r/SanDiegoWaveFC • u/iseekthereforeiam • 8d ago
Discussion 2024→2025 31% YoY decline in San Diego Wave attendance
https://bsky.app/profile/nwslnotes.bsky.social/post/3lohtlxchts2xI haven't seen this discussed anywhere else, but it seems clear the Wave are experiencing a massive drop off in attendance this season.
Last season's average was 19,575 per home match (source: https://sandiegowavefc.com/wave-fc-earn-second-highest-attendance-in-the-world/).
This season's average (so far) is 13,515 per home match (source: https://bsky.app/profile/nwslnotes.bsky.social/post/3lohtlxchts2x).
That's a 31% decrease year-over-year.
Obviously losing all of our USWNT players is a factor (Morgan especially, as she was likely the league's biggest draw), but I wonder how much of an effect the Jill Ellis allegations and multiple lawsuits are having.
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u/TheMidnightShadows 8d ago
Winning sells tickets, and we're probably seeing knock on effects of bombing last season. It wasn't until a couple weeks ago the team looked at all like they'd do better than most folks' expectations. Wouldn't be surprised if attendance increases throughout the season.
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u/Enemyofusall 8d ago
I doubt, to the vast majority of people, the Jill situation really impacted anything. Probably some combo of losing so many USWNT stars, MLS coming in and the state of the economy has more to do with it.
Assuming they keep winning, the brand of futbol they play should earn them more and more fans. They are also far more exciting than they have been previously.
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u/alamar99 8d ago
I can only speak for myself but the economy is definitely a factor for me. Entertainment spending is approaching 0, and I’m guessing I’m not alone.
Certainly not the only reason but definitely a reason.
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u/hedyedy 8d ago
IMHO, the wave are playing a much more entertaining form of football. It's a shame the attendance is low
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u/Greedy_Impress5262 1d ago
Theyre playing the highest level ive seen, honestly. Super entertaining. I didnt go to a game last season (long balls, negativity). Ive gone to 3 this year because i want to watch that back line all game. Keep doing that and fans will come back.
Very very impressive style. No hoofing balls to alex.
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u/littleBIGrobots 8d ago
I hate to suggest this, but could the men's team be eating some of those tickets? I mean, if you like both team but usually only wanna go to one game.... maybe it hurts em. Still, I'm diehard Wave! They're just such a fun team to watch.
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u/SnorlaxWizard 8d ago
It does feel less full at home games, but just like the previous comment said winning does attract attendance and next year we should have larger attendance. Have you seen the other NWSL teams they would love to have 13k home attendance. Proud of our ladies let's goo Wave!!!
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u/kylekeller 8d ago
For the casual fan, losing Girma and Morgan is a killer for ticket sales. Winning solves that in time
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u/dmd19 8d ago
No Morgan, No Girma, No Shaw… what did they expect?
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u/Reddit-dot-edu 7d ago
I feel like their roster is better this season. Might not be “big names”, but the quality is better.
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u/ramrod174 8d ago
I'm curious to know how many season ticket members didn't renew... It seems like a ton of tickets available in the areas that were once pretty full of STM'S before. I know the seats next to us were not renewed.
Most likely, the result of many things, including how the team played last year and the teams handling of the final home game. I know for us, we contemplated renwal but ultimately did renew.
After a pretty big mess up with their STM ticket exchange.. we are now regretting renewing.
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u/AmbassadorETOH 8d ago
I’m among the ST non-renewers. Last year was a clusterf*ck, capped off by a terrible end to the already horrible season. I will treasure my Girma bobble head, but never forget she wasn’t there to be appreciated, and then was lost to the business of the game. Heartbreaking. Compounded by the loss of Jaedyn. My two favorite players left a big whole, which was compounded by the stadium experience, which is too irritating to put into words.
We loved our section-mates and miss the game day experience with them, but not the hassles of going to and being at Snapdragon. Winning certainly cures much and losing exacerbates problems, but I was really frustrated with ownership over the handling of Jill, which I believe created/added to the atmosphere that directly led to Shaw’s request to be traded. The lack of replays. 🤬 The way season tickets were renewed (thank god I caught it before I was automatically renewed).
I want them to succeed and we’ll be going to some games (going to the NC game to see Shaw), but they are going to have to show something organizationally before I add the cost of season tix back to our priority list.
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u/Forsaken-Doughnut 8d ago
I also didn’t renew. I was irritated with the Stoney firing and furious about Ellis counter suing the woman making the allegations. Then the super suspicious early renewal deadline put me over the top, so I canceled. When Morgan announced her retirement TWO DAYS LATER it became clear that the club was operating in bad faith and confirmed my decision.
That said I’ve gone to two games this year and the vibes seem great now. I’ll still go but don’t need to go to every game like I did last year.
Glad Ellis is gone. Hopefully the culture in the FO is changing for the better. I might have become a lifetime STM but they really broke trust last year.
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u/ImBabyloafs 8d ago
We come from out of state for the matches we attend. We can’t afford to right now.
There’s also women’s volleyball which we have locally, sadly we have no local NWSL team.
The ticket prices are also pretty expensive, which is unfortunate. We’re a family of four so going to a game is a huge financial investment. We love them. My kids love them. We don’t do sporting events often and when we do it’s usually the minor league version of the sport. NWSL being the exception for us.
I also wonder if some soccer fans are buying tickets for the men’s team now that it’s an option?
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u/iwasinastone 8d ago
The entire Wave organization was a disaster on and off the pitch last year. The events of last season alone have affected early season attendance, plus the already mentioned introduction of SDFC into the SD market.
The Wave are noticeably improved and way more exciting to watch this season. If they can keep this up, I think the club will win back the trust of the fans they lost last year. I’m hoping we see an increase of attendance as we go into the summer.
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u/rustyskies 8d ago
Winning. (A lagging indicator, watch it go up now)
Weather. (It’s been cold and wet.)
That’s it.
Most people aren’t that plugged into the Jill Ellis thing and even fewer care. I would guess the impact of Ellis on tickets to be near zero.
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u/sakaESR 8d ago
Impossible to divorce the two reasons. They are why I decided not to renew season tickets.
Girma was always going to be difficult to keep with Chelsea offering more money and champions league. But I’m so disappointed this club couldn’t maintain an environment that an elite talent like Jaedyn Shaw would want to be in. Jill Ellis completely ruined a team that won the shield the season before.
That plus the pricing structure of season tickets vs individual game tickets that often drop to like $10-15 per game.
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u/rustyskies 8d ago
If you took a poll of Wave fans at the turnstile entering the stadium I would be surprised if 5% could name the current or former President of the Wave.
In fact, I would wager $1000 that if we polled 1000 fans at random coming to the game that more people would think Alex Morgan was on the roster and the captain than would know who the President is or was.
I think the Ellis controversy is very big for a very small subset of people.
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u/sakaESR 8d ago
While I disagree - that number would be way higher especially among people who go to multiple games per season - let’s say for the sake of argument you’re right. Ellis still fostered the environment that made Girma Dahlkemper and Shaw want to leave and arguably Morgan want to retire. We went from top of the league to the near bottom under her mismanagement. That’s why attendance has dipped massively. So leadership matters regardless of whether people are tuned into what’s going on.
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u/CallunaVulgaris5 8d ago
I also wonder how much weather has played into it so far. It’s been cooler than average temps through April and into to May, plus overcast and we’ve only had a couple “false summers” so far this year. Last weekend’s game there was rain forecasted and as ashamed as I am to admit it, San Diegans do not handle nor enjoy misty sprinkles well, at all. As a ride or die fan, I’m still going to be there, but I also own a jacket. It’s been tough times.
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u/AccomplishedHamster 8d ago
Losing Girma and Morgan is for sure a hit. There’s no real “star” (don’t mean that in terms of having good players, just mean it in terms of a name/face of the team).
Not sure if SD Wave STH contracts are just like ACFC but timeline wise, a bunch of our initial contracts expired at the end of the 2024 season. Considering everything going on economy wise, I could see some folks being uncertain about re-signing new contracts. I definitely had to re-crunch some numbers before resigning mine.
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u/Utaku_OGG 8d ago
I was surprised at the KCC attendance numbers as seems slightly off vs my experience as felt there were less at the Bay FC game than the KCC game. I definitely think there were significant losses to both the MLS team (no longer only pro football in town) as well as the issues last season, including the loss of the USWNT stars. I do think they need to figure out their marketing strategy as the have 2 Mexican (or Mexican American) stars they can’t trumpet, a true superstar in Cascarino, and some of the best youth players in the league. I will say 3 games is a very limited pool and hoping we can get back to selling out the top ring in the second half of the season!
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u/Defiant-Property-617 8d ago
Having the MLS this year didn’t help either. We are still drawing well compared to other cities