The NWSL is “seeing a surge in interest” following the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the league is “loving the attention,” according to Anne Peterson of the AP. Participants in the WWC have now “returned to their club teams and to crowds eager to see the American victors.” NSWL Commissioner Jeff Plush said, “The last few weeks have been really, really nice for all of us. But there's more hard work. It continues to be a business we work very hard at every day.” Peterson reported a crowd of 21,144 watched last night's Seattle Reign-Portland Thorns game, marking the "second-largest stand-alone crowd ever to watch a professional women's league game” in the U.S. The crowd at Portland's Providence Park set the NWSL attendance record, and last night's match “marked the fourth time the crowd has gone over 16,000” for a Thorns home game. The Thorns “lead the league in attendance by a wide margin, averaging 13,769 fans a game this season," but other teams also “have seen a spike in attendance” since the WWC. The Washington Spirit “drew a club record 5,413 fans” for Saturday's game against the Reign at the Maryland SoccerPlex, while the Boston Breakers and Chicago Red Stars played “before a record 3,560 fans” at Benedictine Univ. in Chicago. A “record 13,025 fans turned out at BBVA Compass Stadium” for the Red Stars-Houston Dash match last week, as U.S. team members Carli Lloyd, Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian “were honored but didn't play.” The NWSL “could also get another bump next season” from the ’16 Rio Games (AP, 7/22).
FANS WILL STAY ONCE THEY GET A LOOK: Discovery Channel Founder John Hendricks, who launched the now-defunct WUSA in '01, said expects that many of those who sample NWSL games in the weeks after the WWC "will become fans" of the league. He said, "It’s just getting people to show up to games for the first time. Once they do that, they get it." While Hendricks acknowledged that WUSA’s business model and spending "were not sustainable," he added that today’s economy "should help the current league last longer than his turn-of-the-century effort." Hendricks: "It’s going to take a while to continue to nurture the fan base, which is important. The cost structure is really, really important to keep under control. My advice would be that teams need to have a salary level for the players that helps them in their lives pursue their goal. It can’t be to the extent that threatens the economic survival of the league" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/20 issue).
