[MLS ATTENDANCE] Real Salt Lake, one of three teams that announced 20,000-plus crowds in Week 26, is headed to a club record attendance average. That's thanks
to young fans, says RSL President Bill Manning. ... For MLS team attendance rankings ...
* Real Salt Lake, which drew 20,344 for a 1-0 win over D.C. United on Saturday, is
averaging 18,897 at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL is on pace for a 10 percent increase from 2011, when the average rose 7.4 percent from 2010.
"We’re killing it, we really are," Manning told
The Salt Lake Tribune. "We don’t even look at the [Utah] Jazz schedule anymore when we make our
schedule. We don’t even look at BYU or Utah anymore. We’ve found we can still sell out when they do."
A younger demographic, between ages 18 and 30, is driving RSL's attendance
rise, reports Martin Renzhofer.
"We’ve become their team," Manning said.
* The league-wide average after 256 games is 18,534.
* MLS's highest season attendance averages were 17,872 in 2011 and 17,406 in its inaugural season of 1996.
MLS ATTENDANCE*
| Club (2012 Rank) | Week 26 Home Games | 2012 Home Average | 2011 Home Average (Final) |
| Chicago (12) | 17,007 | 15,822 | 14,273 |
| Chivas USA (18) | -- | 13,437 | 14,830 |
| Colorado (13) | -- | 15,119 | 14,838 |
| Columbus (14) | 12,522 | 14,382 | 12,185 |
| Dallas (16) | 12,811 | 13,860 | 12,861 |
| D.C. United (17) | 10,303 | 13,490 | 15,196 |
| Houston (4) | -- | 20,999 | 17,694 |
| Kansas City (7) | 18,481 | 19,254 | 17,810 |
| Los Angeles (3) | 20,168 | 22,470 | 23,335 |
| Montreal (2) | -- | 23,107 | -- |
| New England (19) | 11,841; 10,945 | 12,699 | 13,222 |
| New York (11) | -- | 17,664 | 19,749 |
| Philadelphia (10) | 16,568 | 18,277 | 18,259 |
| Portland (5) | 20,438 | 20,438 | 18,827 |
| Real Salt Lake (9) | 20,334 | 18,794 | 17,591 |
| San Jose (15) | 10,545 | 14,161 | 11,858 |
| Seattle (1) | -- | 42,666 | 38,496 |
| Toronto FC (8) | -- | 18,993 | 20,267 |
| Vancouver (6) | -- | 19,409 | 20,406 |
| Leaguewide | 15,162 | 18,534 | 17,872 |
* Attendance figures, provided by MLS, reflect tickets
sold and distributed.
David Sirias
