View Full Version : MISL attendance thread
joseph pakovits
08 Oct 2002, 12:24 PM
Seeing as outdoor soccer fans constantly obsess over attendance figures and sift through them for vague hints of trends like prospectors sifting for gold, I thought "Why should they have all the fun?".
So, denizens of the Great Indoors, let's talk MISL attendance. What's average? What are the trends? Get those statistics degrees out of the closet and let's go! Discuss!
Oh, and I'd have started an "Indoor soccer media coverage" thread but there doesn't seem to be any except for Goal Indoors to which I subscribe. I think G.I. needs to add some coverage of the MISL but that's really a topic for another thread.
jmsullivan
09 Oct 2002, 10:27 AM
[i]
The Blast had a crowd of 8,000 for it's home opener
The Wave's crowd was somewhere in the 6-7000K home opener
Outside of that I think the league averages 4-7 k per game overall 5-6k something to grow the league on I think. [/B]
Sounds like the Revs playoff figures. 8-)
joseph pakovits
15 Oct 2002, 11:43 AM
6,500+ attendance at the Comets/Wave game in KC. It was KC's season opener.
Rich P
15 Oct 2002, 10:16 PM
It's nice to see that year #3 of the Ryan era hasn't brought all the big crowds he thought the "rebranding" (I love that word) would miraculously come back to the arenas.
It's also nice to see that the Kixx management are running that team down the tubes. 3600 for opening night when you raise the championship banner and hand out rings! Unacceptable.
joseph pakovits
16 Oct 2002, 10:07 AM
Originally posted by Rich P
It's also nice to see that the Kixx management are running that team down the tubes. 3600 for opening night when you raise the championship banner and hand out rings! Unacceptable.
What was the Kixx average attedance last year? If it was 3,000, then they're doing better. If it was 5,000 then maybe there's a problem.
Also, any other possible reason they may not have attracted more? Other competing events?
In the mid to late 90s, the Kixx averaged between 7,000 and 8,000 per game. It's only in the last two seasons that attendance has fallen in Philadelphia.
I am disappointed in the Sidekicks' attendance. During their run in the CISL and WISL, the team averaged 9,000 fans per game each year. So far this year, they are only drawing 6,000 per game, but at least they are consistant. The only consolation that Dallas can have is that the last time the Sidekicks switched season from the winter MISL1 to the summer CISL, their attendance decreased from about 7,000 to 5,800 before hitting 9,000 in 1995.
joseph pakovits
17 Oct 2002, 01:32 PM
I assume that Dallas and SD will lose a few fans who don't like the new league or its rules but will gain fans as they settle into the league.
I don't know why the Kixx attendance is down. Maybe someone more familiar with the situation can answer with specifics as to what, if anything, they're doing wrong.
empennage
17 Oct 2002, 02:18 PM
Originally posted by joseph pakovits
I assume that Dallas and SD will lose a few fans who don't like the new league or its rules but will gain fans as they settle into the league.
I don't know how this compares with last season, but the Sockers got 3,500 or so last weekend. It will be 3,501 once I graduate in December and can make it out to a few games.
Rich P
19 Oct 2002, 01:07 AM
>>crowds of 6500 or more are considered very good. During the hey day of MISL the highest average was around 7000. Don't label the whole just because the Kixx managment has a problem<<
The MISL's highest average attendance was 1981-82, when 13 clubs averaged 8,735 in the regular season. This was bolstered by averages of 10K or better in Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
I don't want to hear the crap about how times have changed, et al. These clubs OBVIOUSLY knew how to market.
The Kixx's first two games have drawn below 4K. There are problems there, because that is UNACCEPTABLE, even in this low-rank league.
empennage
19 Oct 2002, 04:39 AM
Originally posted by Rich P
I don't want to hear the crap about how times have changed, et al. These clubs OBVIOUSLY knew how to market.
Well, times have changed. Outdoor is the better game, and thus gets better crowds. It's as simple as that.
empennage
20 Oct 2002, 01:00 PM
The crowd yesterday at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City was 5,940 to see the Sockers beat the Comets. I'm happy with anything over 5,000, so I would consider that to be a good crowd.
Lithium858
26 Oct 2002, 01:49 AM
how pretty
empennage
04 Nov 2002, 07:51 PM
The Sockers attendance was 7,524 at the Sports Arena on Saturday night. IMHO that's a pretty good draw for a regular season game.
kenntomasch
05 Nov 2002, 04:16 PM
Originally posted by Rich P
I don't want to hear the crap about how times have changed, et al. These clubs OBVIOUSLY knew how to market.
So, Rich (and you know I love ya), did those guys die and take the secret of how to do this to their graves?
You know, the cotton gin was in demand at one time. Not so much anymore.
BTW, I keep track of MISL attendance (go figure) at http://www.kenn.com/soccer/
Rich P
05 Nov 2002, 06:52 PM
Kenn, old buddy........
Perhaps you're right..but there ought to be more than the crap we have now....
Looks like I'll be in Milwaukee on 14 Dec..shall we go out wenching?
empennage
05 Nov 2002, 06:53 PM
Originally posted by kenntomasch
BTW, I keep track of MISL attendance (go figure) at http://www.kenn.com/soccer/
Cool Site.
The highest average attendance is Milwaukee whichi is not too surprising. I'm glad to see the SD Sockers over 5,000 average. It's about on par with the San Diego Spirit the WUSA team in town. For the MISL, I consider any average attendance over 5,000 to be good. Why 5000? I don't know, it just sounds nice I guess.
kenntomasch
05 Nov 2002, 09:32 PM
Rich...
I agree more could be done, but not a ton more. The demand for the product isn't where it was in the 1980's, and won't be anywhere near where it was then, no matter how you market it. Things have changed.
People who have the kind of money it would take to really market a team would rather put it into something else that they might see a return on. Because rare is the instance in which you see a team that can really hope to generate enough revenue to offset those kind of dollars. The demand for the product just isn't there, by and large, and you can't create demand where there is none, no matter how hard you try to force it. Folks like you and me, who really dig the game, are few and far between.
The 14th looks interesting. You coming through the big city here, or flying direct?
kenntomasch
17 Nov 2002, 01:10 PM
The latest figures:
TEAM...........G...TOTAL....AVG.
Dallas.........6...45,648...7,608
Milwaukee......5...31,484...6,277
Kansas City....2...12,508...6,254
Baltimore......6...31,524...5,254
San Diego......6...31,068...5,178
Cleveland......3...14,749...4,916
Harrisburg.....4...14,147...3,537
Philadelphia...6...20,014...3,336
LEAGUE........38..201,041...5,291
joseph pakovits
18 Nov 2002, 09:53 AM
Wow, a few more fans and the Comets will be outdrawing the Wizards! :)
socco
15 Dec 2002, 11:55 PM
Originally posted by empennage
Well, times have changed. Outdoor is the better game, and thus gets better crowds. It's as simple as that.
No kidding!! And what do you do when you've got 2ft of snow on the ground? Even the Germans take a snow break and play indoor.
Get a life!