Code: % of season completed 81.3% Year Average Median %<10K %>20k 1996 17957 15471 21.5% 29.2% 1997 14780 13152 22.3% 15.4% 1998 14363 11763 25.6% 16.0% 1999 14542 13101 31.4% 15.4% 2000 13466 12347 36.5% 10.9% 2001 14937 13376 25.8% 18.0% 2002 15464 13493 18.6% 15.9% 2003 14787 13771 23.8% 18.0% 2004 15132 13064 27.9% 23.0% 2005 14897 12311 30.1% 16.0% 2006 15187 12979 21.2% 16.7% 2007 16009 14623 9.5% 23.4% 2008 16349 15078 11.8% 24.1% 2009 15710 14516 15.8% 19.7% Final Numbers Year Average Median %<10K %>20k 1996 17406 15093 21.9% 26.3% 1997 14619 12733 25.0% 16.3% 1998 14312 11871 26.6% 16.1% 1999 14282 12973 32.3% 15.1% 2000 13756 12690 34.4% 12.5% 2001 14962 13431 26.6% 17.7% 2002 15821 14108 17.1% 18.6% 2003 14898 13641 23.3% 18.0% 2004 15559 13285 24.7% 25.3% 2005 15108 12619 27.1% 17.7% 2006 15504 14175 18.8% 18.8% 2007 16770 15353 8.2% 29.7% 2008 16459 15188 11.0% 24.8%
AAQ: Average: 4th out of 14 Median: 4th out of 14 <10K: 3rd out of 14 >=20k: 5th out of 14 AAQ = (4+4+3+5)/4 = 4
a miracle? I have not looked at the data but I am not even sure it is realistically possible at this time. It certainly is mathematically possible but once you factor in the games that are dead certain to lower the median I think it is fair to say it will not happen.
28 out of the last 42 games above 15,000. And not that you asked, but it would also take 28 out of the last 42 games above 15,093 to finish with the third-ranked median in history. Both seem pretty unlikely at this point.
I come up with 19 matches remaining that are likely to draw 15k or more, that is not to say that they will, just that if any are going to for certain it will be them. I do not have the dates in front of me but they are not hard to decipher. They are the remaining home games for Seattle - 2 Toronto - 2 RSL - 2 Galaxy - 3 DC United - 3 Houston - 3 Chicago - 3 Dallas - 1 (The Cotton Bowl match) This is also not to say that the odd match elsewhere, (particularly Columbus and Chivas) won't draw 15k or greater. It was just easier to list those most likely too.
Columbus will be hosting the Beckham show for the only time this year. I would count on that as being 15+. Also, I think Columbus has gotten 19+ something like 5 out of the last 6 years for a final regular season home match. But we'd have lower expectations if we didn't add Toronto and higher numbers if we didn't add SJ. Expansion bumps are the norm for most the last years. If you stop including Seattle, you must compare numbers excludingToronto, SJ, Houston (new team bump), etc.
Can't wait for next year when it will be Philly saved the leagues attendance, and where would we be if Seattle hadn't opened more seating. And Aaron I did not realize that Columbus had yet to host Bex & Co and you are correct that the finale usually draws very well. So add those 2 matches to my numbers above and we are at 21 that are likely to draw 15k+
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZbtAFq7dP8"]YouTube - Bill Murray - Best scenes from the "Groundhog Day" - 4[/ame]
Yeah, but KC has come around with a very innovative approach to the Move KC contingent. The Move KC crowd is now saying Move KC to KC. I gotta respect them for their ability to find the silver lining.
I still wonder why Philly is building Chester to seat 18,500. With 10k season tickets sold, why not add 1,500 or 2,500 more seats during the stadiums construction that's in progress.
Because it would take that much longer to get the stadium built. Right now they just want it ready for April. After a year of sell outs (presumably), they'll go back in and add another 4k seats. The stadium itself is designed to be expanded.
It will certainly be interesting to see if Philly goes gangbusters for the Union or if they end up as a solid 15 to 17k season average. A full house each match would indeed be awesome and then as mentioned the expansion can start in two seasons. Does that party deck have any options to place temp stands if needed?
The counterargument is that, thanks to the expansion draft, the rest of the league is weaker than it would be without Seattle. All those expansion players would be with their old teams (or at least in the league) improving the league quality. And as is constantly asserted on these boards, an increase in quality will directly lead to higher attendance and income for the league.
Is that a real argument that people are giving? Seattle thinned out the talent? Seattle had 10 expansion draft picks. Who were the picks that Seattle took from elsewhere in the league? Jaqua, Sturgis, Parke (still not eligible to play), Jarrod Smith, Khano Smith, Vagenas, Wahl, Riley, King and Evans. Jaqua, Riley and Evans are usual starters. Vagenas has worked his way into the lineup frequently, and Wahl and King have some playing time too. Khano Smith was given to New York for some extra allocation money and then New York cut him. Seattle added a lot from outside the league that would not have been in the MLS without Seattle. I would guess that Ljungberg, Keller, Montero, Alonso, Le Toux and Levesque have more positive impact on play in the league than our expansion draft "detriment" to the league. Of those players, only Alonso was likely to be with a different MLS team if the Sounders didn't come in and make a deal to get his rights. I could include Hurtado in the list, but his contract stuff is even weirder than Montero's so I won't speculate as to where he would be without Seattle. People can't be thinking about this deeply, because noone would claim that Seattle's expansion draft thinned the quality of the league more than Seattle added with players they have brought in such as Keller, Ljungberg, Montero, Alonso, Le Toux and Levesque.
And if they average 18.5k they will positively impact <10k, Median, and Average, while only negatively affecting >20k. So maybe save was the wrong word, but we could still get the ridiculous without Philly statements that have been made about Seattle this year.
People seem to forget that Red Bull Arena is also opening. Not that I'm expecting them to positively affect >20k. But the new venue alone with the supposed easier NYC access is likely to produce a boost as well. But, I guess, what with the Red Bulls sucking so horribly this year and with the evidence that some have pointed out at various times that new stadiums don't really increase attendance, maybe I shouldn't mention that.
Red Bulls sucking this year is really the worst thing that could have happened. The Galaxy opened the HDC by winning the title the previous year, and that might have helped. Who knows how that great opening would have gone had Galaxy been the worst team of all time the previous year?