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WPS Attendance Down From '10 Despite Boost Following FIFA Women's World Cup
The six WPS franchises averaged 3,518 fans per game this season, down 2.3% from an average of 3,601 last season (eight teams) and down 24.9% from the league's inaugural season in '09 (seven teams). The Western New York Flash -- in their inaugural WPS season -- led all clubs with 4,881 fans per game at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester. The Flash got a huge boost at the gate with a league-record crowd of 15,404 on July 20 for a match against the magicJack. It was the first game following the FIFA Women's World Cup to feature many of the U.S. National Team players. The Boston Breakers and Atlanta Beat were also beneficiaries of games that posted strong attendance figures following the World Cup. Sky Blue FC saw the sharpest drop at the gate among WPS clubs, down 35.6% at Yurcak Field at Rutgers Univ. The magicJack averaged a league-low 2,033 fans per game in their first season in Boca Raton. The franchise averaged 3,825 fans per game last season while playing in DC as the Washington Freedom. Listed below is team-by-team attendance for the WPS over the league's first three seasons (THE DAILY).
'11 WPS REGULAR SEASON ATTENDANCEHOME TEAM GMSTOTALAVG.VENUE Western New York Flash (a) 943,9294,881Sahlen's Stadium Atlanta Beat 943,5604,840KSU Soccer Stadium Boston Breakers 939,9964,444Harvard Stadium Philadelphia Independence 924,9662,774Leslie Quick Stadium Sky Blue FC 919,2422,138Yurcak Field magicJack (b) 918,2972,033FAU Soccer Field TOTALS 54189,9903,518NOTES: (a) = Expansion team. (b) = Relocated to Boca Raton, Fla., following last season as the Washington Freedom in DC.
'10 WPS REGULAR SEASON ATTENDANCEHOME TEAM GMSTOTALAVG.VENUE Boston Breakers 1253,8784,490Harvard Stadium Chicago Red Stars 1248,2964,025Toyota Park Washington Freedom 1245,9043,825Maryland SoccerPlex Atlanta Beat 1244,2843,690KSU Soccer Stadium Sky Blue FC 1136,5213,320Yurcak Field FC Gold Pride 1236,6753,056Pioneer Stadium Saint Louis Athletica* 412,1093,027Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park Philadelphia Independence 1235,6052,967John A. Farrell Stadium TOTALS 87313,2723,601NOTE: * = Saint Louis Athletica shut down operations on May 27, 2010.
'09 WPS REGULAR SEASON ATTENDANCEHOME TEAM GMSTOTALAVG.VENUE L.A. Sol 1062,9806,298Home Depot Center Washington Freedom 1057,4665,747Maryland SoccerPlex Chicago Red Stars 1049,2764,928Toyota Park Boston Breakers 1046,6514,665Harvard Stadium Saint Louis Athletica 1038,3263,833Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park FC Gold Pride 1036,6663,667Buck Shaw Stadium Sky Blue FC 1036,5133,651Yurcak Field TOTALS 70327,8784,684




