Atlanta United surpasses Seattle Sounders as kings of MLS attendances

 

Photo credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta United has surpassed Seattle Sounders for the best average attendance in MLS this season.

The 2017 debutant is averaging 49,077 fans per game at the Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Seattle Sounders is averaging 43,004 per game in 2017, which is a 8% increase from last season.

Altogether, MLS reported pretty good numbers across the league for attendances this past weekend. Having said that, Minnesota United is underperforming for a new expansion team since its inaugural match (the team is averaging 21,967 at home). Meanwhile, FC Dallas must not have made a lot on game day food and merchandise sales with the wide swaths of empty seats at Toyota Park.

After the first 90 matches, the average attendance is down 0.48% compared to 2016.

Here is the 2017 MLS attendance report through gameweek 9:

MLS Attendance – Equal # of Home Games
	2016	2017
	Att	Att	Att +/-	GP
Atlanta	NA	49,077	NA	3
Seattle	39,747	43,004	8.19%	3
Toronto	27,822	26,794	-3.69%	4
Orlando	37,523	25,527	-31.97%	5
Montreal	23,466	23,705	1.02%	3
LA Galaxy	24,821	22,707	-8.52%	5
Minnesota	NA	21,967	NA	4
Vancouver	23,350	21,681	-7.15%	4
NYCFC	25,317	21,328	-15.76%	4
Portland	21,144	21,144	0.00%	5
Red Bulls	18,828	19,703	4.65%	5
Sporting KC	19,942	19,074	-4.35%	4
Salt Lake	19,544	18,971	-2.93%	4
San Jose	18,000	18,000	0.00%	4
Houston	20,961	17,640	-15.84%	5
D.C. United	14,965	16,429	9.78%	4
Philadelphia Union	16,700	15,973	-4.35%	4
FC Dallas	13,828	15,906	15.03%	4
Chicago	14,239	15,369	7.94%	4
Colorado	12,972	15,075	16.21%	3
Columbus	16,111	13,594	-15.62%	5
NE Revs	13,758	13,344	-3.01%	4

Here are the reported attendances for MLS gameweek 9:

Franchise	Attendance
Atlanta	46,011
Columbus	17,336
Dallas	16,014
Kansas City	18,648
Los Angeles	25,008
Minnesota	17,605
Montreal	19,597
NY Red Bull	22,814
Orlando	25,527
Seattle	43,230
Toronto	25,358