MLS Attendance Up 10.6% Heading Into Tonight's All-Star Game
Heading into tonight's All-Star Game at BMO Field in Toronto, MLS is averaging 16,647 fans per game, up 10.6% compared to the same point last year. With MF David Beckham this year playing the first half of the season, the Galaxy are seeing a 13.0% jump in attendance at The Home Depot Center, while co-tenant Chivas USA rebounded from early attendance woes to post a 9.8% jump for the first half. However, it is the Red Bulls who are seeing the biggest gains to date, with attendance up 58.3% from a year ago. With their new soccer-specific stadium set to open on October 9, Real Salt Lake is seeing the league's biggest drop at the gate, off 9.7%, despite going undefeated at home and sitting atop the Western Conference standings. The following lists MLS team-by-team attendance through July 23, with comparisons to the period leading up to last year's All-Star Game (THE DAILY).
|
HOME TEAM
|
GMS
|
TOTAL
|
AVG.
|
% CAP.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
'07 GMS
|
| Galaxy |
10
|
255,132
|
25,513
|
94.5%
|
22,586
|
13.0%
|
8
|
| Toronto FC |
9
|
181,017
|
20,113
|
100.6%
|
19,994
|
0.6%
|
7
|
| D.C. United |
9
|
181,194
|
20,133
|
44.2%
|
17,722
|
13.6%
|
8
|
| Red Bulls |
8
|
141,430
|
17,679
|
22.1%
|
11,170
|
58.3%
|
7
|
| Dynamo |
7
|
119,433
|
17,062
|
56.9%
|
14,417
|
18.3%
|
10
|
|
Fire
|
8
|
133,336
|
16,667
|
83.3%
|
14,055
|
18.6%
|
9
|
| Revolution* |
8
|
131,950
|
16,494
|
82.5%
|
14,689
|
12.3%
|
7
|
| Earthquakes |
6
|
98,896
|
16,483
|
72.3%
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| Real Salt Lake |
10
|
151,087
|
15,109
|
59.1%
|
16,735
|
-9.7%
|
7
|
|
Rapids
|
8
|
116,896
|
14,612
|
80.8%
|
14,926
|
-2.1%
|
9
|
|
Chivas USA
|
9
|
128,572
|
14,286
|
52.9%
|
13,013
|
9.8%
|
7
|
| FC Dallas |
9
|
123,181
|
13,687
|
66.8%
|
14,947
|
-8.4%
|
7
|
| Crew |
9
|
119,162
|
13,240
|
65.7%
|
12,611
|
5.0%
|
9
|
| Wizards |
7
|
66,382
|
9,483
|
94.8%
|
9,512
|
-0.3%
|
8
|
| MLS TOTALS |
117
|
1,947,668
|
16,647
|
59.5%
|
15,057
|
10.6%
|
103
|
NOTES: * = Home attendance includes June 6 doubleheader, which included int'l friendly featuring Brazil-Venezuela (54,045 fans).
PRIMETIME FROM THE PITCH: Through 15 MLS games on ESPN2, the net is averaging a 0.2 coverage area rating (289,000 viewers), even with a 0.2 rating (246,000 viewers) for the 13 games televised before the All-Star Game last season. ESPN2 is also flat across the board in key demos, averaging a 0.2 rating for males 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. The April 3 Earthquakes-Galaxy game remains the most-viewed telecast of the season with 399,000 viewers. Last season, after Beckham joined the Galaxy, ESPN2 telecasts averaged a 0.3 coverage rating for 12 telecasts. Below are the Thursday night MLS matches on ESPN2 to date this season. The Wizards-Crew game last Thursday aired on ESPN (317,000 viewers).
|
DATE
|
GAME
|
START
|
COV.
|
VIEWERS
|
|
4/3
|
Earthquakes-Galaxy
|
10:27pm
|
0.3
|
399,000
|
|
6/19
|
Fire-Chivas USA
|
10:00pm
|
0.3
|
351,000
|
|
5/29
|
D.C. United-Revolution
|
7:30pm
|
0.3
|
347,000
|
|
7/10
|
Chivas USA-Galaxy
|
11:11pm
|
0.2
|
323,000
|
|
4/17
|
Crew-D.C. United
|
8:00pm
|
0.3
|
315,000
|
|
6/12
|
Revolution-Dynamo
|
9:00pm
|
0.2
|
310,000
|
|
4/3
|
Revolution-Fire
|
8:00pm
|
0.2
|
299,000
|
|
7/3
|
Dynamo-Real Salt Lake
|
10:00pm
|
0.2
|
280,000
|
|
4/24
|
Revolution-FC Dallas
|
8:30pm
|
0.2
|
278,000
|
|
5/8
|
Fire-D.C. United
|
7:30pm
|
0.2
|
275,000
|
|
6/26
|
FC Dallas-Dynamo
|
10:05pm
|
0.2
|
271,000
|
|
6/5
|
Chivas USA-Red Bulls
|
7:30pm
|
0.2
|
265,000
|
|
5/22
|
Dynamo-Earthquakes
|
10:30pm
|
0.2
|
215,000
|
|
5/1
|
Red Bulls-Toronto FC
|
7:00pm
|
0.2
|
209,000
|
|
5/15
|
Real Salt Lake-Rapids
|
9:30pm
|
0.2
|
167,000
|
|
