In addition to attendance issues, NYCFC plays on a field that is narrow by professional standardsGETTY IMAGES
The Red Bulls and NYCFC this season have "hit a formidable wall because of lackluster star power and stadium geography," according to Filip Bondy of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Without former F David Villa, who was a "top attraction" last season, NYCFC is "struggling in seventh place and has won just two of its first nine games." Average attendance for the team at Yankee Stadium is "down slightly" -- at 21,341, ninth in the league -- from the overall number last season. To "compound the problem, NYCFC still plays on a field that is absurdly narrow by professional standards." A source said that parent club Manchester City and partner owners, the Yankees, "still hope to make an announcement by the end of the season about a new stadium less than a mile south of Yankee Stadium." That would "inject a fresh dose of needed energy." Meanwhile, the Red Bulls have been a "model franchise" in recent years, but average attendance is 15,821 (15th in MLS) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. -- an "urban outpost lacking big-city stature." This season, as "part of an overhaul of Red Bull Arena -- and a concession that the stadium has too many empty seats -- ownership placed a sprawling red canvas over several of the glaringly empty, upper regions of the stadium, cutting capacity from 25,219 to 20,000 per game" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/2).
ANOTHER STORY ON WEST COAST: In L.A., Kevin Baxter wrote the city this year can "make a claim" to the title of "Soccer City." Southern California has the "two best teams in MLS" in the Galaxy and LAFC, and it also has the "two best players" in LAFC's Carlos Vela and Galaxy's Zlatan Ibrahimovic. LAFC since its inception last year has "sold out all 23 MLS games it has played" at Banc of California Stadium. Meanwhile, the Galaxy rank fifth in attendance averaging "more than 23,000 a game" (L.A. TIMES, 4/28).
