New England finishes strong; Seattle tops, of course
- by Mike Woitalla @MikeWoitalla, Oct 22, 2012
[MLS ATTENDANCE] Seattle played its final home game on Sunday to make its new regular-season attendance record official. ... New England, one of the poorest
draws in MLS this season, drew 20,000-plus for a second straight game at Gillette Stadium. ... D.C. United enjoyed its biggest crowd of the season at RFK Stadium. ... For MLS team attendance rankings
...
* Seattle hosted two games in Week 32 and drew 38,356 on Wednesday (scorless tie with Real Salt Lake) and 38,755 on Sunday (3-1 win over Dallas). Its home schedule complete, the
Sounders' 2012 average of 43,144 means they've set the MLS season regular-season attendance record in each of its four seasons:
2012 -- 43,144.
2011 -- 38,496.
2010 --
36,173.
2009 -- 30,897.
* D.C. United, whose attendance average has dipped by a third since 2007, drew its biggest crowd of 2012 when 19,647 watched it beat Columbus, 3-2, to clinch
its first playoff appearance since 2007.
* New England drew the fourth-largest crowd (25,534) for a regular season MLS game in Gillette Stadium history on Saturday for a 1-0 win over
Chicago. The Revs, long eliminated from playoff contention, had drawn 24,364 for its previous home game, Sept. 22 against New York. Fans who bought two tickets to any of the last two home games of
2012 got two free T-shirts.
* Also announcing capacity crowds in Week 32 -- besides Seattle, D.C. United and New England -- were New York, Houston, Vancouver and San Jose.
* The
league-wide average after 313 games is 18,792.
* 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 32 Home Games | 2012 Home Average | 2011 Home Average (Final) |
| Chicago (12) | -- | 16,183 | 14,273 |
| Chivas USA (19) | 11,499 | 13,056 | 14,830 |
| Colorado (13) | -- | 15,157 | 14,838 |
| Columbus (14) | -- | 14,318 | 12,185 |
| Dallas (15) | -- | 14,099 | 12,861 |
| D.C. United (17) | 19,647 | 13,846 | 15,196 |
| Houston (5) | 22,039 | 20,015 | 17,694 |
| Kansas City (7) | -- | 19,403 | 17,810 |
| Los Angeles (3) | -- | 22,895 | 23,335 |
| Montreal (2) | -- | 22,945 | -- |
| New England (16) | 25,534 | 14,001 | 13,222 |
| New York (9) | 25,219 | 18,281 | 19,749 |
| Philadelphia (11) | -- | 18,023 | 18,259 |
| Portland (4) | -- | 20,438 | 18,827 |
| Real Salt Lake (8) | -- | 18,998 | 17,591 |
| San Jose (18) | 10,744 | 13,293 | 11,858 |
| Seattle (1) | 38,356; 38,755 | 43,144 | 38,496 |
| Toronto FC (10) | 16,151 | 18,155 | 20,267 |
| Vancouver (6) | 21,000 | 19,475 | 20,406 |
| Leaguewide | 22,894 | 18,792 | 17,872 |
* Attendance figures, provided by MLS, reflect tickets sold and
distributed.
Seattle's season average is the third highest in US soccer history behind the 1978 and 1979 New York Cosmos. They have also equalled the Cosmos' record of four consecutive seasons averaging at least 30,000 a game.
No other MLS club has averaged over 30,000 a game, Seattle's lowest drawing season was its first when it averaged only 30,897 a game, and have increased every season since.
With Portland and Seattle selling out every game and Vancouver averaging close to 20,000 a game, the Pacific Northwest has re-established itself as the hotbed of North American soccer. Ignored by MLS for over a decade, this region has emphatically shown it deserves to be represented at the top.
The topping on the cake for Seattle would be an MLS Cup title.