2018 Attendance

Discussion in 'NWSL' started by blissett, Mar 25, 2018.

  1. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Holy shit, 7k??? That's great! With 7k STHs, I might up my estimate of season average from 10k to well above 15k. Where did you see that?
     
  2. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    http://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2018/03/portland_thorns_owner_merritt_1.html
    "Hansen's Utah Royals, who took over the rights to FC Kansas City's players after the club folded, have yet to play their first game at home, but are already poised to be one of the most successful teams in the NWSL. The club has unveiled a state-of-the-art locker room and training facility and has already sold more than 7,000 season tickets."
     
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  3. Todorojo

    Todorojo Member

    Oct 27, 2008
    South Weber, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    About that 7000 number too. I wouldn't be surprised if a number of them were businesses buying some up due to Hansen's contacts within the business community. Why I think that would be good is that businesses would likely use them by giving them out to people as rewards or perks, meaning you get a bunch of different people throughout the season going to games. That could win over more people down the road to buy their own seats. Just a thought. I know they are working on local businesses a lot.
     
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  4. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    Yeah, a great thing to give out, not only to your clients, but also to your employees as well.
     
  5. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    The numbers in Chicago aren't going to be good. Still waiting on the official attendance for the Red Stars match, I think, but even the Fire game only drew 13.7k.... Combination of bad weather and basketball, I assume?
     
  6. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
     
  7. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    Will they do what they did in the past and just use the 13.7K even though they are way off that number? Not sure how you could figure what the exact count would be?
     
  8. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    That's what I would guess, since that's what they did in the past... And looking at the NWSL site this morning, that's exactly what they did. And to be fair, 13.7k for a Red Stars match is great by itself. But their previous two double-headers were recorded as above 16k and 15k, respectively.
     
  9. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I was at the game last night and even during the Fire game seats were half empty.
    When it's cold and rainy in Chicago in March/April, people stay home. Unless it's the Cubs.
     
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  10. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    One thing it does. it allows the league to pad their attendance numbers and when the big numbers come in two weeks from Portland and Utah, the league average could jump as high as 8000. Right now it looks like Utah is over 17,000 for their opening game.
    I do think that with two of the lower drawing teams gone from last season, and now with Utah on board, the league average, by the end of the season, could possibly jump close to 7000.
     
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  11. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Simple experiment: since every team hosts the same number of games, we can just theorize averages for each team and combine those numbers.

    Let's pretend every returning team just holds steady from last year, and Utah averages 10k, which was their original target but should be a massively conservative estimate if they do in fact have 7000 STHs right now. That gives:

    (3.2k + 4.6k + 4.4k + 2.6k + 6.2k + 17.6k + 4.0k + 10.0k + 3.5k) / 9 = 6.2k

    Bump Utah from 10k to 15k and you get an average of 6.8k for the league instead of 6.2k. So it would take a great effort from Utah, plus growth from around the league, if we really wanted to jump from 5k to 7k in one year.
     
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  12. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
     
  13. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    #38 WoSoFan, Apr 1, 2018
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2018
    I will be curious how well the Spirit will draw in the one game they hope to play at DC United's new stadium. Too bad it isn't earlier so it leaves some room to schedule another game should they do well.
    You have got to wonder what is going on in the minds of the independent owners with what Utah is doing and the likely expansion involving more MLS clubs. Will the spirit feel they have no other choice then to have to play all their games in 2019 in the DC United. What about Sky Blue?
     
  14. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    I think the short answer is "no". If the independent teams have a deal with their current stadiums that works for the attendances they're getting, then there's probably very little incentive to aim for bigger stadiums unless they 100% know that they can recoup the larger investment with significantly larger attendances. Unless the league starts applying minimum attendance thresholds and/or bumps up facilities requirements past what the current stadiums supply, then there's no need to change tack.

    For the Spirit in particular, they've made the SoccerPlex work really well, and they don't consistently sell it out. IIRC they also either outright control or at least have a very strong influence on its booking. Getting a game at Audi Field will almost certainly cost the Spirit quite a bit in rental fees, so unless having a game in the middle of DC (instead of in way-out-northwest suburbs) gives them 2-3x the attendance numbers, it's not going to be economically viable as a regular option.
     
  15. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Anyway, we now have two teams at two home games each in HOU and NC. HOU is beating last year's average while NC is not, though both are really close so far (4640 v 4578 for HOU, 4144 v 4398 for NC) so things seem to be holding steady for them. Chicago already has 1/3 of the total attendance it got last year thanks to the double-header (though maybe around 1/6 of last year's revenue since the Red Stars were credited with ~40% of the 13.7k ticket sales) so they will almost certainly do better overall even if the rest of their games underperform last year (hopefully they at least hold steady too, though). POR and UTH still to come in to play, so the league average should jump quite a bit in the first games after the international break.
     
  16. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    After being reported that the minimum needed for jersey sponsorship was increased for this season to $250,000, could the minimum attendance thresholds and/or bump up of facilities requirements be something the Spirit and Sky Blue should be concerned about, especially for the 2019 season and the WC.
     
  17. FawcettFan14

    FawcettFan14 Member+

    Mar 19, 2004
    Colorado
    Historically attendances have risen during the summer months, as school lets out, weather is warmer, and people are doing more outdoor activities.

    Some discouraging results this weekend, with only 3,433 in Houston and just over 4,000 in NC, but hopefully as the factors I mentioned above come into effect, numbers will rise.

    Great to see a near sellout for the Spirit's opening game. The SoccerPlex really does look nice when the stands are full.

    And Chicago, we all know the 13K is not accurate. It's hard to tell from the TV camera angle, just seeing the first 10 rows of one side. But maybe between 5,000 and 7,000?
     
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  18. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    We don't even know if there are minimum attendance requirements. I would be surprised if there are, considering we've always had one team under 2k and at least two under 3k and no one has ever mentioned those numbers being problematic from a "standards" standpoint.

    Facilities requirements, on the other hand, definitely are a thing (stadium capacity being one of them, I'm fairly sure) and are something to watch out for. In fact, we know that the facilities requiremetns will be going up in some way for 2019, because it's already been stated in various media that Memorial Stadium in Seattle is not going to be sufficient for the 2019 standards. (It's a bit of a moot point since I think the school district will be revamping or removing the stadium in 2019 anyway, but either way we've heard that Seattle needs to find a new home if they want to stick around.) I would assume that means Yurcak will not be sufficient for 2019 standards either. However, the SoccerPlex is one of the best 4-8k facilities in the country, so I would be surprised if the 2019 standards mean the SoccerPlex isn't sufficient.
     
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  19. toad455

    toad455 Member+

    Nov 28, 2005
    Seems like Seattle's only solution is to have the Sounders buy the team.
     
  20. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Even that's not as obvious as it might seem. NWSL teams have trouble filling MLS-built SSSs, what do you think might happen in an NFL stadium? That's gonna be awful. The real problem with Seattle is not the Reign's ownership, but the lack of good stadium options throughout the area. Now, if the Sounders buy the team with the intent of building a new SSS for the Reign and S2 to co-tenant, that might be an option... But I don't think a new stadium in one of the most expensive cities in the country is on anyone's mind at the moment.
     
  21. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If the Reign were looking where to invest in a SSS, they might want to partner with the University of Washington. Their current field has a 2,200 seating capacity, but it looks like there's room to expand that by a lot. And, there's ample parking since the basketball arena is "next door." And, it's in a pretty accessible location.
     
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  22. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    see
    I am thinking more in line with what could happen at the end of this season. You can't help but think, with the impact that the Utah Royals have already made, and the prospects of more MLS clubs now willing to come onboard, that business as usual, is about to change for 2019.
    Their capacity is listed at 4000. I know they have gotten as high as 5700, but could hold 8000???
     
  23. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    While there is a lot of talk on expansion and who those teams might be, Utah's success could possibly rekindle and interest by the Red Bulls with regards to Sky Blue. I hadn't thought too much about it, but after watching the USA vs France game where they drew 25,706, a sell-out, Sky Blue might do pretty well there, especially if owned by the Red Bulls.
     
  24. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Oh, I wasn't saying the SoccerPlex could hold 8k. I was more just trying to state that, among similarly sized stadiums, they're one of the best. If your stadium is under 4k, it's probably nothing more than a high school or college stadium, and likely doesn't have any real supporting facilities. If you look at stadiums above 8k, you're getting in to a different class than the mid-small-sized category stadiums that the SoccerPlex is a part of.
     
  25. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    I think you're making lots of assumptions. Of course, as I said before, we already know that there will be some sort of standards increase for next season. But you can't just assume that any given metric - especially the one metric that's definitely not under control of the organizations themselves (you can't sign a business deal to guarantee people show up) - is going to suddenly be scrutinized.
    It's not a question of whether Sky Blue could do well in NY or not. (They almost certainly would.) It's if the owners want to sell. And they've already passed on not just the Red Bulls but on NYCFC as well. The stadium standards issue could be something that forces their hand, of course, but since they were the ones to go fishing initially and then didn't like the offers they received in response, I don't see much changing soon.
     

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