The Orange & Blue added another 27,000+ in attendance on Sunday, bringing their total for the USL season to 405,719. The match against Toronto FC II was their third-biggest crowd this year, behind only the June 16th match against the Richmond Kickers (28,026) and the August 4th match against Nashville SC (27,426).
With one home match remaining, FCC continues to see a substantial increase in their numbers over the 2017 regular-season total of 339,181. The club has sold over 66,500 more seats than in 2017. Recall that 2017 was a 16-game USL regular season, so 405,719 is a direct comparison to last year’s total.
The per-game average for FCC is 25,357, an increase of just under 20% from last season. FC Cincinnati’s 2018 attendance total would rank as the third highest compared to all MLS teams, behind only Atlanta United FC and Seattle Sounders FC. Of course, it’s important to note that this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison due to pricing, product, and the length of time many of those teams have been in the professional soccer market. Nevertheless, it’s impressive.
Here are some images of the crowd on hand at Nippert Stadium that enjoyed a 4-3 comeback win over TFC II on Sunday.
Largest U.S. Crowd of the Weekend
FC Cincinnati also led the way in attendance this weekend in the United States. Seattle and Atlanta were on the road and not posting their impressive totals. For comparison’s sake, the largest MLS crowds of the weekend were at Vancouver (27,863) and Toronto (30,799) in Canada. Therefore, FC Cincinnati’s total of 27,275 was the largest crowd for a soccer game in the United States on the weekend.
*Chicago 16287
Which means the biggest pro soccer attendance in the USA over the weekend was at @fccincinnati https://t.co/2Xi6Diz7qD
— Bob Williams (@WilliamsBob75) September 16, 2018
Here are those U.S totals in a more digestible format. They also include the top three USL attendances outside of Cincinnati.
The last game of the USL regular season is Fan Appreciation Night at Nippert on September 29th. Since the finale often lands a big crowd, we’ll keep an eye on that number as that contest against Indy Eleven comes into view.
Stay tuned to Orange & Blue Press for more coverage of FC Cincinnati’s 2018 season.