Attendance in Major League Soccer for the 2010 season continues to be on pace to increase from the 2009 season. The average through Week 8 is around 16,100 (through 64 matches) while it was around 14,50o in 2009 through 62 matches.
The teams who are seeing significant increases are the New York Red Bulls, who are averaging almost 18,000 after four home matches. This is an increase from the 12,490 average from the 2009 season. The Red Bulls attendance should increase as the season continues and Thierry Henry joining the club in July. Other teams who are seeing increases are the Seattle Sounders who increased their stadium capacity and sell out every home match.
While attendance overall is doing well, several clubs are struggling to attract decent crowds. FC Dallas is averaging around 9,300 which is less than half of the 21,193 seat Pizza Hut Park. Other clubs with low attendance numbers are the New England Revolution with about 10,100 and the Colorado Rapids with 10,400. Once again, the KC Wizards and SJ Earthquakes are excluded from this list because both play in small stadiums (with capacity around 10,000).
What is disappointing about FC Dallas and Colorado is both clubs have soccer specific stadiums. Will either of these sides look for a designated player in the summer to try and increase attendance during the summer?
Below are the latest attendance numbers through the matches of Week 8.
Major League Soccer Attendance Figures Through Week 8
| Club | Home Dates | Home Total | Home Average | Away Dates | Away Total | Away Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Fire | 3 | 44,812 | 14,937 | 5 | 82,835 | 16,567 |
| Chivas USA | 4 | 58,221 | 14,555 | 5 | 68,889 | 13,777 |
| Colorado Rapids | 3 | 31,451 | 10,483 | 5 | 59,272 | 11,854 |
| Columbus Crew | 4 | 53,082 | 13,270 | 2 | 46,775 | 23,387 |
| D.C. United | 5 | 74,768 | 14,953 | 3 | 55,578 | 18,526 |
| FC Dallas | 4 | 37,407 | 9,351 | 4 | 61,993 | 15,498 |
| Houston Dynamo | 5 | 78,772 | 15,754 | 4 | 44,850 | 11,212 |
| Kansas City Wizards | 4 | 38,813 | 9,703 | 3 | 62,004 | 20,668 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 5 | 96,985 | 19,397 | 4 | 72,659 | 18,164 |
| New England Revolution | 5 | 50,598 | 10,119 | 4 | 61,319 | 15,329 |
| New York Red Bulls | 4 | 71,758 | 17,939 | 4 | 70,463 | 17,615 |
| Philadelphia Union | 2 | 59,908 | 29,954 | 5 | 103,515 | 20,703 |
| Real Salt Lake | 4 | 59,798 | 14,949 | 4 | 63,452 | 15,863 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 4 | 38,056 | 9,514 | 3 | 48,276 | 16,092 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 5 | 180,723 | 36,144 | 4 | 64,776 | 16,194 |
| Toronto FC | 3 | 60,432 | 20,144 | 5 | 68,928 | 13,785 |
