MLS Attendance Analysis: Week 1

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by edwardgr, Mar 12, 2012.

  1. edwardgr

    edwardgr Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 6, 2006
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Personally I agree that the team listed capacity is the number to use. Ole I have offerred before all you need do is PM your email and I will email you my main data sheet. What you do with it from there is up to you. That sheet has Date, Teams, Score, and Attendance and is what I drive all my other data sheets off of.
     
  2. BHTC Mike

    BHTC Mike Member+

    Apr 12, 2006
    Burlington, ON
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    Finally someone states the obvious.

    Edward does great diligent work but the format of this thread has long since passed the point where it actually DISCOURAGES any form of analysis. The very idea that a thread about "attendance analysis" should only be about one particular set of metrics - the AAQ - is at the least intellectually dulling.

    What is anyone actually learning from this thread week by week? Other than the voyeuristic enjoyment of watching the (relatively arbitrary) numbers and turning year-to-year comparisons into a horse race what is gained?
     
  3. edwardgr

    edwardgr Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 6, 2006
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No one ever said additional metrics could not be added. The only ban has been on perceived attendance for the reasons already stated. Unfortunately MLS is just not a very open business so we rarely get anything other than basic attendance data and salary info.

    Ole is putting together some numbers that look like promising new nuggets. I myself have tried several variations of the numbers Ole will be posting and found that the numbers were so close they did not make sense to change the markers yet. I have also added several other bits of information and data. Such as the milestones, the comparitive, the team centric views at years end. If there is some other measure you want to see let me know I will try to accommodate it. Not sure who looks at the new data bits, don't really care I post it so people can find the info if they care to.

    And nearly 6000 thread views suggest that people are still interested.
     
  4. Mr. Bandwagon

    Mr. Bandwagon Member

    Terremotos
    May 24, 2001
    the Barbary Coast
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    LOL @ San Jose raising the attendance average. Is this bizarro attendance thread?

    (Yes, I know they are playing in SF and hoping for a big turnout. It's just too funny to pass up.)
     
  5. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Should I pile on the bullshitter, or not?

    OK, I'll keep it clean and simple.

    ne plus, your assertions are at odds with the known facts.

    Have a nice Friday.
     
  6. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think the thread still provides useful analysis about the individual teams. You're right, the aggregate numbers are so cut and dried, all we did with regard to league-wide numbers last year was gape in joy and in wonder.

    But you're from Toronto, and the attendance picture there has been interesting. It's an interesting case study about what COULD happen in Portland and Philly if the front office, well, behaves like TFC's front office has been behaving. When Seattle blew the doors off the league a few years back, it was interesting to read from Seattle fans how the team marketed in the runup to their first kickoff. Etc.
     
  7. Allez RSL

    Allez RSL Member+

    Jun 20, 2007
    Home
    Yeah, but roughly 4,000 are from people who want to whine about the thread's existence.

    :p
     
  8. edwardgr

    edwardgr Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 6, 2006
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That is still ad revenue though so I doubt the site managers care ;)
     
  9. crookeddy

    crookeddy Member+

    Apr 27, 2004
    The Galaxy were likely tracking for low attendance on Sunday, so they had a 50% off deal on livingsocial for either the March 31st game or this Sunday and sold about 4,000 tickets. If it's an even split 50/50 that'll be a 2,000 ticket boost to their attendance. (Assuming those that bought the deal weren't going to go anyway for full price)
     
  10. Chris M.

    Chris M. Member+

    Jan 18, 2002
    Chicago
    I enjoy this thread each week. Given how a big percentage of threads on BS are virtually unreadable, its surprising people would complain about this one.

    I don't think it matters that the league is now much more stable and solvent. An attendance discussion can be interesting in almost any sport as one gauge of how the league and its individual clubs are doing. Trends is fun! ;):D
     
  11. Fiosfan

    Fiosfan Red Card

    Mar 21, 2010
    Nevada
    Club:
    New York City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Great number in Montreal 58,912...
     
  12. jayd8888

    jayd8888 Member+

    Aug 22, 2006
    Denver CO
    It looks more like 59,314 on TV! :D





    ..sorry
     
  13. Fiosfan

    Fiosfan Red Card

    Mar 21, 2010
    Nevada
    Club:
    New York City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    MLSsoccer.com might report your number as official attendance.:)
     
  14. evangel

    evangel Member+

    Apr 12, 2007
    This match has set the record for the most attended soccer match ever in Montreal.
     
  15. Kejsare

    Kejsare Member+

    Portland Timbers
    Mar 10, 2010
    Virginia
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Last one being in 1981 where Montreal Manic played against the Chicago Sting. Fun coincidence.
     
  16. bbsbt

    bbsbt Member+

    Feb 26, 2003
    Are there more than 5K fans at the quakes game?
    It looks empty.
     
  17. Kejsare

    Kejsare Member+

    Portland Timbers
    Mar 10, 2010
    Virginia
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Doubleheader. It will be a late arriving crowd. Oh, and that U-23 game is with Mexico. You can draw all your conclusions off the team playing next.
     
  18. bbsbt

    bbsbt Member+

    Feb 26, 2003
    Never mind... it's at AT&T Park.
    I thought it was Buck Shaw stadium, which always looks full.
     
  19. Kejsare

    Kejsare Member+

    Portland Timbers
    Mar 10, 2010
    Virginia
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, that too. Forget to mention being 44 miles away from your home stadium.
     
  20. crookeddy

    crookeddy Member+

    Apr 27, 2004
    I actually think there were more than 10k watching the Quakes game which would have been more then a sellout at Buck Shaw. However, we'll never know so it's a moot point.

    Also, Mexico U-23 against the US U-23 in Dallas only drew just over 7k.
     
  21. Kejsare

    Kejsare Member+

    Portland Timbers
    Mar 10, 2010
    Virginia
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    21816 in San Jose [At&t]
     
  22. carnifex2005

    carnifex2005 Member+

    Jul 1, 2008
    Club:
    Vancouver Whitecaps
    [​IMG]
     
  23. Sirk

    Sirk Member+

    Apr 25, 1999
    Cleveland, OH
    And then there are things like how the Crew's PAID attendance and ticket revenues increased for five straight years from 2006-2010 even though the announced attendance was more or less flat for 2008-2010, which were all below 2007's announced number. (Both growth streaks were snapped in 2011, and announced attendance was also well down.)

    So in that case, the announced number actually concealed the meaningful growth since the announced numbers didn't detail the shift toward more PAID attendance and revenue.
     
  24. Heist

    Heist Member+

    Jun 15, 2001
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That all may be true, but we decided as a group here on this thread that we have to choose some convention to go by. So we go with announced attendance. Anything else, and we couldn't very well have a thread at all. Some of us (including myself) drift down the road you are on, but that's not what this thread is for. In the past there has been a "perceived attendance" thread. What you are talking about could be relevant there or in a thread in a Columbus Crew thread or start your own about this in MLS General.
     
  25. Sirk

    Sirk Member+

    Apr 25, 1999
    Cleveland, OH
    No, I wasn't disputing or arguing about anything in this thread. I was just piggybacking on Triplet1's comment about how the reason this thread tracks announced attendance is because we don't have access to the more meaningful numbers and any attempts to alter the announced numbers in that vein would be futile. I totally agree with that. Sorry if I wasn't clear. (And looking back, I don't think I was.)
     

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