The offseason split into two leagues (the NISL and XSL - I’m not going to deal with the PASL-Pro at the moment because getting their attendance figures is like trying to eat soup with chopsticks) doesn’t seem to have helped at the turnstiles.

Last year, the 9-team MISL averaged an announced 4,577 per game. This year, the NISL is at 3,877 60% of the way through its schedule, while the XSL is at 3,173 not quite halfway through its slate. Combined, the nine teams in the two leagues are drawing an average of 3,582 (off about 22% from a year ago).

Note that the NISL’s overall numbers would be slightly lower if two games for which the Massachusetts Twisters haven’t announced attendance figures (hint: they weren’t good) were included.

Now, some notes:

• The NISL has Baltimore and Philadelphia, two established franchises that can draw, and Monterrey, which can do okay (though nowhere near as well as the Fury did when they were leading the league in attendance). Massachusetts is a disaster, but they were a late addition to make up for the loss of Orlando. Rockford has a good team, but they’re in a small market with a front office with no track record of selling the sport. Supposedly their owner has money, but he’ll also need lots of patience.
• Detroit is solid in the XSL, with ownership committed to the indoor game and financial wherewithal to stay it it for a while. Milwaukee just celebrated their 25th anniversary, making them the longest-running indoor club ever, so while their crowds are off, they appear to be at a sustainable level. Chicago is a problem, and New Jersey is a wild card that could go either way.
• I’ve heard a rumor that Cincinnati’s former AISL team, the Excite, is going to join the NISL next season. (The AISL didn’t play this season). They’d likely be replacing Massachusetts, because I can’t see that train wreck continuing much longer.
• Whatever differences the two sides have need to be put aside for the good of the order. Two tiny leagues that are just basically subsistence farming aren’t growing the game at all. There needs to be one major league and a league below that for the Wenatchees of the world to play in and for a feeder system.
• A friend remarked to me recently that we could be seeing the end of indoor soccer at the pro level. If you’ve been following for any length of time, you know that that’s been said before, but with the state of the economy, it’s not just idle talk. I am not ready to say the end is nigh, but nothing would surprise me anymore. The sport does have a small handful of owners who could make it work, but I don’t know if a small handful is going to get it done.

Tags: attendance, indoor soccer, soccer

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 1:46 pm and is filed under soccer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “So, How’s Indoor Soccer Attendance Looking?”

1. Rick Says:
   February 17th, 2009 at 9:12 am

   Baltimore will always draw well with the amount of youth leagues in the area and still-strong fan base. Massachusetts in the NISL is an absolute joke however, the latest punchline being the 37-5 loss to the Blast on Saturday, including the Twisters trailing 12-0….before getting a shot on goal.

2. Catchin' a Wave - (Sponsor's Name Here) Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 12:10 pm

   [...] the teams are charging fans $20 per ticket to watch them.  Meanwhile, attendance is barely at 4,000 per game (and no playoffs).  The cycle continues - but it is a downward [...]