MLS' inaugural post-season began last night with 14,416 at
Giants Stadium to watch the MetroStars beat the DC United in Game
1 of a best-of-three Conference Semifinal. For the season, MLS
averaged 17,417, surpassing league expectations. Before the
season, MLS Chair Alan Rothenberg said they hoped to draw 10,600
fans per game. NOTE: Capacities listed below are MLS-determined
for soccer configurations (THE DAILY).
HOME TICKET
TEAM DATES AVERAGE TOTAL CAPACITY %CAP $RANGE
L.A. Galaxy 16 28,916 462,655 26,100 111% $10-20
NY/NJ MetroStars 16 23,898 382,360 26,576 90% $ 9-20
N.E. Revolution 16 19,025 304,392 22,300 85% $ 9-20
Columbus Crew 16 18,950 303,202 25,134 75% $ 7-14
San Jose Clash 16 17,232 275,712 28,000 62% $ 7-19
Dallas Burn 16 16,011 256,173 25,425 63% $ 8-19
DC United 16 15,281 244,489 23,865 64% $10-22
Kansas City Wiz 16 12,901 206,421 30,554 42% $ 7-13
Tampa Bay Mutiny 16 11,679 186,856 16,000 73% $ 7-16
Colorado Rapids 16 10,276 164,413 17,500 59% $ 8-20
LEAGUE 160 17,417 2,786,673 24,145 72% $ 7-22
REAX: To the "dismay of soccer bashers and the embarrassment
of the doomsayers, ... [MLS] can be considered a huge success,"
according to Dan Giesin of the S.F. CHRONICLE. MLS will see a
45% increase over their projected total attendance of 1.92
million. MLS Commissioner Doug Logan: "We got more than our fair
share (of media attention). And the reporting was balanced and
fair. We have no complaints about the coverage." Giesin notes
areas to work on include the officiating, "which can be called
inconsistent at best;" some of the league's playing facilities
which have undersized fields; and two franchises, Colorado and
Tampa, that haven't drawn as well as hoped. But Hank
Steinbrecher, General Secretary of the U.S. Soccer Federation,
said MLS "was better than we anticipated. It was a real risk"
(S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/25).
