It's been quite a year for Major League Soccer.
Yesterday, #DecisionDay went off with a bang as teams around the league learned their fate and the 2016 MLS Playoffs field was cemented. Today, we learned that MLS logged a third straight regular-season attendance record in 2016, and the league now ranks sixth in the world in attendance -- ahead of Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1, according to ESPNFC.com.
The regular-season numbers were finalized Monday, after nine of 10 Decision Day matches sold out, according to Soccer America. Sunday also saw MLS set a record for most fans in a single day with 283,807.
For 2016, MLS drew more than 7 million fans across 330 matches. Average attendance per match was 21,692, up slightly vs. 2015.
The LA Galaxy came in at fifth with a total attendance of 427,492.
Overall, 11 clubs increased their attendance and 10 averaged more than 20,000 fans, both matching highs first set last season. MLS also set a new record with 162 sellouts, one more than the previous high, also set in 2015. Average attendance has also increased 40 percent in the 10-year span since 2006, when average attendance was 15,504.
MLS Attendance
SEA |
17 |
724,809 |
42,636 |
111.32 |
44,247 |
-3.64 |
38,300 |
ORL |
17 |
532,500 |
31,324 |
104.41 |
32,847 |
-4.64 |
30,000 |
NYC |
17 |
462,336 |
27,196 |
98.79 |
29,016 |
-6.27 |
27,528 |
TOR |
17 |
451,917 |
26,583 |
88.61 |
23,451 |
13.36 |
30,000 |
LA |
17 |
427,492 |
25,147 |
97.97 |
23,392 |
7.50 |
25,667 |
VAN |
17 |
379,603 |
22,330 |
100.95 |
20,507 |
8.89 |
22,120 |
POR |
17 |
359,448 |
21,144 |
100 |
21,142 |
0.01 |
21,144 |
MTL |
17 |
351,366 |
20,669 |
102.93 |
17,750 |
16.45 |
20,081 |
NY |
17 |
350,535 |
20,620 |
81.86 |
19,822 |
4.03 |
25,189 |
NE |
17 |
343,150 |
20,185 |
100.93 |
19,627 |
2.84 |
20,000 |
SJ |
17 |
338,816 |
19,930 |
110.72 |
20,979 |
-5 |
18,000 |
RSL |
17 |
335,909 |
19,759 |
97.75 |
20,160 |
-1.99 |
20,213 |
SKC |
17 |
333,155 |
19,597 |
106.12 |
19,687 |
-0.46 |
18,467 |
HOU |
17 |
323,361 |
19,021 |
86.31 |
20,658 |
-7.92 |
22,039 |
PHI |
17 |
297,825 |
17,519 |
94.7 |
17,451 |
0.39 |
18,500 |
CLB |
17 |
291,128 |
17,125 |
85.76 |
16,513 |
3.71 |
19,968 |
DC |
17 |
290,381 |
17,081 |
86.94 |
16,224 |
5.28 |
19,647 |
COL |
17 |
276,721 |
16,278 |
90.43 |
15,657 |
3.97 |
18,000 |
CHI |
17 |
265,234 |
15,602 |
78.01 |
16,003 |
-2.51 |
20,000 |
DAL |
17 |
239,601 |
14,094 |
85.42 |
16,013 |
-11.98 |
16,500 |
Totals |
330 |
7,375,287 |
21,692 |
95.50 |
21,558 |
0.62 |
MLS vs World Attendance
Source ESPNFC.com
Bundesliga (GER) |
41,968 |
Premier League (ENG) |
35,516 |
La Liga (ESP) |
38,076 |
Liga MX (MEX) |
26,794 |
Chinese Super League (CHN) |
24,255 |
<strong>MLS (USA)</strong> |
<strong>21,692</strong> |
Serie A (ITA) |
21,069 |
Ligue 1 (FRA) |
20,898 |
Championship (ENG) |
19,553 |
2.Bundesliga (GER) |
19,176 |