Player.

When it is suggested that the teams market struggling to "soccer moms and families" let me ask, what is keeping the "real football" supporters away?

Do real football supporters need to be marketed to ie. some type of gimmick like free hot dogs to be enticed to see a game? Will they only show up if the team plays in a soccer specific stadium? Will they only organize if given prompting from the Front Office? Are they waiting for cheaper tickets?

I think the bigger issue is that the teams may have marketed themselves based on the players and not develop that sense of community that Seattle and Toronto did.

The league may wish to consider relocation of some franchises over expansion.

Make no mistake though, while it is not our problem at the moment, a drop in attendance hurts the league and we need to be concerned about that.