Follow along here at Beyond Women’s Sports for the weekly attendance updates in the NWSL. This is the 11th 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 June 9. The NWSL saw an increase in teams for 2024 with the return of the Utah Royals and the expansion team Bay FC. The league is not expected to expand for the 2025 season.
NWSL Attendance: Week in Review
The NWSL returned to play this past weekend after being off due to the FIFA International window the week prior. The Chicago Red Stars set a league record for their game on Saturday, June 8, at Wrigley Field with 35,038 in attendance. Racing Louisville FC had the smallest crowd for the week with 6,061 on Friday, June 7. The NWSL’s overall average is now up by 267 compared to 2023’s final average.
At this point in the season, there are only three teams below their 2023 final average (Portland, San Diego, and Seattle). Meanwhile, Chicago now has the largest increase from last season (+3,469), followed by Gotham FC (+1,993) and Racing Louisville FC (+1,319). Overall, league attendance is up by 2.5 percent compared to last season.
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 the ESPN box scores and @NwslNotes on Twitter.
NWSL Attendance Report
The Week Ahead
This week kicks off on Friday, June 14 with the Red Stars at Kansas City (8:00 pm on Amazon Prime). The ION doubleheader for Saturday has San Diego at Washington (7:30 pm) and Angel City FC at Houston (9:30 pm). Finally, Sunday, June 16 will see a battle in the Northwest with the Thorns heading to Seattle to face the Reign (4:00 pm on CBS).
