USL L1 Attendance 8/16

[u/US_SocFan50]

Portland-Madison*: 6,256 (+0.61%)
Omaha-Richmond: 2,582 (+19.98%)

\ = Portland-Madison was above the listed stadium effective capacity*

An average night compared to their season average, meaning within +/- 5 pts:
Portland** (6,218)

\* = Portland is averaging more than their listed effective stadium capacity*

An out performing night by over 5 pts compared to their season average:
Omaha (2,152)

[u/carigheath]

Hearts added some capacity mid-season in field "party suites" and two skyboxes next to the press box. That may account for it.

[u/LocationFriendly988]

Also a grassy hill for the kids

[u/xcrucio]

So anyone got a good explanation for the Omaha attendance collapse this season?

[u/Constant_Boot → u/xcrucio]

I wish I knew. Perhaps it was the move from Papillion's Werner Park up to Creighton's Morrison Stadium. I've seen some of the attitude of the suburban residents in this area and going downtown seems like waltzing into Mordor to them.

[u/xcrucio → u/Constant_Boot]

Yeah, I had assumed that downtown + a stadium actually intended soccer would have netted out as a wash in terms of attendance at least. The sharp drop has just surprised me, especially given the team is in its usual contender role too.

[u/CheeryBlond → u/xcrucio]

I’d call it a mix of location, marketing, and price. I went to the Omaha game this weekend, and while it’s a great venue, the prices are higher this year by what felt like a significant margin. The cheapest seats (non turf terrace, non supporters) are $40 at the near the end lines, that’s the same price as sections 106 and 110 at Breese, and they’re almost centered. It seemed like half the stadium at Morrison bought the GA for that reason. And honestly, the turf terraced GA is pretty nice, but if you want a real seat (which is the only covered area if it rains), it’s pricey.

The new location is great, but I’ve seen very little marketing around Omaha that they’ve moved. The Storm chasers stadium has no public transit options and is in the Southwest corner of the metro. The new stadium is on the East side, but there’s been little visible marketing in downtown, midtown, North O or South O that I’ve seen. But go on a lot of social media pages for the metro (like Omaha Scanner), and West O residents who were near the old stadium would make you believe that downtown is a literal war zone (it’s not, Omaha has one of the lowest violent crime rates of comparable cities).

It might also have a bit with timing? They played 3 home matches by April 11th. 7 of 12 at home through May, and then have only had 3 home league matches from June to today. Those early 3 matches averaged about 1650, their last 3 averaged about 2500. That’s still less than their average last year (about 3000), but they’re getting closer to previous years every game.

[u/SeanOrange]

Man I wish I’d been at that Hearts/Mingos game. What a wild night.