Editor's Note: SoundersFC.com is counting down the Top 10 Stories of the Year in December, recognizing the top storylines on and off the field in 2015. In the latest installment, we look back at Sounders FC's record-breaking attendance in 2015.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of taking in a Sounders match at CenturyLink Field, you should start making plans for 2016. For the last seven seasons, supporters have been marching through downtown Seattle to the Sounders home turf to stand, sing and give their Full 90. In 2015, they did it in record numbers.
At the club’s final regular season home match of the year, Sounders FC set a new single-season attendance record, averaging 44,247 fans per match. The team led MLS by more than 11,000 fans per match, with expansion club Orlando City SC averaging just under 33,000 fans per match. The new record surpassed a benchmark set in 2013.
- INFOGRAPHIC: Sounders FC sets new average attendance record
Seattle contributed to MLS’ new attendance record of 21,574, which broke the 2014 record of just under 20,000. Seattle currently stands at 126 consecutive sellouts heading into 2016 and if history is any indication, that number will only go up.
On a world-scale, the number is even more impressive. Seattle ranked 28th among soccer clubs around the globe, coming in with a higher average attendance number than Liverpool, Sunderland and Chelsea. Remarkably, seven of the top 10 all-time attendance records belong to Seattle.
The Sounders’ seventh season featured four full-stadium matches, with the club holding a 15-2-3 record when attendance is above 45,000. It’s all about big crowds and big moments at CenturyLink Field, and 2016 promises to be just as exciting.
