Walk-up sales for Indy Eleven games this season have nearly doubled after moving to the USLGETTY IMAGES
USL club Indy Eleven this year has seen a 25% "increase in attendance" since moving from the NASL prior to the season, ranking "fourth in attendance" in the 33-team league, according to Erica Irish of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The team is "averaging 10,341 attendees per home game" in its first season at Lucas Oil Stadium. That represents a 24.9% "increase from its 8,281 attendee-per-game average at this time" in '17. Indy Eleven is "outpaced only" by league leaders FC Cincinnati, Sacramento Republic and Nashville SC. FC Cincinnati is "slated to become" an MLS team in '19 with Nashville getting a team in '20. Indy Eleven VP/Sales & Marketing Joshua Mason said that walk-up sales for games have "nearly doubled this season." The club this year "joined the ESPN+ network through a USL partnership, a move that officials believe is giving the team more exposure." Mason said that Indy Eleven execs are "optimistic about next season" and believe the team is "capable of drawing between 12,000 and 15,000 fans per game" (IBJ.com, 8/1).
SHINING BRIGHT: In Las Vegas, Ron Kantowski wrote USL club Las Vegas Lights FC this season have been an "unmitigated success at the box office." The club "ranks sixth" in the league with an "average attendance of 7,426 that exceeds the league's by about 2,500." There are "multiple reasons" why Lights FC have been "successful in building a following." The primary one can be "summarized in one sentence: They've been able to tap into the local Latino market that others have ignored," as the product was "tailor-made for the audience." Since the club's inception, Lights FC Owner & CEO Brett Lashbrook said that hiring a Spanish-speaking coach "would be a priority." It figured that the club also would have Spanish-speaking players with whom the Spanish-speaking community "could develop a bond" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/31).
MAKING A SPLASH: Incoming USL expansion club Birmingham Legion have signed a three-year deal with Red Diamond to be their first ever jersey partner. The Birmingham-based company will be the official coffee and tea of the club and will have its logos on the first team jersey, training jerseys, coach and player polos and at all club events. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources pegged the deal as one of the largest in the USL (Ian Thomas, Staff Writer).
