USL Pro attendance thread

Discussion in 'United Soccer Leagues' started by Maza1987, Apr 10, 2011.

  1. Maza1987

    Maza1987 Member

    Mar 6, 2009
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Just a thread to discuss attendance every week.
    Week 2

    @Charleston 4083
    @Orlando 7933
    @Richmond 1385

    As always, it's going to be the next few game which will be most telling.
     
  2. Bluesfan

    Bluesfan Member+

    DC United
    Aug 12, 2000
    Tampa
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    That is a strong number in Orlando.....too bad there was still over sixty thousand empty seats in the Tangerine Bowl.

    Was anyone there to indicate what kind of atmosphere it was?
     
  3. CShine

    CShine Member

    Dec 13, 2009
    Huntsville, AL
    Club:
    Rocket City United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Attendance from April 2nd games...


    Orlando City SC at Richmond Kickers - 1650

    Sevilla FC Puerto Rico at River Plate Puerto Rico - 315
     
    1 person likes this.
  4. jcm28

    jcm28 Member

    Apr 12, 2009
    Puerto Rico
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Puerto Rico
    Rumors say that there are less than 200 people in the Sevilla-PR United game today.
     
  5. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I watched the webcast and I literally counted five behind the goal.

    Not sure what the other stands look like and there was no audio on the webcast.

    So what is the deal with PRU Stadium and why are they and RP playing in Carolina? I heard that PRU stadium didnt pass a safety inspection and RP's isnt finished yet but I havent seen anything definate just alot of "i think" and "supposeably"

    thanks for any info

    Mikey
     
  6. jcm28

    jcm28 Member

    Apr 12, 2009
    Puerto Rico
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Puerto Rico
    Because the organization by the PR teams has been beyond horrible, and the promotion for these matches (if any) has sucked. I think the USL had to take it 1 PR team at a time, not throw 3 in there just to fill in space.
     
  7. Macsen

    Macsen Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 5, 2007
    Orlando
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The atmosphere was actually very good, between The Ruckus and the O-Town Hooligans in the south end (at minimum 60 strong, and got front-page headlines in the Sentinel) and the Trinidadians on the west midfield.

    Also, around 8k is nothing to sneeze at on a night when 12k were also in the Amway Center for the Predators.
     
  8. Quick25

    Quick25 Member

    Nov 9, 2010
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The atmosphere was very, very good at the Orlando game. Hopefully the attendance stays high as the season progresses, but if the team can keep up performances like 3-0 wins I don't think that should be a problem.
     
  9. thomas19064

    thomas19064 Member+

    Apr 29, 2008
    Delco
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wow, very nice to see that number out of Orlando..... Outdrew both Tampa Bay and Ft. Lauderdale..... hopefully all the teams can keep these numbers up as the season goes on.....

    Low numbers for PR teams aren't much of a surprise.... but glad to see the teams on the main land seemingly doing well.
     
  10. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    number for Puerto Rico United: 105 (ouch)

    http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/stats/2011/2175585.html

    Still trying to find out for sure why both RP and PR United are playing at a "netural" site. I understand it is more than one hour away from where River Plate normally plays and two hours from PR United's 'home'
     
  11. VioletCrown

    VioletCrown Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Aug 30, 2000
    Austin, Texas
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I will, as I find time, post a comparison to previous years' D3 numbers. Not that we're comparing apples to apples, what with all the turnover we've had. But that's the fruit that's in the basket.
     
  12. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    thanks VC

    looking forward to seeing what you find
     
  13. WhiteStar Warriors

    Mar 25, 2007
    St.Pete/Krakow
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    maybe you could also make a comparison between USL Pro and NASL week by week and the league averages.
     
  14. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Did Austin ever get Orlando numbers? Wow.
     
  15. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think Austins highest was more than 6,000. But it is still early on. I wish them well but I imagine most teams will see a drop after the season opener.
     
  16. VioletCrown

    VioletCrown Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Aug 30, 2000
    Austin, Texas
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not in a D2 game (regular season or playoff). I don't know about the numbers in a friendly against a Mexican club team that they had. But maybe not even then.
     
  17. VioletCrown

    VioletCrown Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Aug 30, 2000
    Austin, Texas
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Division 3

    Code:
    % of season completed
    3.3
    Year	Average	Median	%<1K	%>3k
    2005	1794	1470	0.0%	0.0%
    2006	1300	1327	0.0%	0.0%
    2007	2759	2833	0.0%	33.3%
    2008	1730	1244	33.3%	33.3%
    2009	2075	2105	0.0%	0.0%
    2010	1430	1279	80.0%	0.0%
    2011	2579	1518	33.3%	33.3%
    
    Code:
    Final Numbers
    Year	Average	Median	%<1K	%>3k
    2005	1680	1457	21.4%	11.9%
    2006	1803	1703	14.1%	11.8%
    2007	1575	1423	28.1%	6.3%
    2008	1614	1629	26.0%	7.3%
    2009	1602	1518	31.8%	7.1%
    2010	1689	1385	35.1%	17.5%
    
    Way to early in the season to say much of anything, other than 'wow, Orlando!' Kenn may have to chime in here, but that could be by far the largest attendance for a D3 game ever. My numbers go back to 2002 and I haven't managed to find anything. But I'm not really a solid Excel user, so I could easily be missing it.

    I'll be interested to see if they can keep it up.

    For the record, there have been way too many name changes for me to write them all out. I'm just going to title it 'D3'. If you want the history, maybe wiki can help.
     
  18. buzz99

    buzz99 Member

    Mar 29, 2007
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Opening days are fun and exciting but are not very good indicators of how season attendance will go.

    Biggest postives this year are playing virtually all matches on Fri - Sat, and the introduction of a few promising new teams (Dayton, Orlando). But when summer comes, youth club teams shut down, and families go on vacation eroding the fan base. Marketing and competitive play are tantamount to continued success at the gate and mid-week matches can be killers.

    If a team makes a good run in Open Cup against decent competition, attendence gets a boost.

    Don't expect much in attendence in the Carribean. Given poor attendance, mediocre play and huge travel costs, predicting one or more of these teams could fold before season ends (unless USL steps in with big $$$$).

    Guessing Charlotte, Richmond, Harrisburg, Wilmington and Pittsburgh will all settle in with reliable 1,500 - 2,500 (with each having a big game or two against rivals).

    Charleston may draw 3,500 - 5,000 with some good, regional competition in their division, nice stadium and a loyal fan base. Orlando could also average 3,000 - 4,000 early but things always tend to drop quickly for new teams once season starts. New York (still very mysterious in their operations) and L.A. (with large amount of competition coming from islands) are unpredictable: depends heavily on marketing. Predicting Dayton also settles in around 1,500 - 2,500.

    Look for Rochester to lead league between about 8,500 - 10,000. Fans will loose interest quickly however if competition proves to be weak overall. In NASL, Rochester was probably in range of 12,000+ but they played Montreal, Vancouver, Portland and Puerto Rico Islanders! Also drew well against Baltimore and Carolina. USL-Pro has no where near the same drawing power and Rhinos have had serious financial problems in past demonstrating no team is a sure thing!
     
  19. CCSUltra

    CCSUltra Member+

    Nov 18, 2008
    Cleveland
    Club:
    Hertha BSC Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ha, the only team that had drawing power for Rochester was Montreal, and that rivalry has died down significantly over the past 5 years.

    Rochester has a lot of history with Pittsburgh, as well. Their fans used to get into fights a quite a bit. The Rochester-Montreal-Pittsburgh triangle was really intense back in the A-League.

    But other than that, the vast majority of the people at minor league soccer games don't care if they're seeing Charlotte or Vancouver.
     
  20. VioletCrown

    VioletCrown Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Aug 30, 2000
    Austin, Texas
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Rochester has only averaged just under 6500 the past two years. Expect them to do about the same. One game doesn't tell us anything about Orlando, so we're just going to have to wait and see. Charleston has been consistently between 3500 and 4k ever since 2002, so I think it's safe to say they're pretty locked in.

    Richmond was on a steady upward streak approaching 3k until last year. If Charlotte manages to hit the 1500, it will be a 50% increase over last year. But the 'improving economy' might help that much. And Pittsburgh is the same. You may have over-projected those two. Wilmington is an interesting question mark. Hopefully fans missed them, and they'll settle in back where they were before leaving, nudging 3k.

    Lots of question marks. NY, LA, Dayton. Looking forward to seeing where we are at the end of April.

    I'm going to ignore the Caribbean. The less we talk about it, the better, I bet.

    As to the Open Cup -- I don't think it has any effect on regular-season attendance.
     
  21. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If the Antigua Facebook page and the newspaper there is any indication, they are expecting a big crowd for the opening match.

    Sevilla might get the league average too.

    But the move away from their "home" stadiums has hurt Puerto Rico United and River Plate that is obvious.

    I'm still trying to figure out if Roberto Clemente stadium is temp. for those two teams

    I know both PRU and RPPR were getting much better numbers last year.

    Im going to say Dayton will have a good crowd for opening night. And imagine they will be average around the 2000 mark. There are about 150 JrROTC cadets and their families that are going to the match from here in Charleston. Their Unit has been volunteering at the Battery games for a few years now and they are having a drill competition there Saturday morning so their will be plenty of Black and Yellow in the crowd.

    Wilmington I think will get good crowds too. The community has worked hard bringing back the team and the media there has been very favorable.
     
  22. speedcake

    speedcake Member

    Dec 2, 1999
    Tampa
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    With the exception of the island based teams, really good stuff across D3 and D2 so far. Orlando came out flying (thank goodness they didn't top FCTBs franchise home opener, shew!), The Strikers quadrupled attendance in Ft. Lauderdale, etc. Even the Rowdies pulled over 4k despite alot of fears about moving across the bay, we'll see how that goes as the season bogs down.

    Hopefully attendance holds until the summer doldrums hit. Everyone is going to see drops when the heat picks up, kids and families are on vacation and, in some USL teams' case, those Wed/Thurs/Fri games come up.

    Still nice to see so many people across the leagues coming out to support their local teams. Great start to the new season!
     
  23. Macsen

    Macsen Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 5, 2007
    Orlando
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm interested in seeing how Antigua does in attendance, given the talking they're starting to do about it. That will be the real test of the Caribbean experiment. Puerto Rico's woes are either poor promotion or just simple market saturation.
     
  24. mbsc

    mbsc Member

    Aug 6, 2009
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Attendance at Legion was about 2500 per game in 2009, and I expect the Hammers will start slow and build back to that number. The problem with taking a year off is people find other ways to spend their time (and money) and you have to work a little harder to bring them back to Carolina Beach Road. The fact that Sunday's free "Open House" drew 1000 is encouraging, though.

    The forecast for Saturday (strong thunderstorms and windy) will undoubtedly keep opening night numbers down a bit but in the long run I think the Hammerheads will be fine.
     
  25. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep

    True soccer fans support their local team
     

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