Weekend Attendance Fun

by jayw913 on Oct 13, 2011 3:47 PM PDT

The Sounders' announcement that ticket sales for Saturday have surpassed 60,000 means a regular season MLS match featuring neither a July 4 fireworks show nor David Beckham will be one of the most well-attended professional sports matchups of the weekend.

Certainly, a lot of this has to do with it being the final home game for Kasey Keller. Still, it's a regular season matchup featuring no marquee European players. Yet, more people will watch it than some "marquee" events that will get attention in the first half of Sportscenter...

The game will already feature more fans-in-seats than any postseason baseball game played this weekend. Busch Stadium seats about 46,000 and, if the series moves to Milwaukee on Sunday, Miller Park seats 41,900. Should Detroit manage to still be alive, its weekend matchup in Arlington, TX would be seen by 49,000 people in person.

The fun comes when you look at what could happen should the Sounders manage a sellout, or get within spitting distance.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will host Jacksonville on Sunday in front of just north of 65,000 people. The Bengals' home tilt vs. Indianapolis will also top out at 65,000.

So yes... this could be a weekend where an MLS regular season game boasts a larger attendance than a sold out NFL regular season game.

Even if that isn't achieved, I'd like to think this leads to opening up the top of Century Link more often in 2012. One would imagine that, priced properly, more than a few people would like to buy a multi-game upstairs package.

FanPosts only represent the opinions of the poster, not of Sounder at Heart.

Tweet Comment 21 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

This is going to be amazing

Particularly if the upper deck newbies (or temporary transplants) get their act together and sing along. (Although THE worst fans are in the middle of the pitch on the east side in the club seats – you guys are LAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE).

The Man U game was goosebumps seeing the crowd (at least for the first half) but this figures to be a far more lively affair.

by RalfZakuani on Oct 13, 2011 4:16 PM PDT reply actions

If you paid that much for your seat you would use it

I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart

by Dave Clark on Oct 13, 2011 5:17 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

It's padded and everything!

I sat there once during the Boca Juniors friendly. The fans around me looked at me funny whenever I did YSA or joined in any ECS songs.

I met a possum.

by s0merand0mdude on Oct 13, 2011 8:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Best way to change that

Is to move your seats over there, stand and sing.

I had friends that purchased tickets for one match over there and were told repeatedly to sit after standing for some time. They were then told if they didn’t sit, they would be asked to leave.

Prawn sandwich crowd indeed.

by bmvaughn on Oct 14, 2011 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions