Major League Soccer attendance

Major League Soccer is the premier professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1996, the 2015 season saw an average 21,574 spectators between the 20 teams, the highest average attendance in league history. MLS has the third-highest average attendance among all professional sports leagues with teams in the United States, ranking behind the National Football League and Major League Baseball but ahead of the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League. Among all North American professional sports leagues, MLS ranks fifth in average attendance per game behind the NFL and MLB as well as Liga MX and the Canadian Football League.

MLS attendance has grown since the early 2000s. The average attendance of 21,574 in 2015 was a 64% increase over the 13,756 average in 2000. The total attendance of 7,326,899 in 2015 is more than triple the 2,215,019 total of 2002.

The Seattle Sounders' average attendance consistently exceeds 40,000 fans.

2015 season

The following is a list of the average attendance for each of the nineteen MLS teams at their regular-season games. It includes the team, the average attendance for the 2015 regular season and the 2014 regular season, the percentage change in attendance from season-to-season, the home venue, the home venue's capacity, and the percent of capacity.^[1]

Team	2015 Attendance	2014 Attendance	Change	Stadium	Capacity (Unrestricted)	Percent (2015)
Seattle Sounders FC	44,247	43,734	+1%	CenturyLink Field	38,500 (67,000)	115% (65%)
Orlando City SC	32,847	N/A	-%	Orlando Citrus Bowl	30,000 (61,348)	110% (53%)
New York City FC	29,016	N/A	-%	Yankee Stadium	33,444 (49,642)	87% (58%)
Toronto FC	23,451	22,086	+6%	BMO Field	27,000	87%
LA Galaxy	23,392	21,258	+9%	StubHub Center	27,000	87%
Portland Timbers	21,142	20,806	+1.6%	Providence Park	20,438	103%
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	20,507	20,408	+0.5%	BC Place	21,000 (54,320)	98% (37%)
Real Salt Lake	20,160	20,351	-1%	Rio Tinto Stadium	20,008	101%
Houston Dynamo	20,658	20,117	+3%	BBVA Compass Stadium	22,000	94%
Sporting Kansas City	19,687	20,003	-2%	Sporting Park	18,467	107%
New York Red Bulls	19,657	19,421	–1%	Red Bull Arena	25,189	78%
Philadelphia Union	17,451	17,631	–1%	PPL Park	18,500	94%
Montreal Impact	17,703	17,421	+2%	Saputo Stadium	20,341	87%
D.C. United	16,244	17,030	-5%	RFK Stadium	19,467 (45,423)	83% (36%)
Columbus Crew	16,513	16,881	-2%	Mapfre Stadium	20,145	82%
FC Dallas	15,981	16,816	-5%	Toyota Stadium	21,193	75%
New England Revolution	16,681	14,844	+12%	Gillette Stadium	22,385 (68,756)	75% (24%)
Chicago Fire	16,003	16,076	-0%	Toyota Park	20,000	80%
Colorado Rapids	15,657	15,082	+4%	Dick's Sporting Goods Park	18,086	87%
San Jose Earthquakes	20,979	14,947	+29%	Avaya Stadium	18,000	117%
Chivas USA	N/A	7,063	–%	StubHub Center	18,800 (27,000)	-% (-%)

Note: Portland and Seattle's attendance is over 100% of capacity as they open up sections for select games above the regular limited capacity especially during rivalry games in Cascadia. Orlando City SC and New York City FC began play in 2015 season. Chivas USA ceased play following the 2014 season.

*	Stadium capacity artificially reduced for soccer matches

Season averages

Season	Total Gate	Games	Average	Change	High avg.	Team	Low avg.	Team	Ref
1996	2,785,001	160	17,406	--	28,916	Los Angeles Galaxy	10,213	Colorado Rapids	[2]
1997	2,339,019	160	14,619	–16.0%	21,423	New England Revolution	9,058	Kansas City Wizards	[3]
1998	2,747,897	192	14,312	–2.1%	21,784	Los Angeles Galaxy	8,072	Kansas City Wizards	[4]
1999	2,742,102	192	14,282	–0.2%	17,696	Columbus Crew	8,183	Kansas City Wizards	[5]
2000	2,641,085	192	13,756	–3.7%	20,400	Los Angeles Galaxy	7,460	Miami Fusion	[6]
2001	2,363,859	158	14,961	+8.8%	21,518	D.C. United	9,112	Kansas City Wizards	[7]
2002	2,215,019	140	15,822	+5.8%	20,690	Colorado Rapids	11,150	San Jose Earthquakes	[8]
2003	2,234,747	150	14,898	–5.8%	21,983	Los Angeles Galaxy	7,906	Dallas Burn	[9]
2004	2,333,797	150	15,559	+4.4%	23,809	Los Angeles Galaxy	9,088	Dallas Burn	[10]
2005	2,900,716	192	15,108	–2.9%	24,204	Los Angeles Galaxy	9,691	Kansas City Wizards	[11]
2006	2,976,787	192	15,504	+2.6%	20,814	Los Angeles Galaxy	11,083	Kansas City Wizards	[12]
2007	3,270,210	195	16,770	+8.2%	24,252	Los Angeles Galaxy	11,586	Kansas City Wizards	[13]
2008	3,456,600	210	16,460	–1.8%	26,008	Los Angeles Galaxy	10,685	Kansas City Wizards
2009	3,608,325	225	16,037	–2.6%	30,942	Seattle Sounders FC	9,883	FC Dallas
2010	4,002,000	240	16,675	+4.0%	36,173	Seattle Sounders FC	9,659	San Jose Earthquakes
2011	5,468,951	306	17,872	+7.2%	38,496	Seattle Sounders FC	11,858	San Jose Earthquakes
2012	6,074,729	323	18,807	+5.2%	43,144	Seattle Sounders FC	13,056	Chivas USA
2013	6,010,384	323	18,608	–1.1%	44,038	Seattle Sounders FC	8,366	Chivas USA
2014	6,184,804	323	19,148	+2.9%	43,734	Seattle Sounders FC	7,063	Chivas USA
2015	7,326,899	340	21,574	+12.5%	44,247	Seattle Sounders FC	15,657	Colorado Rapids

Notes:

• Green shading indicates record highs; red shading indicates record lows.
• The drop in number of games and total gate from 2000 to 2002, and the corresponding increase in average attendance, is attributable to league contraction, when MLS folded the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny.
• The attendance increase from 2006 to 2007 coincides with the arrival of David Beckham,^[14] and the addition of an expansion franchise in Toronto.
• The attendance increase from 2010 to 2011 coincides with the addition of expansion franchises in Portland and Vancouver, and with Kansas City moving into a new stadium.
• The attendance increase from 2014 to 2015 coincides with the addition of expansion franchises in Orlando and New York City, the contraction of Chivas USA, and San Jose moving into a new stadium.

MLS attendance vs. other North American professional leagues

The following table compares the Major League Soccer regular season average attendance against the regular season average attendance for the other professional sports leagues in North America with average attendances of at least 10,000 spectators per game.

League	Sport	# Teams	Season	Average attendance	Average vs. prior season	Total Attendance	Ref
National Football League	American football	32	2014	68,331	+280	17,304,523	[15]
Major League Baseball	Baseball	30	2015	30,366	+67	73,760,020	[16]
Canadian Football League	Canadian football	9	2014	25,286	–1,719	2,048,158	[17]
Major League Soccer	Soccer	20	2015	21,574	+2,426	7,335,053	[18]
National Basketball Association	Basketball	30	2014-15	17,826	+419	21,926,548	[19]
National Hockey League	Ice hockey	30	2014-15	17,502	–85	21,528,172	[20]

MLS attendance vs. other soccer leagues worldwide

League	Country	Federation	Season	Teams	Games	Total attendance	Average attendance
Bundesliga	Germany	UEFA	2014–15	18	306	13,323,031	43,539
Premier League	England / Wales	UEFA	2014–15	20	380	13,746,753	36,176
La Liga	Spain	UEFA	2014–15	20	380	10,268,036	27,021
Liga MX	Mexico	CONCACAF	2014–15	18	306	7,820,289	25,557
Ligue 1	France / Monaco	UEFA	2014–15	20	380	8,441,544	22,215
Serie A	Italy	UEFA	2014–15	20	380	8,440,903	22,213
Chinese Super League	China	AFC	2015	16	240	5,326,304	22,193
Major League Soccer	United States / Canada	CONCACAF	2015	20	340	7,335,053	21,574
Primera División	Argentina	CONMEBOL	2014	20	372	6,999,924	18,817
Eredivisie	Netherlands	UEFA	2014–15	18	306	5,735,736	18,744
Football League Championship	England / Wales	UEFA	2014–15	24	551	9,839,335	17,857
J1 League	Japan	AFC	2015	18	306	5,447,602	17,803
2. Bundesliga	Germany	UEFA	2014–15	18	306	5,406,111	17,667
Campeonato Brasileiro	Brazil	CONMEBOL	2015	20	380	6,671,696	17,557

Source: worldfootball.net

Historic average attendances

Season	CHI	CHV	COL	CLB	DAL	DCU	HOU	LA	MIA	MON	NE	NYC	NYRB	OC	PHI	POR	RSL	SJ	SEA	KC	TB	TOR	VAN
1996			10,213	18,950	16,011	15,262		28,916			19,205		23,898					17,232		12,878	11,679
1997			11,835	15,043	9,678	16,698		20,626			21,423		16,899					13,597		9,058	11,333
1998	17,886		14,812	12,274	10,947	16,007		21,784	10,284		19,187		16,519					13,653		8,072	10,312
1999	16,016		14,029	17,696	12,211	17,419		17,632	8,689		16,795		14,706					14,959		8,183	13,106
2000	13,387		12,580	15,451	13,102	18,580		20,400	7,460		15,463		17,621					12,460		9,112	9,452
2001	16,388		16,481	17,511	12,574	21,518		17,387	11,177		15,654		20,806					9,635		9,112	10,479
2002	12,922		20,690	17,429	13,122	16,519		19,047			16,927		18,155					11,150		12,255
2003	14,005		16,772	16,250	7,906	15,565		21,983			14,641		15,822					10,466		15,573
2004	17,153		14,195	16,872	9,008	17,232		23,809			12,226		17,195					13,001		14,816
2005	17,238	17,080	16,638	12,916	11,189	16,664		24,204			12,525		15,077				18,037	13,037		9,691
2006	14,111	19,840	12,056	13,294	14,982	18,251	18,935	20,814			11,786		14,570				16,366			11,083
2007	16,490	14,305	14,749	15,230	15,154	20,967	15,883	24,252			16,787		16,530				15,960			11,586		20,130
2008	17,034	15,114	13,659	14,662	13,024	19,835	16,939	26,009			17,580		15,928				16,179	13,856		10,686		20,120
2009	15,487	15,725	13,018	14,175	12,440	15,585	17,624	20,827			12,427		12,744				17,831	10,329	31,203	10,053		20,344
2010	15,814	14,576	14,329	14,642	10,815	14,532	17,310	21,437			12,987		18,441		19,254		17,095	9,659	36,173	10,287		20,453
2011	14,274	14,830	14,838	12,185	12,861	15,181	17,694	23,335			13,222		19,691		18,259	18,827	17,594	11,858	38,496	17,810		20,267	20,412
2012	16,409	13,056	15,175	14,397	14,199	13,846	21,015	23,136		22,772	14,001		18,281		18,053	20,438	19,087	13,293	43,144	19,404		18,155	19,475
2013	15,228	8,366	15,440	16,080	15,373	13,646	19,923	22,152		20,602	14,844		19,461		17,867	20,674	19,218	12,765	44,038	19,708		18,131	20,038
2014	16,076	7,063	15,082	16,881	16,816	17,030	20,117	21,258		17,421	16,681		19,421		17,631	20,806	20,351	14,947	43,734	20,003		22,086	20,408
2015	16,003		15,657	16,985	16,015	16,244	20,658	23,392		17,750	19,627	29,016	19,657	32,847	17,451	21,144	20,160	20,979	44,247	19,687		23,451	20,507

Notes:

• Bold indicates franchise record high for season average attendance. Italics indicates defunct team.

Individual game highest attendance

Regular season

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Source
1	Los Angeles Galaxy	2 – 1	NY/NJ MetroStars	69,255	April 13, 1996	[21]
2	Seattle Sounders FC	1 – 0	Portland Timbers	67,385	August 25, 2013	[22]
3	Seattle Sounders FC	3 – 0	Portland Timbers	66,452	October 7, 2012	[23]
4	New York Red Bulls	5 – 4	Los Angeles Galaxy	66,237	August 18, 2007	[21]
5	Seattle Sounders FC	1 – 1	Los Angeles Galaxy	66,216	October 27, 2013	[24]
6	Seattle Sounders FC	2 – 1	Portland Timbers	64,358	August 30, 2015	[25]
7	Seattle Sounders FC	2 – 0	Portland Timbers	64,207	July 13, 2014	[21]
8	Seattle Sounders FC	2 – 1	San Jose Earthquakes	64,140	October 15, 2011	[21]
9	Los Angeles Galaxy	0 – 1	New England Revolution	62,703	July 4, 1996	[21]
10	Orlando City	1 – 1	New York City	62,510	March 8, 2015
11	Colorado Rapids	3 – 2	Chicago Fire	61,202	July 4, 2002	[21]
12	Seattle Sounders FC	4 – 0	Los Angeles Galaxy	60,908	August 5, 2012	[21]
13	Montreal Impact	1 – 1	Los Angeles Galaxy	60,860	May 12, 2012	[26]
14	Colorado Rapids	3 – 1	D.C. United	60,500	July 4, 2001	[21]
15	Los Angeles Galaxy	1 – 2	Miami Fusion	60,433	July 4, 1999	[21]
16	Orlando City	2 – 2	Real Salt Lake	60,147	March 6, 2016
17	Colorado Rapids	3 – 2	Kansas City	60,142	July 4, 2003	[21]

Doubleheader games highest attendance

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Source	Doubleheader with
1	Chivas USA	1 – 1	New England Revolution	92,650	August 6, 2006	[21]	FC Barcelona vs. C.D. Guadalajara.[27]
2	Los Angeles Galaxy	2 – 2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	92,216	June 16, 1996	[21]	United States vs. Mexico
3	Chivas USA	0 – 1	Los Angeles Galaxy	88,816	August 10, 2005	[21]	C.D. Guadalajara vs. Club América.[28]
4	San Jose Clash	1 – 1	D.C. United	73,123	July 4, 1999	[21]	USA women vs. Brazil women.[29]
5	Houston Dynamo	0 – 1	Los Angeles Galaxy	70,550	August 9, 2006	[21]	FC Barcelona vs. Club América.[30]
6	San Jose Earthquakes	0 – 3	Columbus Crew	61,572	August 8, 2009	[21]	FC Barcelona vs. C.D. Guadalajara.
7	New England Revolution	2 – 1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	57,407	April 20, 1997	[21]	United States vs. Mexico.

MLS Attendance Rank By City / Metro Area

The table is sorted by MLS attendance rank, and then by MLS attendance.

City / Metro Area	MLS Attend Rank	Higher Attendance	MLS Attendance	Lower Attendance
Orlando, FL	1st	---	32,973 City SC	16,785 Magic (NBA)
San Jose, CA	1st	---	23,065 Earthquakes	18,707 Sharks (NHL)
Portland, OR	1st	---	21,144 Timbers	19,554 Trail Blazers (NBA)
Salt Lake, UT	1st	---	20,138 Real Salt Lake	18,830 Jazz (NBA)
Columbus, OH	1st	---	15,620 Crew	14,564 Blue Jackets (NHL)
Seattle, WA	2nd	68,174 Seahawks (NFL)	41,257 Sounders	27,081 Mariners (MLB)
Toronto, Ontario	2nd	29,327 Blue Jays (MLB)	24,502 Toronto FC	19,751 Raptors (NBA) 19,076 Maple Leafs (NHL) 17,790 Argonauts (CFL)
Houston, TX	2nd	71,644 Texans (NFL)	20,875 Dynamo	20,393 Astros (MLB) 18,229 Rockets (NBA)
Vancouver, B.C.	2nd	28,011 BC Lions (CFL)	20,725 Whitecaps	18,710 Canucks (NHL)
Los Angeles, CA	3rd	46,216 Dodgers (MLB) 37,277 Angels (MLB)	22,619 Galaxy	19,168 Clippers (NBA) 18,737 Lakers (NBA) 18,178 Kings (NHL) 15,887 Ducks (NHL)
Kansas City, MO/KS	3rd	75,354 Chiefs (NFL) 21,614 Royals (MLB)	19,847 Sporting	---
Boston, MA	3rd	68,756 Patriots (NFL) 35,564 Red Sox (MLB)	18,075 Revolution	17,593 Celtics (NBA) 17,565 Bruins (NHL)
Montreal, Quebec	3rd	21,286 Canadiens (NHL) 20,675 Alouettes (CFL)	16,726 Impact	---
New York, NY	4th/ 6th	78,967 Giants (NFL) 78,160 Jets (NFL) 39,922 Yankees (MLB) 31,092 Mets (MLB)	28,907 New York City FC 19,627 Red Bulls	19,812 Knicks (NBA) 18,006 Rangers (NHL) 17,037 Nets (NBA) 15,334 Islanders (NHL) 15,189 Devils (NHL)
Dallas, TX	4th	88,043 Cowboys (NFL) 30,763 Rangers (MLB) 20,187 Mavericks (NBA)	15,965 FC Dallas	14,658 Stars (NHL)
Philadelphia, PA	4th	69,144 Eagles (NFL) 23,475 Phillies (MLB) 19,271 Flyers (NHL)	17,706 Union	13,940 76ers (NBA)
Denver, CO	4th	76,939 Broncos (NFL) 31,334 Rockies (MLB) 16,176 Avalanche (NHL)	15,657 Rapids	14,700 Nuggets (NBA)
Washington DC	5th	77,220 Redskins (NFL) 32,745 Nationals (MLB) 18,238 Wizards (NBA) 18,054 Capitals (NHL)	15,393 D.C. United	---
Chicago, IL	6th	61,681 Bears (NFL) 32,742 Cubs (MLB) 21,769 Blackhawks (NHL) 21,343 Bulls (NBA) 20,896 White Sox (MLB)	15,694 Fire	---

MLS attendance is for the 2015 season.

See also

• List of Major League Soccer stadiums

References

1. "2013 Final Attendance Update". MLS Attendance. Blogger. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
2. "1996 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
3. "1997 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
4. "1998 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
5. "1999 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
6. "2000 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
7. "2001 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
8. "2002 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
9. "2003 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
10. "2004 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
11. "2005 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
12. "2006 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
13. "2007 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
14. MLS attendance second best in history, Soccer America, October 30, 2007. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
15. "NFL Football Attendance". ESPN. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
16. "2014 vs. 2015 Attendance". baseball-reference.com. October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
17. "2014 CFL Attendance". cfldb.ca. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
18. "MLS Attendance". MLSSOCCER.COM. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
19. "NBA breaks attendance record during 2014-15 season". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
20. "2014-15 NHL Attendance Report". ESPN. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
21. "MLS Factbook 2012" (pdf). MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
22. "SEA vs POR".
23. "SEA vs POR". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
24. "SEA vs LA". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
25. "SEA vs POR". soundersfc.com. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
26. "Match Center". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
27. "Chivas USA 1-1 New England". ESPN, Inc. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
28. "Count down to SuperClassico". Chivas. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
29. "over-35000-tickets-sold-june-30-match-vs-la". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
30. "Los Angeles Galaxy 2006". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved October 16, 2012.

Notes