http://www.foxsportshouston.com/11/...anding_dynamo.html?blockID=599876&feedID=3554 MLS attendance surpasses NBA, NHL November 9, 2011 Soccer fans in the United States are always looking for tangible evidence of the growth of the sport. So when news came out from the Sporting News touting the rise of average attendance for the 18 teams up to 17,872 fans a-lot of comparisons immediately were made. Here was MLS, the sport of soccer, now outdrawing both the NBA (17,323) and the NHL (17,132). So MLS now only trails the NFL and MLB in average attendance. Personally my benchmark for MLS and professional soccer success in this country has not and will never be the over-taking other professional sports leagues. One would have to blind to its growth not to notice the strides this game has methodically made in this country. Those that have been critical of MLS commissioner Don Garber as not being a soccer guy need to re-think where this league is and the influence that he has had on it. The infrastructure beginning with stadiums in MLS is amazing and surpasses most countries around the world. Whereas in the 70's, 80's and to a large degree the 90's no one even thought of the notion of building a stadium specifically for soccer, MLS clubs are playing in buildings and environments that are first class and intimate. Places like Vancouver, Kansas City, Portland, Philadelphia all have brand new stadiums that bring a real level of professionalism. Imagine next year how the Houston Dynamo will be treated differently here in Houston when they move into their new building on the east side of downtown. Just call it a "game changer". Not only will the stadium draw curious sports fans, but those curious sports fans in some cases will become hooked to the sport and the game day experience which is very different. This move to a soccer stadium of it's own will give the Dynamo the real chance to be a viable business with control of important revenue streams . The stadium will bring another step up for the club in it's professional image to those in the media. Now large credit for the attendance lift has to be credited to Portland, Seattle, Philadelphia and Sporting KC. Some markets are clearly still flat but are being shamed in a healthy manner by the success that these clubs have gathered. The bar has been set higher, fans are traveling from city to city to support their clubs and are creating their own culture in a country that has a very crowded sports landscape. Get ready for something special next year downtown at the new Dynamo stadium, a game changer.
As a huge fan of soccer and MLS I have to say that this article is a bit disingenuous. When you factor in the number of games played and TV revenue you can see that the NBA and NHL are still pretty far ahead of MLS in terms of popularity.
I heard him on the radio last night talking about this, and he made that point. But I don't think this means nothing, either. I think it's super significant that MLS has worked itself up to a point where as many people attend these games as they do NBA/NHL games.
I've only been to 2 Dynamo games, and I had a great time at both. The atmosphere is amazing to me, since I was never a soccer fan. I would only watch during the World Cup and that's about it. Now, I catch myself watching more often, and even watching the Exhibition games and qualifiers.
It's definitely a sign of progress, and with the newer owners willing to put money into their teams things will continue to get better. Average attendance is just one metric to look at though.
no question..it's an indicator. but it's an indicator that is clearly pointing in the right direction for the future of that league.
NBA and NHL arenas are on the whole smaller than MLS stadiums, but not by much, particularly right now. The state of the art soccer-specific stadiums that are being built by franchises now (the Dynamo included) are built for 20,000 to 22,000 fans at most. Dynamo Stadium is set to hold 22,000. Gone are the days (except in the case of the New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders) that MLS teams play in football stadiums. And really we're just talking about New England here because Seattle's games often warrant having the seating capacity of a football stadium.
Glad to see soccer is catching on.....it is a wonderful sport, and even better to watch in person. DD
Good to hear,...the gap is definitely closing in on basketball and hockey. As a parent of two daughters that play soccer, with the youngest on a traveling team in TN., (mostly Sunday games-ugh...) I grew up not understanding but many in the U.S. are starting to understand more and more. . .Having a great soccer stadium is beneficial to the growth and we are seeing more of that happen.. In the 90's I loved basketball, football, baseball...but now it is football and soccer as the main thing going on...I thought I was on a island with that stance but obviously basketball is not THAT missed and baseball is trending down in popularity . .
