FC Dallas suffered an average loss of over 2,000 spectators per game at home this season compared with 2007, reports Diego Aparicio. The team drew an average of 13,023 fans to its 20,500-seat stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, compared with last year’s average of 15,145.
Dallas ranks 13th in average attendance in MLS, ahead of only Kansas City, which this season has played all but one home game at a minor league baseball stadium with a capacity of just over 10,000. With two rounds of games still to play, the average announced MLS attendance this season stands at 16,389, slightly down from 2007’s figure of 16,770.
Aparicio writes that the sagging economy, rising gas prices and competition with other events were factors, but that team GM Michael Hitchcock cited television coverage as a major reason for declining ticket sales. For the first time, every Dallas game was broadcast on television this year, with Sunday games drawing an average of 17,553, way more than Saturday’s average of 11,503. There were five games on each day.
Hitchcock said his goal remains to make FC Dallas the league’s premier club. “Attendance is obviously a very important part of that,” he said. “We need to continue to grow the fan base, our season seat base and get to the point where we can provide a true home-field advantage.” He did not reveal the specific number of season ticket holders, but said they’d increased 30 percent since 2005.