OL Reign set new NWSL attendance record

Good job Seattle, you set an NWSL attendance record and there’s a good chance it will stand for quite some time.

The official attendance was announced as 27,248, almost exactly 2,000 more than the previous record which had been set by the Portland Thorns. Notably, it’s also about 2,000 more than fit into the Thorns’ home stadium, Providence Park.

Although the Seattle Sounders were expecting a crowd of about 45,000 for the double-header, there had been some question as to how many of those would come early enough to watch the Reign-Thorns part of it. Turns out, about half of them did.

The crowd at kickoff was a little thin, but by halftime it had already filled in nicely.

Sounder at Heart

The atmosphere was just about what you’d expect from such a big crowd. The Brougham End, where the Reign’s Royal Guard was joined by the Sounders’ ECS, was packed and loud, and the two groups worked together to create a massive tifo.

In addition to be an NWSL record, this was also the largest crowd to ever watch a women’s soccer match in Washington, topping the crowd that saw the United States face Brazil in 2015.

Hopefully, it’s not the last time we see this.