While average attendance among the NWSL’s 14 returning clubs remained relatively steady in 2026, expansion side Denver Summit helped boost the leaguewide average by 3%, Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday.
The Summit ranked second at 16,635 fans per game, marking the second-highest average attendance by an expansion club in league history.
The league’s other expansion team, the Boston Legacy, averaged 10,809 fans per match, slightly below the league average.
With the schedule expanded to 30 matches, the NWSL drew a record 2.64 million fans this season, averaging more than 10,000 per match for the fourth consecutive campaign. The league also set a record with 39 announced sellouts.
For the second season in a row, the Portland Thorns led the league in average attendance, drawing 19,073 fans per match at Providence Park. That represented a 5% increase from the previous year and the club’s highest average in seven seasons.
Denver drew large crowds from the start, setting an NWSL record with 63,004 fans for its home opener at Empower Field at Mile High. The Summit subsequently played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., then moved to Centennial (Colo.) Stadium, which will serve as their home until a permanent stadium at Santa Fe Yards is completed, with a target opening in late 2028.
The Legacy split their home schedule between Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I. In 2027, Centreville Bank Stadium will host all of the Legacy’s home matches before the club moves to a renovated White Stadium in Boston in 2028.
Gotham FC, the defending champions, saw their average attendance climb to 10,943, a 23% increase over 2025. The boost was largely attributable to the “Queens Classic” at Citi Field, which attracted a capacity crowd of 42,175. Excluding matches at Citi Field and Icahn Stadium, the club’s average attendance increased 1%. Gotham is scheduled to move to Etihad Park in Queens in 2028 after one more season at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J.
The Houston Dash (14%) and North Carolina Courage (9%) also posted sizable increases in average attendance in 2026. However, neither reached the postseason, and both remained among the league’s lowest-drawing clubs despite two consecutive seasons of attendance growth.
The San Diego Wave were among several West Coast clubs to experience significant attendance declines. The Wave led the league in 2023 with an average of 20,718 fans per match, but that figure fell to 12,284 this season, a 41% decrease from 2023.
The Wave’s ownership group, citing scheduling issues at Snapdragon Stadium, is interested in building a new venue at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
–Field Level Media
