I completely understand the history of the 20k number, and I do agree it's best to keep it. However, I think % of stadium filled might be a good one to add, even if it's too difficult to go back and do all the math for seasons past.
Red Bulls will average 10k more than last year... Philly will draw up the average (a little.. primarily due to their opener... it's in a football stadium, right?), and amazingly, Seattle's and the Galaxy's averages will increase some. I think you'll see the rest level in attendance (on average over the remaining teams, that is... .some down... some up). In the end? 16,900 avg. 15,500 median great year.
My 2010 w/a guess: Red Bull and Seattle will together add +500 to the year's average and I think Philadelphia will cover any dips in other cities. A simple home and away sales mentality ("This is the only time you can see [blank] this year") will bump the average up to the highest average since the opening year while the median will not gain as much due to SJ and KC. Let the games commence! Code: Year Average Median %<10K %>20k 2010 16906 15420 14.2% 27.1% Code: 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% 2009 16037 14686 14.7% 20.9%
I also see a 'this weeks matches' button on the stats page. Everything might just end up collated there once the site's all working.
the good news from the SSFC opener (36K) and the CUSA opener (18.6K) gets a nice cold bucket of sad, pathetic reality in the face today with FCD opener (8K) and the Crew opener (13.5K). ouch. might be time to sing the DOOM SONG!!! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqcn_TPu4qQ"]YouTube- Gir - The Doom Song[/ame]
They aren't even updating the scores. What did they do when they went live? did they fire the temp agency from India that enters the scores for them????
comparison to last year for home openers so far: SEA: 32,523 >>>>>>>>> 36,300 CHV: 16,453 >>>>>>>>> 18,653 CLB: 14,686 >>>>>>>>> 13,536 FCD: 15,905 >>>>>>>>> 8,016
I realize this is a bit of the pot calling the kettle black, and I never pile on in the attendance threads because of that, but 8K in Dallas for the home opener? That's bad no matter how you spin it. I'll give the Rapids credit, they're making more of an effort this year. Getting the games on OTA tV in hD is a good start, and for the home opener they're advertising the fact that the Flobots will be playing halftime. I'm not expecting wonders but I'd be surprised if it were only 8K, barring a snowstorm. I don't think Dallas needs to be moved however, they just need somebody to come in and knock some heads around in the Front Office.
18,000 of the cheapest tickets in the house is not anywhere = 18,000 including the midfield seats being sold.
i think the league should institute a blackout policy where if a certain amount of seats arent sold then the game will not be shown on local television this could force some ppl to buy tickets to the game
Let's all remember that last year's Dallas announced home opener attendance of 15K at their home opener was inflated by a good 5K or so. I was there to notice the disperity between announced and attended. That's not to excuse last year's or this year's attendances....it's just a statement that last year's announced number was not the same as actual.
Growing (young) leagues can't do that. Even the NFL has trouble with this rule and it's the #1 league in the USA. If you're MLS and you put such a rule into place you'll pay for it more than you'll benefit from it, for sure.
As a Jacksonville Jaguars fan, I can assure everyone here that blackouts are the devil. Especially for a league like MLS, where they need as much TV exposure as possible. I cannot stress enough that there is no quicker way for a fanbase to hate its team and league than blackouts.
Here's why a blackout rule wouldn't work in MLS: the league isn't losing the attendance battle to fans who are choosing to stay at home and watch on TV instead. It's losing attendance battles to POTENTIAL fans who are choosing to do something, anything, besides watch OR attend a game. The solution here is better, smarter organiztions. Smarter marketing. Better people working in front offices. Better teams. Better experiences from fans at the stadiums. The solution is NOT to punish fans who are already paying attention to the league and watching games on TV....those are the fans who you're already getting to come out to the stadiums.
24,572 in Harrison, NJ tonight. Not the end of the world by any stretch...even if the actual turnstill count is more like 17-20K, it's not the end of the world. Couldn't care less that this game didn't sell out. Honestly, I don't think anyone with common sense can expect a fanbase and a region that's been treated to crap soccer in an even crappier stadium enviroment for 15 years, to suddenly flock like sheep to Harrison, NJ. It will take some time. The stadium isn't going anywhere soon.