Week 23 Attendance Update

Team	2014 Average Attendance	Capacity	Percent Full	2013 Average Attendance	% Change from 2013
Chicago Fire	15,317	20,000	76.59%	15,228	+0.59
Chivas USA	6,417	18,800	34.13%	8,366	-23.30
Colorado Rapids	14,760	17,424	84.71%	15,440	-4.40
Columbus Crew	16,262	19,968	81.44%	16,080	+1.13
DC United	16,239	19,467	83.42%	13,646	+19.00
FC Dallas	16,786	20,500	81.88%	15,373	+9.19
Houston Dynamo	19,852	22,039	90.08%	19,923	-0.36
Los Angeles Galaxy	20,721	27,000	76.74%	22,152	-6.46
Montreal Impact	18,401	20,521*	89.67%	20,603	-10.69
NE Revolution	15,342	20,000	76.71%	14,844	+3.35
New York Red Bulls	18,460	25,189	73.28%	19,461	-5.15
Philadelphia Union	18,107	18,500	97.88%	17,867	+1.34
Portland Timbers	20,803	20,674	100.63%	20,674	+0.63
Real Salt Lake	20,259	20,213	100.23%	19,218	+5.42
San Jose Earthquakes	16,308	10,525*	154.94%	12,765	+27.75
Seattle Sounders	42,785	38,500*	111.13%	44,038	-2.84
Sporting Kansas City	20,160	18,467	109.17%	19,709	+2.29
Toronto FC	22,591	21,859	103.35%	18,131	+24.60
Vancouver Whitecaps	20,907	21,000	99.56%	20,038	+4.33
Average	18,948	21,087	89.86%	18,608	+1.83

*Teams play select games at higher capacity

Miami Fusion FC Historical Attendance

The Miami Fusion were a part of the first MLS expansion in 1998 with the Chicago Fire. The expansion moved the league to 12 teams and the historically awkward three conferences. One again like the Tampa Bay Mutiny, an uninspired fan base, dwindling ticket sales, and large revenue losses led to the contraction of this MLS franchise. The Fusion were only in the league for four years, and their departure along with the Mutiny in 2001 has left the state of Florida without an MLS team for over a decade. This will change as Orlando City FC is set to join the MLS in 2015.

Lockhart Stadium

Lockhart Stadium was renovated in 1998 to be a soccer specific facility with a capacity of 20,450. The Fusion were the first team to play in a soccer specific stadium. The Fusion were only able to muster an average attendance of 9,403 over the four years that they were in the league.

Year	Average Attendance	Capacity
1998	10,284	20,450
1999	8,689	20,450
2000	7,460	20,450
2001	11,177	20,450

Week 22 Attendance Update

Team	2014 Average Attendance	Capacity	Percent Full	2013 Average Attendance	% Change from 2013
Chicago Fire	15,317	20,000	76.59%	15,228	+0.59
Chivas USA	6,417	18,800	34.13%	8,366	-23.30
Colorado Rapids	14,823	17,424	85.07%	15,440	-4.00
Columbus Crew	16,155	19,968	80.90%	16,080	+0.46
DC United	16,239	19,467	83.42%	13,646	+19.00
FC Dallas	16,716	20,500	81.54%	15,373	+8.74
Houston Dynamo	19,852	22,039	90.08%	19,923	-0.36
Los Angeles Galaxy	20,629	27,000	76.40%	22,152	-6.87
Montreal Impact	18,401	20,521*	89.67%	20,603	-10.69
NE Revolution	15,243	20,000	76.21%	14,844	+2.69
New York Red Bulls	18,517	25,189	73.51%	19,461	-4.85
Philadelphia Union	18,176	18,500	98.25%	17,867	+1.73
Portland Timbers	20,802	20,674	100.62%	20,674	+0.62
Real Salt Lake	20,259	20,213	100.23%	19,218	+5.42
San Jose Earthquakes	16,308	10,525*	154.94%	12,765	+27.75
Seattle Sounders	43,138	38,500*	112.05%	44,038	-2.04
Sporting Kansas City	20,176	18,467	109.26%	19,709	+2.37
Toronto FC	22,591	21,859	103.35%	18,131	+24.60
Vancouver Whitecaps	20,907	21,000	99.56%	20,038	+4.33
Average	18,873	21,087	89.50%	18,608	+1.42

*Teams play select games at higher capacity

Tampa Bay Mutiny Historical Attendance

I have had quite a few followers ask for historical attendance data for each team, so for the next few weeks I will post each team and their attendance over the years since they have joined the MLS.

First ever MLS game on ESPN

I will start today with one of the two defunct franchises, the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The Mutiny were one of the original 10 MLS franchises to start in 1996. They had some initial success but lacked support later on as they traded their big name players for little in return. Don Garber was unable to find an owner for the team so the team folded.

They played their first three years in Houlihan's Stadium which had a capacity of 74,301 and was the home of the Tampa Buccaneers. The stadium was reduced to a capacity of 16,000 for soccer games. The final soccer game played in Tampa Stadium featured a crowd of 27,597 as the Mutiny beat the New York MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls) 2-1.

Advertisement for the final game in Houlihan's Stadium

The Mutiny moved to Raymond James Stadium along with the Buccaneers in 1999. The stadium had a capacity of 66,321 at the time, but once again it was artificially reduced to 32,000 for Mutiny soccer games. Listed is the attendance of all six years that the Mutiny were active in the MLS. They had an overall average of 11,106 over the six years.

Year	Average Attendance	Capacity
1996	11,679	16,000
1997	11,338	16,000
1998	10,312	16,000
1999	13,106	32,000
2000	9,452	32,000
2001	10,479	32,000

An empty stadium and football lines doomed the franchise

Week 21 Attendance Update

Team	2014 Average Attendance	Capacity	Percent Full	2013 Average Attendance	% Change from 2013
Chicago Fire	15,317	20,000	76.59%	15,228	+0.59
Chivas USA	6,637	18,800	35.30%	8,366	-20.67
Colorado Rapids	14,823	17,424	85.07%	15,440	-4.00
Columbus Crew	15,739	19,968	78.82%	16,080	-2.12
DC United	16,524	19,467	84.88%	13,646	+21.09
FC Dallas	16,716	20,500	81.54%	15,373	+8.74
Houston Dynamo	19,813	22,039	89.90%	19,923	-0.55
Los Angeles Galaxy	20,629	27,000	76.40%	22,152	-6.87
Montreal Impact	18,517	20,521*	90.23%	20,603	-10.13
NE Revolution	15,126	20,000	75.63%	14,844	+1.90
New York Red Bulls	18,517	25,189	73.51%	19,461	-4.85
Philadelphia Union	18,176	18,500	98.25%	17,867	+1.73
Portland Timbers	20,802	20,674	100.62%	20,674	+0.62
Real Salt Lake	20,240	20,213	100.14%	19,218	+5.32
San Jose Earthquakes	16,789	10,525*	159.52%	12,765	+31.53
Seattle Sounders	43,138	38,500*	112.05%	44,038	-2.04
Sporting Kansas City	20,126	18,467	108.98%	19,709	+2.12
Toronto FC	22,591	21,859	103.35%	18,131	+24.60
Vancouver Whitecaps	20,907	21,000	99.56%	20,038	+4.33
Average	19,000	21,087	90.11%	18,608	+2.11

*Teams play select games at higher capacity

Columbus Crew Clarification

First off I would like to say thank you very much to the Columbus Crew communications office for reaching out to me and giving me some data on some discrepancies that you very observant readers have noticed.

Here are some points that he stated for me in an email that clarifies the situation. He also includes some cool statistics and historical data. All of these are official MLS modifications made along with the Columbus Crew.

-          As a point of clarification, the official MLS attendance for the Columbus Crew vs. FC Dallas match, originally scheduled for June 28, 2014 and then rescheduled for June 29, 2014 due to extenuating circumstances, is 20,617.

-          This was an unprecedented situation for both the Columbus Crew and MLS, and after further dialogue and clarification with the League, the official ruling on the attendance figure is 20,617, since that was the number calculated within the League’s standard attendance reporting structure.

-          This clarification should have been communicated to the appropriate audiences sooner, but because of the unique nature surrounding the events that took place the weekend of June 18-29, the interpretation of this attendance data was delayed.

-          The FC Dallas match is officially classified as a sellout at Columbus Crew Stadium, the first of the 2014 season. The July 19 match between the Columbus Crew and the Montreal Impact is officially classified as the second sellout at Crew Stadium for the 2014 season (attendance of 21,112).

-          The last time the Columbus Crew posted two sellouts in a single season was during the 2007 campaign. Prior to this season, the last sellout at Crew Stadium was Saturday, August 31, 2013 against Seattle Sounders FC.

-          An additional point of clarification is the new seating capacity at Crew Stadium, which changed at the beginning of the 2014 season from 20,145 to 19,968 due to physical improvements in the east stands that involved providing more access portals to the lower concourse and replacing the bench seating with individual chairback seating in the three center sections of Premier East. These two construction projects reduced the overall seating capacity in the stadium. It is possible for the club to accommodate more than 19,968 fans in standing-room areas, such as the north bridge, as was the case in both of this year’s sellout games.

I updated the attendance a couple weeks ago, but I will now update the capacity of Crew Stadium. They will most likely have another sellout this weekend as they have now organized a ceremony for Landon Donovan to honor his last game in Columbus.

  

He has had some great moments in Crew Stadium including this recent “dos a cero” win against Mexico in 2013.

Also sorry for the delay in this week’s attendance. I had to wait for the FC Dallas attendance to be posted before I could post the weekly update. 

Pre-All Star Game Update

Team	2014 Average Attendance	Capacity	Percent Full	2013 Average Attendance	% Change from 2013
Chicago Fire	15,245	20,000	76.23%	15,228	+0.11
Chivas USA	6,637	18,800	35.30%	8,366	-20.67
Colorado Rapids	14,823	17,424	85.07%	15,440	-4.00
Columbus Crew	15,530	20,145	77.09%	16,080	-3.42
DC United	16,524	19,467	84.88%	13,646	+21.09
FC Dallas	16,806	20,500	81.98%	15,373	+9.32
Houston Dynamo	19,813	22,039	89.90%	19,923	-0.55
Los Angeles Galaxy	20,730	27,000	76.78%	22,152	-6.42
Montreal Impact	18,517	20,521*	90.23%	20,603	-10.13
NE Revolution	15,126	20,000	75.63%	14,844	+1.90
New York Red Bulls	18,517	25,189	73.51%	19,461	-4.85
Philadelphia Union	18,117	18,500	97.93%	17,867	+1.40
Portland Timbers	20,801	20,674	100.62%	20,674	+0.62
Real Salt Lake	20,221	20,213	100.04%	19,218	+5.22
San Jose Earthquakes	16,789	10,525*	159.52%	12,765	+31.53
Seattle Sounders	42,424	38,500*	110.19%	44,038	-3.67
Sporting Kansas City	20,126	18,467	108.98%	19,709	+2.12
Toronto FC	22,591	21,859	103.35%	18,131	+24.60
Vancouver Whitecaps	20,987	21,000	99.94%	20,038	+4.74
Average	18,856	21,096	89.38%	18,608	+1.33

*Teams play select games at higher capacity