Now that all of the home openers have taken place in the league I have updated the attendance figures. As you can see, the numbers are down 21% on aggregate. The biggest reductions came in San Jose, Real Salt Lake, Colorado and the LA Galaxy. All 4 teams had openers with big draws last season as San Jose and Real Salt Lake played Chicago and Blanco for the opener last season. Colorado played LA Galaxy and Beckham, and the Galaxy themselves had Beckham aboard last season. This partially explains the decreased numbers for those individual teams, but as you can see this appears to be a trend across the league.
So what are the reasons?
- Economy? We’ve been led to believe that the economy is expected to have a minimal impact on MLS. Is this an indicator that this is a bigger issue for the league than originally thought?
- Schedule/Weather? With the league starting a week earlier is this having an impact on attendance?
- Beckham Fiasco? While Beckham’s absence clearly impacts those games that he would have been participating in, did the fiasco surrounding his situation hurt the image of the league in the eyes of some fans?
- General Apathy? Have the casual fans disappeared this year for other reasons? Is this a general indication of less interest for MLS soccer?
2009/2008 Home Opener Figures by Team
| TEAM | 2009 | 2008 | DIFF | PCT % |
| Seattle | 32,523 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| San Jose | 10,335 | 20,038 | -9,703 | -48% |
| Real Salt Lake | 11,806 | 20,272 | -8,466 | -42% |
| Colorado | 11,885 | 18,713 | -6,828 | -36% |
| LA Galaxy | 18,013 | 27,000 | -8,987 | -33% |
| NY Red Bulls | 12,462 | 17,119 | -4,657 | -27% |
| Chicago | 11,633 | 15,553 | -3,920 | -25% |
| DC United | 15,895 | 20,161 | -4,266 | -21% |
| Houston | 16,053 | 20,102 | -4,049 | -20% |
| Dallas | 15,905 | 17,540 | -1,635 | -9% |
| Chivas | 16,453 | 17,251 | -798 | -5% |
| Columbus | 14,686 | 13,843 | 843 | 6% |
| Toronto | 20,658 | 20,219 | 439 | 2% |
| New England | 11,314 | 11,116 | 198 | 2% |
| Kansas City | 10,385 | 10,385 | 0 | 0% |
| TOTALS (excl. Sea) | 197,483 | 249,312 | -51,829 | -21% |
Another question related to this to watch is what affect Seattle will have on road trips this season. They have only made one road visit so far and that was to perpetually sold out BMO field in Toronto. Will the stars of Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg collectively shine as brightly as those of Beckham and Blanco? Will the aura that has been created at Qwest Field in Seattle transfer to the road?
What are your thoughts?
