I have to be skeptical about these numbers as I am with the other U S. Leagues.
I try to do accurate counts when I attend and I even error up and I feel these numbers are over reported
Any thoughts?
I'm a huge fan of the lower leagues and sad to see a drop year over year...I do feel somehow USL1 is trending up ..It's easy to find a team to root for and I'm spoiled being a Mingos fan. Most of the expansion teams are looking like they're doing it right so hoping for the best in 2025!
Thanks, Alex! As Alex answers elsewhere in the Discussion, there were 15 games for each team in 2024, one fewer than 2023 (when there were 16 games for each team). Consequently, we can estimate that if there was one additional game for each team to be equivalent to 2023, the difference in overall attendance between the two years would be more like 2% or minimal difference (six games league-wide x 3000 fans = about 20,000 extra theoretical fans). In conclusion, attendance is stable, despite many more potential soccer distractions (USL Super League, Olympic games, etc.)!!
Carolina Ascent leads the league in USL Super League attendance (see below) actually, and since its ownership is the same as for the Independence and plays in the same venue, and there will be fan spillover, I predict a rebound in the men's side attendance next year!
I feel for Independence, with MLS sitting on top of them. They're a great organization, with a good facility. I hope they can find a way to start growing the base back up.
It's also noteworthy that Chattanooga FC has been touting their greatly-improved attendance numbers (almost 3700 per game) in NextPro. That had to have some impact on Red Wolves as well.
Red Wolves are steady across this season and last. Seems both fan bases have settled in.
Independence needs to lean heavily into being a more affordable, family friendly environment compared to Charlotte FC. With all of the complaints about that organization hiking prices, the time is right.
I believe the Independence owners also own the USL Super League side (Carolina Ascent), the latter outdrawing the men's side in its inaugural season! So there should be cross-marketing opportunities in future seasons, as well as spillover of fans to the mens' side?
The Carolina Ascent is averaging almost 5000 fans in attendance per game, through four games, playing in the same venue! So almost triple that of the mens' side (Independance). A rising tide raises all Carolina USL boats, so I'd wager there will be an improvement in Independence attendance next year!
To clarify, these numbers don't include Jagermeister Cup attendance? One would think that resulted in a bit of "dilution" from regular season games, e.g. if a family has a fixed budget to attend a team's games over the entire season, the Cup games may take up some of that "quota"?
These numbers include all league matches, both regular season and Jägermeister Cup. There was no significant deviation in attendance between the two and they ended with nearly identical overall averages.
There were equivalent overall number of games in 2024 versus 2023 for each team (even though the Jagermeister Cup wasn't a thing in 2023)? If so, then I stand corrected!
Hearts of Pine and AV Alta are going to dramatically boost overall attendance for the League!
Agreed!
I have to be skeptical about these numbers as I am with the other U S. Leagues.
I try to do accurate counts when I attend and I even error up and I feel these numbers are over reported
Any thoughts?
I'm a huge fan of the lower leagues and sad to see a drop year over year...I do feel somehow USL1 is trending up ..It's easy to find a team to root for and I'm spoiled being a Mingos fan. Most of the expansion teams are looking like they're doing it right so hoping for the best in 2025!
I believe the count is tickets sold and distributed. So it does count those who have a ticket, but don’t show up.
Many season ticket holders may not be able to attend all the games. But their seats were paid for so contribute to the attendance figures....
Tip of the hat to Spokane and Richmond. Despite being in the bottom half of the table that matters most, they are leaders in attendance. (!?!)
Thanks, Alex! As Alex answers elsewhere in the Discussion, there were 15 games for each team in 2024, one fewer than 2023 (when there were 16 games for each team). Consequently, we can estimate that if there was one additional game for each team to be equivalent to 2023, the difference in overall attendance between the two years would be more like 2% or minimal difference (six games league-wide x 3000 fans = about 20,000 extra theoretical fans). In conclusion, attendance is stable, despite many more potential soccer distractions (USL Super League, Olympic games, etc.)!!
I'm really looking forward to Hearts of Pine topping this list next year.
I think they’re gonna do it
Greenville stadium has just been announced!
"BREAKING NEWS: Triumph Announces New 10,000-Seat Multi-Use Stadium at BridgeWay Station"
https://ow.ly/9Ytg50TWuZu
Carolina Ascent leads the league in USL Super League attendance (see below) actually, and since its ownership is the same as for the Independence and plays in the same venue, and there will be fan spillover, I predict a rebound in the men's side attendance next year!
https://www.usltactics.com/p/usl-championship-attendance-tracker
I feel for Independence, with MLS sitting on top of them. They're a great organization, with a good facility. I hope they can find a way to start growing the base back up.
It's also noteworthy that Chattanooga FC has been touting their greatly-improved attendance numbers (almost 3700 per game) in NextPro. That had to have some impact on Red Wolves as well.
Red Wolves are steady across this season and last. Seems both fan bases have settled in.
Independence needs to lean heavily into being a more affordable, family friendly environment compared to Charlotte FC. With all of the complaints about that organization hiking prices, the time is right.
I believe the Independence owners also own the USL Super League side (Carolina Ascent), the latter outdrawing the men's side in its inaugural season! So there should be cross-marketing opportunities in future seasons, as well as spillover of fans to the mens' side?
Yes they have mentioned they intend to do that. They also own and operate one of the top ten pay to play youth systems in the country.
The Carolina Ascent is averaging almost 5000 fans in attendance per game, through four games, playing in the same venue! So almost triple that of the mens' side (Independance). A rising tide raises all Carolina USL boats, so I'd wager there will be an improvement in Independence attendance next year!
Good info about the youth systems! All those families should be easily tapped for future ticket sales.
To clarify, these numbers don't include Jagermeister Cup attendance? One would think that resulted in a bit of "dilution" from regular season games, e.g. if a family has a fixed budget to attend a team's games over the entire season, the Cup games may take up some of that "quota"?
These numbers include all league matches, both regular season and Jägermeister Cup. There was no significant deviation in attendance between the two and they ended with nearly identical overall averages.
There were equivalent overall number of games in 2024 versus 2023 for each team (even though the Jagermeister Cup wasn't a thing in 2023)? If so, then I stand corrected!
16 in 2023, 15 in 2024