Follow along here at Beyond Women’s Sports for the weekly attendance updates in the NWSL. This is the first report for the 2024 season, as the regular season began on March 16. The numbers reported below are up to and including all games through games on March 17. The NWSL saw an increase in teams for 2024 with the return of the Utah Royals and the expansion team Bay FC.
NWSL Attendance: Week in review
This was the NWSL’s opening weekend that saw six games played from March 16 – 17. The Kansas City Current debuted in their new stadium to a sold-out crowd. The Utah Royals’ returned with a sold-out crowd of 20,370. Additionally, Angel City FC opened the season with a sellout of 22,000. Racing Louisville FC, North Carolina Courage, and the newly named Seattle Reign FC also held their home openers over the weekend.
It’s a bit early to judge the increases and decreases from the 2023 season already since only six games were played. Overall, the league averaged 12,405 fans over the weeknight. Last season’s final average finished at 10,869. Furthermore, each team will play 26 games this season, up from 22 games in 2023. The NWSL’s preseason Challenge Cup games do not count towards the regular attendance report.
Capacity numbers are provided by each team’s individual stadium’s website. Also reported are each team’s individual high and low games for the season. Finally, all attendance numbers are provided through @NwslNotes on Twitter.
Attendance Report
The Week Ahead
Week 2 will see games resume on March 22. The Orlando Pride will make the home opener against Angel City FC. Meanwhile, the Utah Royals are home again, this time facing the Courage. March 23 will see the home openers for the Chicago Red Stars, Washington Spirit, Houston Dash, and the San Diego Wave FC. The Portland Thorns opener will be this Sunday against the reigning NWSL champions, Gotham FC.
