The 2017 MLS season is officially underway, bringing a record 22 clubs to the fold in the league’s 22nd year of existence. The league’s latest expansion efforts include Atlanta United and Minnesota United, two clubs that attest to the sport’s growing popularity in North America.
No indicator of that success is more obvious than the resale ticket market, where league average has continued to increase since the turn of the decade. On TicketIQ, a search engine that collects tickets and data from over 90 percent of the resale market, league average for MLS tickets has increased more than 20 percent since 2011, the year the company began tracking MLS ticket data. The league average among all 22 clubs this season is $66, up considerably from 2010’s $54 average.
So, which clubs are most responsible for the league-wide increase in ticket prices? The Earthquakes have seen exponential growth since the 2010 season, with average price increasing 300 percent over the last eight seasons ($21 to $96). While not as significant, the Timbers (69 percent increase), D.C. United (55 percent) and the Red Bulls (40 percent) have also experienced substantial growth over the last seven years.
Expansion teams are also having their say in the league-wide growth. While Atlanta United and Minnesota United are posting impressive prices in their inaugural season (Atlanta leads the league with a $103 average), Orlando City SC and NYCFC have seen price increases each season since their expansion into the league in 2015. Orlando City’s rise is notable; jumping from a $65 home average in 2015 to $88 in 2017. NYCFC tickets at Yankee Stadium have increased 10 percent over the last three seasons, up to $76 from $69 in 2015.
The majority of the league’s growth on the resale market can be attributed to the demand increase in the Western Conference over the last several years, however. Of the five major North American sporting leagues, MLS is the only league where the west has vastly outpaced the east in terms of average list price, according to TicketIQ. Of the 10 Western clubs that have been in the league since 2011, all have experienced a positive seven-year price trend. Only four of seven Eastern clubs can say the same in that same time frame.
That league-wide increase in ticket price shouldn’t keep fans down for too long. In fact, even with the notable price hike, MLS still remains the most affordable ticket across all five major sports. That $66 league average pales in comparison to the NFL, where tickets during the 2016 season commanded a $190 average. MLB tickets during the 2017 season own the second lowest average at $103 - still 56 percent higher than MLS.
MLS’s growth doesn’t end at the ticket box office, either. Attendance rates are on the rise along with television viewership, signifying a growing interest in the league across the U.S. and Canada. More expansion clubs are on the horizon, with the league’s sights set on building clubs in Miami, Phoenix and Indianapolis over the next several years.
To put it simply, business is booming in MLS, and with even more expansion planned in the near future, there’s no intention of stopping anytime soon.