The Crew's promising season came after a rough '18 campaign with rumors of relocation hurting fan moralGETTY IMAGES
The Crew had an average attendance of 14,856 in '19, with a total attendance of 252,555, compared with 12,447 and 211,603 in '18, good for a 19.4% increase and the "most year-over-year attendance growth of any MLS team last season," according to Jacob Myers of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Despite the bump, the team's attendance "still ranked 21st out of 24 MLS teams and still below the average of 15,439" from '17. Given the Crew's "tumultuous" '18, and a rebuilt front office, last season's attendance numbers were "more a benchmark for its aspirations rather than proof that interest for the Crew wasn't as grand as the Save The Crew movement made it seem." Crew Exec VP & Chief Business Officer Steve Lyons said that '19 was a "promising start," but there still is "much to be done before reaching the goal of 14,000 to 15,000 season-ticket holders." Lyons added that after selling "more than 9,000 season tickets last season," the Crew are "trending upward in season-ticket sales, though he declined to give specific figures." Myers notes Mapfre Stadium is "one of the smaller venues in the league with a capacity of 19,968," and the Crew will open a 20,000-seat stadium in '21 (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 1/12).
