The Washington Spirit continue to draw good crowds at the Maryland SoccerPlex. (Photo Copyright Amanda McCormick | www.amandamccormick8.com)
It was another week without some of the league’s biggest names, but the fans still turned out to support the NWSL. Over 25,000 fans came out to see their teams this week with Portland and Washington drawing the biggest crowds. These two clubs have proven they have figured out the attendance game. Some other teams in the league might want to look at how well Washington does at the gate on a weekly basis.
It doesn’t appear that Chicago is going to be able to draw much of a crowd this year. They have now had under 1,500 fans at every game but one (hosting the Thorns).
Next week could be a rough one at the gate as some of the league’s worst drawing teams are hosting. Women’s soccer in the U.S. appears strong though as the national team had a good crowd on Saturday and should see another one this week.
Here are the NWSL’s attendance numbers through Week 10 (40 games):
Average Attendance: 4,260
(Average Attendance Without Portland’s Home Games: 2,743)
Attendance Standard Deviation: 3,959
Median Attendance: 2,979
Total Attendance to date: 170,395
(Total Attendance Without Portland’s Home Games: 93,253)
Week Ten Attendance Numbers:
FC Kansas City @ Chicago Red Stars (Benedictine University Sports Complex Stadium) – 1,141
Western New York Flash @ Washington Spirit (Maryland SoccerPlex) – 4,630
Seattle Reign FC @ Portland Thorns FC (JELD-WEN Field) – 13,802
Chicago Red Stars @ FC Kansas City (Shawnee Mission District Stadium) – 3,421
Sky Blue FC @ Boston Breakers (Dilboy Stadium) – 2,687
| Average Home Attendance | |||
| Team | Games | Average | Capacity |
| Portland Thorns FC | 6 | 12,857 | 63% |
| FC Kansas City | 5 | 4,563 | 74% |
| Washington Spirit | 5 | 4,268 | 95% |
| Western New York Flash | 4 | 3,021 | 22% |
| Boston Breakers | 5 | 2,361 | 81% |
| Seattle Reign FC | 5 | 1,875 | 52% |
| Sky Blue FC | 5 | 1,625 | 33% |
| Chicago Red Stars | 5 | 1,542 | 44% |
