MLS Attendance Moves Past NBA, NHL Vol. I know it's early...

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[h2]Sunday, April 11, 2010[/h2] http://[h3]MLS Attendance Moves Past NBA, NHL[/h3] Fueledby rapid growth in soccer-crazed cities such as Toronto, Seattle andPhiladelphia, Major League Soccer has now moved past the NBA and NHL interms of average attendance, based on figures from each sport's mostrecent full season. Have a look at the #'s below.

1. NFL - 67,508.69 (2009 season)
2. MLB - 30,213.37 (2009 season)
3. MLS - 18,452.14 (2010 season, as of 04/11/2010)
4. NBA - 17,110.64 (2009/10 season)
5. NHL - 17,004.53 (2009/10 season)

Thinkthe league can stay ahead of basketball and hockey for a full season?How many years do you think it will take for MLS to catch up to MLB?Will there be a post-World Cup bounce this summer to push the #'s evenhigher?
http://www.mls-daily.com/2010/04/mls-attendance-moves-past-nba-nhl.html

Look, I'll be the first to tell you that soccer (football) in America is on an island by itself as far as coverage and exposure goes, but this is an encouraging sign for the MLS.

Bill Simmons has repeatedly said that with an NBA and possible NFL lockout looming, soccer is the sport with the most to gain from these other league's work stoppages.


[table][tr][th=""]Team[/th][th=""]# of Home Games[/th][th=""]Avg. Attendance
[/th][th=""]% Change From '09
[/th][/tr][tr][td]Seattle Sounders FC
[/td][td]2
[/td][td]36,153.50
[/td][td]+18.40%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Philadelphia Union
[/td][td]1[/td][td]34,870.00
[/td][td]N/A[/td][/tr][tr][td]New York Red Bulls
[/td][td]1[/td][td]24,572.00
[/td][td]+97.18%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Toronto FC
[/td][td]1
[/td][td]21,978.00[/td][td]+6.39%[/td][/tr][tr][td].C. United
[/td][td]1
[/td][td]20,644.00
[/td][td]+29.88%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Los Angeles Galaxy
[/td][td]2[/td][td]20,590.50
[/td][td]+18.60%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chicago Fire
[/td][td]1
[/td][td]20,276.00[/td][td]+74.30%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Real Salt Lake
[/td][td]1[/td][td]19,970.00
[/td][td]+69.15%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Houston Dynamo
[/td][td]2
[/td][td]17,328.00
[/td][td]-2.51%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chivas USA
[/td][td]2
[/td][td]15,625.00
[/td][td]+6.73%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Columbus Crew
[/td][td]1[/td][td]13,536.00
[/td][td]-7.83%[/td][/tr][tr][td]New England Revolution
[/td][td]1[/td][td]12,798.00
[/td][td]+13.12%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Colorado Rapids
[/td][td]1[/td][td]11,641.00
[/td][td]-2.05%[/td][/tr][tr][td]San Jose Earthquakes
[/td][td]1[/td][td]10,589.00[/td][td]+2.46%[/td][/tr][tr][td]Kansas City Wizards
[/td][td]2[/td][td]10,306.50
[/td][td]+19.10%[/td][/tr][tr][td]FC Dallas
[/td][td]2[/td][td]9,286.00
[/td][td]-17.20%
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]
[/td][td]
[/td][/tr][tr][td]2010
[/td][td]22 games
[/td][td]Average:
[/td][td]18,611.50
[/td][/tr][tr][td]2009
[/td][td]21 games
[/td][td]Average:[/td][td]15,287.14[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]
[/td][td]Change[/td][td]+21.75%[/td][/tr][/table]
http://www.mls-daily.com/
 
lol this is good.....now try to get brazilian ronaldo over here for a 200 million dollar contract
 
Cool and I'm helping out 
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...been to DC's last two game in the last two weeks (in RFK and in Philly) to watch [amhadrashad] my main man [/ahmadrashad] Cristian Castillo
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and will be going to the game Sat vs Chicago at RFK
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doesn't mean a thing considering the arena/stadium they play in..............
 
Originally Posted by AJIIIpLATINum

Good to hear I've been follwoing MLS since day 1. 1996
Same here, it's just hard for me to really get on board since St. Louis doesn't have a team. And as a St. Louisan I don't allow myself to root for any team from KC or Chicago.

I honestly don't think the World Cup will have much of an effect on the MLS, the same way the Olympic Tournament didn't do much for the NHL in terms of popularity.

I think the main reason soccer is so big throughout the rest of the world comes down to choices. With the NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB it is very hard for soccer to sneak into that mix. What does England, Spain, or Italy have besides soccer?
 
Originally Posted by JCH3

Originally Posted by AJIIIpLATINum

Good to hear I've been follwoing MLS since day 1. 1996
Same here, it's just hard for me to really get on board since St. Louis doesn't have a team. And as a St. Louisan I don't allow myself to root for any team from KC or Chicago.

I honestly don't think the World Cup will have much of an effect on the MLS, the same way the Olympic Tournament didn't do much for the NHL in terms of popularity.

I think the main reason soccer is so big throughout the rest of the world comes down to choices. With the NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB it is very hard for soccer to sneak into that mix. What does England, Spain, or Italy have besides soccer?


England - Rugby

Spain - Basketball is actually quiet popular over there

Italy - I don't know so someone else chime in.

You also have to really understand that soccer as a sport is a culture over there, its ingrained in the people unlike sports here where you get a lot of bandwagon fans only supporting a team when they're doing well.
 
The Sounders play at Qwest Field and have 30k+ at each game. Even if the Sonics were still in Seattle and had a packed Key Arena every night, they'd still max out at something like 18,000. This is just about the dumbest comparison. It doesn't mean MLS is more popular, it means they play in bigger stadiums.
 
-Bigger stadiums
-Using opening day + 2nd game of the season as a sample size

NHL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> MLS
NBA >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> MLS

(as far as popularity goes)
 
Nice.  We'll get more Soccer fans here in the US after the World Cup too.
 
Like some have said this comparison really is flawed considering stadium sizes. However, I can definitely see the numbers increasing if the NFL does go into a lockout (crossing my fingers this does not happen though). While I'm a fan of the big 3 (nba, mlb, and nfl), I do find the Sounders really exciting and have been getting more into soccer lately.
 
Well when you take into the top 4 in average attendance then you'll realize that the overall numbers are slightly skewed.

-Seattle is in its 2nd season and fans there are still basking in the aura of having professional soccer in the region. The good thing is, Seattle should be at or near the top of attendance for years to come but I do think a slight drop off is imminent. Hopefully a Vancouver team will heighten the attendance in that region.

-The Philly Union are an expansion team so clearly their home opener is going to do crazy numbers.

-The Red Bull just opened up a brand new stadium so clearly their home opener is going to do crazy numbers.

-Toronto will always support soccer regardless, and like Seattle, the fans are still enamored with having a professional soccer team to support (3rd season).

The real task at hand is increasing the attendance numbers in other areas, especially those places where soccer is huge, especially amongst the youth.
 
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these games are surprisingly so much fun.

the on field talen still has quite a ways to go, but the league is constantly taking baby steps to improve it. next year portland and vancouver will have teams and the pacific northwest will be the best place in north america for soccer.

world cup will help too. you'll see alot of older stars coming to MLS, but not washed up, after south africa (thierry henry, raul, viera, etc) MLS has a bright future ahead. im excited to see what the league looks like in 10 - 15 years.
 
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