The Man in Seat 9: Are We Just the New Shiny?

New York City FC just opened the upper tier for their upcoming match with Orlando City SC and for the third time this year the club has taken advantage of the expandable capacity. Given the fact that they have sold 17K+ season tickets this, most likely, will not be the last time this season. NYCFC is third in the league in attendance with an average of 28,783. They are also maintaining the highest average of on the road attendance at more than 25,000 per match. In the inaugural Man in Seat 9 column, yours truly made the statement that you can love NYCFC, and that you can hate NYCFC, the only thing you would not be able to do is ignore NYCFC. 

Our other club across the river, the New York Red Bulls is clocking in at an average attendance of 18,737. Granted, NYCFC’s average attendance is bolstered by the fact that two of those expanded attendance matches pulled 48K each, but if you look at the other number—the lowest attendance match, NYCFC pulled in 20,461 to the Red Bulls 12,540. 

Some say this is because New York City FC is the new shiny thing and that attendance will fall next year. Maybe. But New York is a fickle place. We don’t suffer fools easily and we don’t waste money on something that isn’t worth the cash. The fact that the crowds have continued, even during the 11 match winless streak and a rocky start, is a testament to what the club has done right. Yes, they fumbled poorly on both Frank Lampard’s extension in the EPL and the progress of a soccer specific stadium, but what they have done right is something that teams like Seattle, Portland, LA and the other top pulling teams know and other teams need to learn — how to provide a product that is entertaining regardless of wins. NYCFC has done a very good job of courting and securing their core base, selling enough season tickets to provide a stable platform.

They have invested in marquee names and created an experience that provides enough energy that those 17,000 seats, save for some odd block in the 229 area, remain filled. They marketed to those downtown who rarely, if ever, will cross the Hudson. They marketed to those in each borough with outreach and public events, letting it be known that they are the City’s team, not Long Island’s and not New Jersey’s. They have an energized and active social media presence. They played hard to the home crowd. And they are winning. At least the battle of the seats. 

Will it change next season? Time will tell. This writer thinks the core will remain strong and the casual fans will continue to come as long as the entertainment-to-cost ratio remains in the sweet spot. The current cost of the ticket makes it affordable for a family of four to go to a match more than once a season, something no longer possible with teams like the New York Yankees. 

The real bellwether will be when MLS is covered on each of the local news broadcasts the day after a match. Then, and only then, will we know that we have made it in New York.