Soccer team touts attendance, but turnstile counts far lower

 

Orlando City fans watch first half action of a USL Pro semifinal… (Joshua C. Cruey, Orlando…)

September 3, 2013|By Mark Schlueb, Orlando Sentinel

Orlando City Soccer Club recently celebrated a milestone: Average attendance at its games surpassed 8,000. But city turnstile records show average attendance was less than half that — at 3,987.That's not unusual in the world of professional sports, where announced attendance has little to do with how many fans actually attend a game.

But there are more than just bragging rights at stake for the Orlando City Lions. The team is lobbying Orlando and Orange County officials for a soccer-specific stadium that would cost $85 million, most of it from public money. It would seat about 18,000 people.Lions representatives said they're certain fans will fill the stadium if it is built. "We have tried to be as accurate and honest as we can," team executive Brett Lashbrook said. "I think it's in line with the industry practice, and in fact it's more honest than other leagues."

On Aug. 11, the club announced a record 10,697 fans at the Florida Citrus Bowl. In fact, just 4,004 people had their tickets scanned as they passed through the gates, according to turnstile counts tallied by the city, which owns and operates the venue. The team announced an attendance of 8,912 at the USL Pro semi-final match Friday. The turnstile count was 6,731.

The actual attendance — the number of fans in seats — is likely somewhere in the middle, but it's nearly impossible for the public to know with any certainty. The team hopes to draw 15,000 fans to the Citrus Bowl when it plays for the USL Pro Championship on Saturday.

Lashbrook, who is leading the effort to make the team the next Major League Soccer expansion franchise, says that the city's tally drastically undercounts the actual attendance. It doesn't include the most dedicated fans — those seated in the Fan Zone; members of the team's youth soccer league who arrive pregame; and those in premium seats, who use a different entrance. Together, that can amount to more than 1,000 people.

"We are confident that our official attendance figures are an accurate and honest portrayal of the number of people attending our matches," Lashbrook said.

Exaggerated attendance is no surprise to fans of professional sports. Sellout crowds are often announced even when pockets of empty seats are plain to see for TV viewers. It comes down to how they're counted.

Most professional sports leagues and the NCAA have adopted a policy of announcing the number of tickets that have been distributed for the game. That includes season tickets, group tickets, individual tickets and premium areas that have been sold, as well as tickets given to corporate sponsors. But it also includes tickets handed out for free to charities, sponsors or simply to promote the team and bring in more bodies. Corporate-sponsorship tickets are often given to a company's clients and go unused. Each suite at the Amway Center is counted as 16 attendees, even if no one shows up. Those with comp tickets are even more likely to stay home because there's less angst if you didn't pay anything.

The Orlando Magic's current policy, dictated by the NBA, is to calculate attendance like this: They count all tickets sold — regardless of whether the ticket-holder comes to the game — as well as comp tickets that have actually been used. That typically yields an announced attendance about 25 percent higher than turnstile counts recorded by the city.

"It's a sports-industry practice," said Allen Johnson, director of the city's venues, referring to professional sports in general. "It's not a dirty little secret. It's just how we do it versus how they do it."

Unlike the NBA, Major League Soccer announces all tickets distributed — paid and comped — whether or not the people who have the tickets are really there. MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche says they're just following the lead of other major leagues.

"It's a consistent approach," Courtemanche said. The Orlando soccer team does not release a breakdown of its attendance or disclose the number of free tickets it hands out. To determine the attendance announced at games, the club uses its own formula that its executives say is more conservative.

Generally, the attendance that is announced includes all paid tickets and some, but not all, complimentary tickets. Part of the team's system is to eyeball several sections where those with free tickets are seated and then take an educated guess about how many people are present.

In some cases, the team has strayed from its policy. Heavy rainfall at three or four games affected attendance so much that the team reported a lower number than it otherwise would have, Lashbrook said.

Team officials expect to fill a new stadium. The last three minor-league teams to join MLS saw big attendance jumps in their first MLS season. The Vancouver Whitecaps went from 5,149 to 20,406.

"Our paid numbers go up every year, and we're becoming more and more part of the social fabric of this community," Lashbrook said.

Johnson, who is negotiating a potential lease with the team, said it won't hurt City Hall's bottom line if fans don't show up. The lease will likely charge the team a flat rental fee, and if the city doesn't break even, the team would have to pay the city the difference.