Jump to content

2003 MLS Attendance


Crazy_Yank

Recommended Posts


TEAM             DATES    TOTAL      AVERAGE

Chicago           15       210,080     14,005 

Colorado          15       251,578     16,772

Columbus          15       243,756     16,250

Dallas            15       118,585      7,906

D.C.              15       233,476     15,565

Kansas City       15       233,594     15,573 

Los Angeles       15       329,752     21,983

MetroStars        15       237,326     15,822

New England       15       219,611     14,641

San Jose          15       156,989     10,466

MLS Totals       150      2,234,747    14,898

This is pretty good. Especially considering Dallas' awful stadium situation. They play in a higschool football stadium with field turf, and permanent gridiron lines. They atmosphere is terrible and their attendance has dropped nearly 50%. Thankfully they move into their own soccer specific stadium in 2005. Chicago moved back into Soldier Field and averaged 30,000 for their last two games.

Here is the attendance for the last 3 seasons:

2002 15,822

2001 14,961

2000 13,756

Last year's attendance was inflated due to several double headers with international matches, 4th of July games, and interest/excitement about the world cup. Especially the performance of the US and its MLS stars. The vast majority of this year's games were stand alone matches. Throw out Dallas' crap attendance and the league's average is 15,675. I think this shows MLS is on the right track and has consolidated a nice group of core fans. Now they have to improve the presention (stadiums) and the quality on the field. I think once all teams have their own stadiums and full scale youth academies (10-15 years down the road) we'll see something truly special.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by hamiltonfan

anyone know the average for series a?

Currently it is around 25,000. Through the 1990s it was consistently around 30,000. I think the drop is due to the fact that some bigger teams who play in bigger stadiums and cities (eg. Bari, Fiorentina, Genoa, Napoli, Sampdoria, Torino) have spent a lot of time in Serie B and have been replaced by smaller teams who play in smaller stadiums and cities (particularly in the last couple of years, eg. Ancona, Chievo, Como, Empoli, Modena, Siena). But in the 1980s it was up to 35,000, and the current low numbers have not been seen since the 1960s, so I wonder about other factors (eg. television?).

Over the last few years Spain has been in the 25,000-30,000 range as well, while Germany has been a bit over 30,000.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack

I know it doesn't matter much, but, Chievo plays in a stadium that holds over 40,000 people, and it was also used at the 1990 World Cup.

quote:Originally posted by Daniel

Yeah, but aren't they there because their own stadium is too small for Serie A regulations? Doesn't Chievo have a population of like 15,000???

I think he was talking more along the lines of bigger communities in Serie B.

Yeah, that's basically what I was getting at.

Let me rephrase my point: there have been quite a few teams in Serie A recently that just don't have the potential to draw huge crowds because of one or more of the following factors: (1) they play in a relatively small city, (2) they share their fan base with another comparable club in the same city, (3) their stadium is small (though I suppose even the clubs with small stadiums wouldn't get more fans if their stadium was bigger due to (1) and/or (2) --- in fact perhaps I'm wrong and stadiums aren't a factor at all).

I think Chievo falls under (1) and (2). They represent a small area of Verona, where I think most people are Hellas Verona fans. They used to get around 5,000 fans before reaching Serie A (as Daniel said, in a smaller stadium) and their attendance has tripled to around 15,000 since then, but they're just not going to get any more than that (unless the Verona fans switch teams, but that would be awful!). Compare this to clubs like Napoli who can average 40,000-50,000 in Serie A but are closer to relegation to Serie C1.

Anyway, just tossing around some numbers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by DJT

Over the last few years Spain has been in the 25,000-30,000 range as well, while Germany has been a bit over 30,000.

The Bundesliga numbers are impressive considering that some stadiums are under major renovation or simply having been built yet (like the one in Munich) - all in preparation for the world cup. Three years from now I'd expect the average Bundesliga attendance to be well over 40,000!

MLS attendance is horrible!! Don't know where they get their numbers?! Pull them out of a hat is my guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by Crazy_Yank

Yeah, they just make it up as they go along [8)] How many matches have you actually attened? I attend serveral matches each season. The numbers are accurate.

Attending matches personally has nothing to do with it. Even if you have season's tickets, you only see 1 stadium out of 10...

Well, at the very least, the numbers for NY and LA seem inflated. An average of 16,000 in NY means almost half the lower bowl of Giants stadium would be full (on average). Something I haven't seen even once .... and just from looking on TV there's noway 80% of the seats in LA are filled normally.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by Ed

You are as knowledgeable about the Bundesliga as you are about the MLS.

huh? What did I say about the Bundesliga that isn't true? Do you want me to take a picture of the incredible stadium being built in Munich or the 80,000 fans who are making a habit of going to Dortmund games now? I'm telling ya, the next World Cup will be the most successful ever!! Great stadiums, great fans, great beer. Alot of world cup players are not gonna wanna leave the country after the World Cup. Plus the clubs in Germany are not paying for their stadium re-construction projects so they're bound to make big money in the near future. The Bundesliga should be much stronger in a couple years.

As for soccer in the USA, I've said before on here that I think it will be big given time. The USA is not like Canada (a country that has found a national sport already). But success will come only once MLS quit their dreadfully phoney NBA-style advertising technique. Stop promoting the league as a whole and start promoting individual players and teams. And stop trying to cater to Joe 6-pack sportsfan! And don't expand too fast! They need to get Europeans in there directing the league and get them there fast!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...