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SBD/Issue 13/The Back of the Book
Turnstile Tracker: USL1 Attendance Down 7.8% From '08 Season
Published September 30, 2009
The USL1, which is considered the Triple-A level of U.S. soccer, averaged 3,759 fans per game for its regular season, down 7.8% from a year ago. This year marks the second consecutive season the league has seen an average attendance decline after seeing increases each season from '00-07. The only franchises to see year-over-year gains this year were the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps, both of whom are set to join MLS for the '11 season. The Montreal Impact, who are also still under consideration as an MLS expansion team, led USL1 with 12,033 fans per game, off 5.2% from a year ago. This year's USL1 featured the expansion Austin Aztex, who finished with 2,974 fans per game. The Cleveland City Stars, also new to USL1 in '09, saw attendance decline from last year's average of 1,634 fans, when the franchise competed in USL2. Last year's USL1 included the Seattle Sounders, who moved to MLS this year, as well as the Atlanta Silverbacks, who suspended operations following the '08 season. The chart below lists team-by-team attendance for the '09 USL1 regular season, with comparisons to last year (THE DAILY).
|
'09 USL1 REGULAR-SEASON ATTENDANCE
|
||||||
|
TEAM
|
GMS
|
TOTAL
|
AVG.
|
'08*
|
% +/-
|
'08 GMS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Montreal Impact
|
15
|
144,649
|
12,033
|
12,695
|
-5.2%
|
15
|
|
Portland Timbers
|
15
|
114,143
|
9,734
|
8,568
|
13.6%
|
15
|
|
Rochester Rhinos
|
15
|
75,491
|
6,428
|
7,313
|
-12.1%
|
15
|
|
Vancouver Whitecaps
|
15
|
63,667
|
5,312
|
4,999
|
6.3%
|
15
|
|
Charleston Battery
|
15
|
42,626
|
3,534
|
3,991
|
-11.4%
|
15
|
| Puerto Rico Islanders |
15
|
42,389
|
3,293
|
4,423
|
-25.6%
|
15
|
| Minnesota Thunder |
15
|
38,790
|
3,209
|
3,573
|
-10.2%
|
15
|
| Austin Aztex |
15
|
36,091
|
2,974
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
15
|
| Carolina RailHawks |
15
|
31,313
|
2,730
|
3,869
|
-29.4%
|
15
|
| Cleveland City Stars |
15
|
17,348
|
1,491
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
15
|
| Miami FC |
15
|
13,669
|
1,063
|
1,701
|
-37.5%
|
15
|
| USL1 TOTALS |
165
|
620,176
|
3,759
|
4,076
|
-7.8%
|
165
|
NOTE: '08 USL1 attendance average includes 3,386 for the Seattle Sounders and 1,701 for the Atlanta Silverbacks.
