The United Soccer Leagues’ Division I women’s league began life 11 years and lots of investment behind its big sister, the National Women’s Soccer League. With teams playing in mostly small stadiums1The cavernous Cotton Bowl in Dallas is a notable exception. and bereft of international-level players, the Super League had to have modest attendance goals2Except for in Dallas, where owner Jim Neil said he hoped Trinity FC would draw 12,000 a game. Oops.. Largely, it achieved them, though there are some trouble spots.
Carolina (playing in Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium) drew over 10,000 for its inaugural match, over 6,000 for its home finale, and 3,301 for its other 12 games. Still, those 12 games alone would have been enough for second place in the attendance race, but those two crowds put them up on Dallas (heavily subsidized to the tune of nearly $600,000 by the city) and Tampa Bay (which plays in a high school stadium, but one that at least is a very scenic venue).
The trouble spots are in Washington, DC, Lexington, KY and Brooklyn, where they couldn’t draw 2,000 a game.
Here are the numbers, and then a few notes:
| Team | G | Total | Average | Median | High | Low |
| Carolina Ascent FC | 14 | 56,471 | 4,034 | 3,397 | 10,553 | 1,817 |
| Dallas Trinity FC | 14 | 49,666 | 3,548 | 3,315 | 5,884 | 1,662 |
| Tampa Bay Sun FC | 14 | 44,563 | 3,183 | 2,901 | 5,248 | 2,401 |
| Spokane Zephyr FC | 14 | 35,514 | 2,537 | 2,281 | 5,086 | 2,013 |
| Fort Lauderdale United FC | 14 | 32,528 | 2,323 | 2,156 | 4,316 | 1,957 |
| DC Power FC | 14 | 23,544 | 1,682 | 1,509 | 4,719 | 353 |
| Lexington SC | 14 | 21,429 | 1,531 | 1,341 | 3,946 | 476 |
| Brooklyn FC | 14 | 16,955 | 1,211 | 1,124 | 2,830 | 211 |
| USLSL TOTAL | 112 | 280,670 | 2,506 | 2,254 | 10,553 | 211 |
NOTES:
- The Super League plays in the misnomer of the “traditional” calendar, from August to May3For everyone in the Southern hemisphere, that’s spring and summer, when league soccer has traditionally been played here., with a long break in the middle. The league drew an average of 2,627 for its first half of games (August-December) and 2,390 for the second half (February-May). September and May, averaging around 2,700 a game, were the best months and also happen to normally feature the best weather. Imagine that.
- The league did pretty well on Saturdays (2,875 a game) and really poorly from Monday to Thursday (1,365 a game).
- Jacksonville joins the circuit for its second season, and at least they do have five people doing ticket sales4Presumably that’s for both their women’s team and their soon-to-launch men’s side., so that’s a positive. Most teams at this level are understaffed and don’t grasp the value of actually getting out and proactively marketing tickets. We’ll see how they do.
Overall, it was not a bad debut for a league that has Division I status without the look and feel of a top-flight circuit. No teams folded, there were no horror stories of mistreatment (yes, looking at you, NWSL) of players and while you may struggle to catch a game because they’re televised on streamers, they’re doing okay.
