Follow along here at Beyond Women’s Sports for the weekly attendance updates in the NWSL. This is the second 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 24. The NWSL saw an increase in teams for 2024 with the return of the Utah Royals and the expansion team Bay FC. Currently, only Gotham FC and Bay FC have yet to have their home openers.
NWSL Attendance: Week in review
The league once again saw record crowds for each team’s opener this weekend. The San Diego Wave debuted to a record crowd of 32,066. Meanwhile, the Washington Spirit drew their largest home opener in their history of 11,734. The Orlando Pride, Houston Dash, Chicago Red Stars, and Portland Thorns also held their home openers this past weekend.
At this early stage in the season, only Seattle and Orlando’s numbers are down from last season. Overall, league attendance is up from 2023 by 1,950 fans. Bay FC’s home opener is this Saturday against the Houston Dash. Additionally, Gotham FC’s home opener isn’t until April 14 against the Kansas City Current.
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 league’s website.
NWSL Attendance Report
The Week Ahead
Week 3 will see the Red Stars take on the Pride and San Diego host Seattle on Friday. On Saturday, there are four matches scheduled featuring Angel City at Kansas City (3:30 pm on ESPN) as well as Bay FC’s home opener against Houston (10 pm on ION). On Easter Sunday, there is one match featuring the Utah Royals traveling to Washington to face the Spirit.
