Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 7
The Week 7 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
| Week 7 | 56 GP | YTD | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2006 | 12,580 | 7 | 16,296 | 16,069 | 41 | |||
| 2007 | 16,932 | 34.59% | 8 | 14,999 | -7.96% | 15,348 | -4.48% | 46 |
| 2008 | 16,707 | -1.33% | 6 | 15,767 | 5.12% | 17,232 | 12.28% | 48 |
| 2009 | 13,389 | -19.86% | 7 | 14,588 | -7.48% | 14,796 | -14.14% | 52 |
| 2010 | 13,864 | 3.55% | 11 | 16,238 | 11.31% | 16,238 | 9.75% | 56 |
| YTD – 56 Games | ||||
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>20k | |
| 2006 | 16,296 | 15,742 | 18.18% | 20.00% |
| 2007 | 14,999 | 14,130 | 14.29% | 17.86% |
| 2008 | 15,767 | 15,148 | 12.50% | 28.57% |
| 2009 | 14,588 | 13,439 | 19.64% | 16.07% |
| 2010 | 16,238 | 13,602 | 16.07% | 23.21% |
Here are the attendance comparisons to 2009:
| MLS Attendance – Equal # of Home Games | |||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | ||||||
| Att | Cap % | Att | Att +/- | GP | Cap % | Cap | |
| Seattle | 29,536 | 91.16% | 36,145 | 22.37% | 5 | 101.82% | 35,500 |
| Philadelphia | NA | NA | 34,870 | NA | 1 | 91.76% | 18,500 |
| Toronto | 20,282 | 92.28% | 20,144 | -0.68% | 3 | 91.66% | 21,978 |
| LA Galaxy | 19,761 | 73.19% | 19,245 | -2.61% | 4 | 71.28% | 27,000 |
| N.Y./N.J. Red Bulls | 10,424 | 41.38% | 17,953 | 72.22% | 3 | 71.27% | 25,189 |
| Houston | 15,561 | 69.16% | 15,754 | 1.24% | 5 | 70.02% | 22,500 |
| Real Salt Lake | 12,550 | 52.89% | 15,618 | 24.44% | 3 | 80.75% | 19,340 |
| D.C. United | 14,289 | 63.51% | 15,300 | 7.07% | 4 | 68.00% | 22,500 |
| Chicago | 10,901 | 54.51% | 14,937 | 37.03% | 3 | 74.69% | 20,000 |
| ChivasUSA | 14,839 | 54.96% | 14,554 | -1.92% | 4 | 53.90% | 27,000 |
| Columbus Crew | 12,926 | 64.63% | 12,685 | -1.87% | 3 | 63.43% | 20,000 |
| Colorado Rapids | 11,037 | 61.02% | 10,484 | -5.01% | 3 | 57.97% | 18,086 |
| KC Wizards | 9,231 | 88.88% | 10,219 | 10.71% | 3 | 98.40% | 10,385 |
| San Jose | 11,273 | 39.06% | 9,514 | -15.60% | 4 | 92.37% | 10,300 |
| FC Dallas | 9,372 | 44.22% | 9,352 | -0.22% | 4 | 44.13% | 21,193 |
| NE Revolution | 11,594 | 51.53% | 9,247 | -20.24% | 4 | 41.10% | 22,500 |
My disclaimer about the capacity calculations
For my calculations, I’ve taken the 3 teams playing in Amercan football stadiums, DCU in RFK, Houston in Robertson and New England in Foxboro and assigned maximum capacities at 22,500. I took the 22,500 number from an approximate average of the soccer specific stadiums in use.
Observations
Four midweek games this week. Eleven total as the league starts to fill in the schedule in anticipation of the 2 week hiatus that will accompany the group phase of the World Cup. Starting off in DC, a bit over 10K saw United earn its first points of the year with academy product Bill Hamid in goal. The Revs had what promises to be a candidate for low gate of the year for its drubbing by ChivasUSA(5,990). A bit over 13,200 came to see the return leg of the Texas Derby in Houston. The Rapids again drew under 10K. All of the midweek matches had decent weather. Saturday began with the usual monster crowd in Seattle. And no, despite any tweets you may have seen, it was not the largest crowd to see an MLS game. Toronto had a great crowd despite chilly temperatures and windy conditions. RSL had a fair crowd of just over 14,200 in a match that was moved to the afternoon because the NBA Jazz were in a playoff game at night. Columbus had a less than stellar turnout in cool weather, just under 10,200. Dallas drew just a bit over 10,300. Despite their recent success, San Jose did not sell out. ChivasUSA still had trouble drawing a big crowd even though they were on a 3 game unbeaten string.
San Jose note: The Quakes large decline is attributed to the fact that they played their 4th home game(vs LA) away from Buck Shaw in ’09, drawing over 15,800. They also played their 7th(vs LA) and 11th(doubleheader Barcelona v Chivas) home games(17,000+, 61,500+) at Oakland Alameda Coliseum.
Rookies are still doing their thing. Blair Gavin got his first MLS goal vs New England. Zak Boggs scored his first two MLS goals for New England.
A mixed result from the players on my preseason ‘watch list’(bottom of post). Ryan Smith had a pretty bad game while Kei Kamara, who inexplicably hasn’t started lately for the Wizards came in and scored KC’s only goal on Wednesday.
| Week 7 Games | ||
| DC United | 2 | DCU – Steve Goff – Soccer Insider |
| Kansas City | 1 | Kansas City – Hillcrest Road |
| New England | 0 | Revolution Soccer |
| Chivas USA | 4 | Chicago Fire Confidential |
| Colorado | 0 | Undercurrent |
| Los Angeles | 1 | LA – Official Blog |
| Houston | 0 | Soccer y Fútbol – Jose de Jesus Ortiz |
| FC Dallas | 1 | 3rd Degree – Buzz Carrick |
| Seattle | 0 | Seattle Times |
| Los Angeles | 4 | LA – Official Blog |
| Toronto | 4 | TFC Connected |
| Chicago | 1 | Chicago Fire Confidential |
| Real Salt Lake | 3 | RSL – Behind the Shield |
| Philadelphia | 0 | Philadelphia Union Soccer |
| Columbus | 3 | Columbus Dispatch – Crew XTra |
| New England | 2 | Revolution Soccer |
| FC Dallas | 1 | 3rd Degree – Buzz Carrick |
| DC United | 0 | DCU – Steve Goff – Soccer Insider |
| San Jose | 4 | San Jose Center Line Soccer |
| RBNY | 0 | Red Bulls Reader |
| Chivas USA | 0 | Chicago Fire Confidential |
| Houston | 2 | Soccer y Fútbol – Jose de Jesus Ortiz |
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GFA | GAA | PPG | PTS | GD | |
| Los Angeles | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 1.88 | 0.25 | 2.75 | 22 | 13 |
| NY Red Bull | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 1.14 | 1.14 | 2.14 | 15 | 0 |
| Houston | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 1.38 | 0.88 | 1.63 | 13 | 4 |
| San Jose | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 1.83 | 1.17 | 2.00 | 12 | 4 |
| Columbus | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 1.80 | 1.00 | 2.20 | 11 | 4 |
| Real Salt Lake | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 1.71 | 1.14 | 1.43 | 10 | 4 |
| Colorado | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 1.14 | 1.00 | 1.43 | 10 | 1 |
| Dallas | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1.29 | 1.14 | 1.43 | 10 | 1 |
| Chivas USA | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 1.25 | 1.38 | 1.25 | 10 | -1 |
| Toronto FC | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 1.57 | 1.86 | 1.29 | 9 | -2 |
| Seattle | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 1.00 | 1.50 | 1.13 | 9 | -4 |
| Chicago | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 1.29 | 1.43 | 1.14 | 8 | -1 |
| Kansas City | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.17 | 7 | 0 |
| New England | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 1.25 | 1.75 | 0.88 | 7 | -4 |
| Philadelphia | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 1.00 | 2.33 | 0.50 | 3 | -8 |
| DC United | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 0.57 | 2.14 | 0.43 | 3 | -11 |
Seattle management was so embarassed by the club’s sound thrashing at home by the Galaxy, that they will be issuing credit to season ticket holders.
Streaking
- FC Dallas have not lost at home in its last 12(8 wins).
- TFC has not lost at home in 9 straight.
- TFC is winless in 12 straight road games(3 draws).
- RSL are unbeaten in their last 13 regular season home games.
- Los Angeles have yet to yield a goal on the road(4 games).
MLS Throw Ins
- Amazing. Eleven games this week, no draws.
- Two teams remain unbeaten, Columbus and Los Angeles.
- There have been 9 draws compared to 15 in ’09 thru the first 45 matches.
- There have been 32 clean sheets in the first 56 matches
- Through 45 games: goal scoring is slightly down from 2009, 2.53 vs 2.62.
- RSL has lost only twice in its last 32 home matches. They lost only once in ’08 and ’09, a feat matched by Houston.
- This year however, Houston has lost 2 of 5 at home.
The MLS play-in matches for the Open have begun for the teams that did not finish in the top 6 in 2009. The next match will be played on May 12. Seattle are the defending cup holders, and as such will compete in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. Two teams will emerge from the group of Colorado, RSL, DCU, the Revs and RBNY to join the 6 that automatically qualified.
- Colorado Rapids defeated the Kansas City Wizards 2-1.
- Real Salt Lake beat the San Jose Earthquakes on PK’s 5-3 after playing to a 3-3 score.
- New York Red Bulls downed Philadelphia 2-1.
- DC United beat FC Dallas 4-2, the 2nd year in a row that DCU eliminates FCD.
- New England Revolution at New York on Wednesday, May 12
The structure for the tourney has been finalized. Round 1 begins June 15, Round 2 June 22, Round 3(when the 8 MLS teams join in) June 29.
In case you were wondering, here is the World Cup schedule(June 11-July 11). Note that the latest start time(ET) is 2pm.
12 Responses to Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 7
Can somebody give Kraft some kind of ultimatum up there in NE? Either figure out a way to get people into Gillette Stadium, build a new stadium closer to Boston, or sell to someone who will move that team somewhere else. No offense to Revs fans but you’ve had 14 and a half seasons to build a fan base. At this point maybe it’s time to admit soccer doesn’t work in New England. Attendance stank for teams up there in the old NASL too.
It’s even more frustrating because Boston has all characteristics of a great MLS market: international city, die hard sports fans, lots of college kids, and plenty of venture capital to invest in soccer. If they built a stadium in the city and brought in Robbie Keane or Damien Duff, you would think they could at least double their average attendance. I understand why the Krafts operate the Revs the way they do, but there is no doubt that their conservative strategy is holding back progress in what could be a great soccer market.
I’m not sure the college kids in Boston matter. They have plenty of college sports to go to, many leave in the summer, and they can’t easily get to Foxboro without cards. The success and popularity of the other sports teams doesn’t help, especially baseball. Sure, if the rev’s played downtown they could get a few more fans, but not even the patriots have managed that.
“without cars” not cards.
Right, Boston has a lot of college kids. Foxboro does not. That was my point.
How to explain things with numbers. Interesting the per match numbers vs. the average per week. The influence of the new teams since 2006 explains it well.
In any event MLS is like the economy keeping an upward trend.
I live in Foxboro. Nobody goes to Gillette on a Wednesday.
I can’t even get the games on TV because they started a new contract this year w/Comcast Sports, which also broadcasts the Celtic games…so the Revs games are getting bumped for the Celts and it’s just a disaster so far.
Once the weather is tolerable and the Bruins and Celtics are done, more people will show up. I just got home for the night game at Fenway and it was painful to sit out there with the cold.
No college kids go to Gillette because there is no way to get there. The stadium is 25 miles away from Boston. Plus the only 2 exciting players the Revs have (Twellman and Joseph) haven’t been playing.
Please get rid of the single table format. Seattle is last in the West, it does them NO good to be beating 5 teams in the East.
LA with avg. 19k in attendance. Bizarre. I just don’t get it. I would have paid double for this weeks ticket to see LA play….and I hate LA. I just don’t get soccer fans in the US.
ps. Toronto says they have 17,000 season tickets waiting to be bought, but I watch the highlights and there empty seats everywhere ?
Again, Toronto had a major artery road closed and it was damn near 0 degrees outside with rain. It’s not exactly weather that draws the fair weather fans, so to speak, especially without a roof.
Also, the beer gardens are open during the game and look out onto the pitch from the north end, they’re underneath the North stands but you can watch the game from there.
People spend a lot of the time there and this also reduces people in the seats.
Finally, a significant number of seats are held by scalpers who are trying to charge premiums on the seats. MLSE has done nothing to deal with the issue despite constant complaints from the supporter groups.
Until these issues are resolved, the attendance will appear to be down. All the tickets are accounted for and sold, people just aren’t showing up for a plethora of reasons.
The supporter sections were packed, as was the West Stands…the East, what you see on TV, was not.
Thanks Lars, I will listen this time.
Actually the beer garden and scalping makes a lot of sense. I thought they might be pulling my 1980s Seattle Mariners. American League released tickets sold, and magically 50% of the people never showed up.
You do see that at a lot of MLS games, the seats behind the goal are packed and the midfield empty. NY made those seats a multi color advertisement so it looks like there are fans there. I worry that those teams are only selling very cheap tickets.
BTW, before anyone gets too happy realize :
Total attendance MLS 2010 YTD = 893,090
The average team has played 3.5 homes games, Sounders have played 5, so taking away the difference between Sounders and average MLS team,
MLS 2010 YTD = 863,447 ( 15,700 per game )
Take away the extra seats the Sounders added seats over ’09 and you are at
MLS 2010 YTD = 830,947 (15,100 per game)…
………………………or 300 people extra per game over last year.
Anyone shocked that MLS is trying to expand, needs their heads examined. MLS is searching/praying for another city that cares about soccer in the US. The downside ? Zero, just add another city that doesn’t care to the list.
As far as the LA thing goes, having two teams play in the same stadium has to reduce scarcity. I’m OK with two LA teams, but Chivas need to move to another part of the city/region. Isn’t there a second rate college stadium or something they could use?
I always buy the cheapest seat to the rapids, and then move to the good seats if I can. The rapids should sell all their seats (the standing section can be cheaper) at the same price and get fans on the side where they visible on TV. This would advertise that the games are fun to go to.