Category: Women’s Major Leagues

Women’s Professional Soccer Attendance 2009 to 2011

Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top level professional women’s soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion. The WPS was the highest level in the United States soccer pyramid for the women’s game.

On January 30, 2012, the league announced suspension of the 2012 season, citing several internal organization struggles as the primary cause. Some of these issues included an ongoing legal battle with magicJack owner Dan Borislow and the lack of resources invested into the league. On May 18, 2012 WPS announced the league folded and would not return in 2013. After the WPS folded, the National Women’s Soccer League formed in 2013 and took WPS’s place as the top professional women’s soccer league.

League Sport Season # of Teams Team Change Games Games Change Total Attendance TA Change Average Attendance AA Change Source
Women’s Professional Soccer Association Football Women 2009 7 USA untracked 70 untracked 327,878 untracked 4,684 untracked kenn.com
Women’s Professional Soccer Association Football Women 2010 8 USA 14.29% 87 24.29% 323,554 -1.32% 3,595 -23.25% kenn.com
Women’s Professional Soccer Association Football Women 2011 8 USA 0.00% 87 0.00% 189,984 -41.28% 3,518 -2.14% kenn.com

Women’s National Basketball Association Attendance 2006 to 2013

One of the defining characteristics of Minor Sports Leagues is that they play to smaller crowds of fans. Minor-Leagues.com has compiled a series of posts that provides details of attendance figures.

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a professional women’s basketball league in the United States that started play in 1997. Many WNBA teams have direct NBA counterparts and play in the same arena. Four teams of the twelve do not share an arena with a direct NBA counterpart, while only two do not share a market with an NBA counterpart.

Below is the fan attendance for the entire league from 2006 to 2013.

League Sport Season # of Teams Team Change Games Games Change Total Attendance TA Change Average Attendance AA Change Source
WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) Basketball Women 2006 14 USA untracked 238 untracked 1,782,620 untracked 7,490 untracked wikipedia
WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) Basketball Women 2007 13 USA -7.69% 221 -7.14% 1,727,999 -3.06% 7,819 4.39% wikipedia
WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) Basketball Women 2008 14 USA 7.69% 238 7.69% 1,891,624 9.47% 7,948 1.65% wikipedia
WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) Basketball Women 2009 13 USA -7.14% 221 -7.14% 1,776,619 -6.08% 8,039 1.14% wikipedia
WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) Basketball Women 2010 12 USA -7.69% 204 -7.69% 1,598,136 -10.05% 7,834 -2.55% wikipedia
WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) Basketball Women 2011 12 USA 0.00% 204 0.00% 1,622,616 1.53% 7,954 1.53% wikipedia
WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) Basketball Women 2012 12 USA 0.00% 204 0.00% 1,520,208 -6.31% 7,452 -6.31% wikipedia
WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) Basketball Women 2013 12 USA 0.00% 204 0.00% 1,536,324 1.06% 7,531 1.06% wikipedia

 

The creation of the WNBA was officially approved by the NBA Board of Governors in 1996. While not the first major women’s professional basketball league in the United States (a distinction held by the defunct WBL), the WNBA is the only league to receive full backing of the NBA.