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.
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) is a professional outdoor lacrosse league which began play in 2001. It is North America’s premier outdoor/field lacrosse league. The league strives to be national in scale but has not been able to sustain much franchise growth. Most of the teams are based in the Eastern United States.
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 |
Major League Lacrosse | Field Lacrosse | 2006 | 10 USA | untracked | 60 | untracked | 257,714 | untracked | 4,295 | untracked | Pointstreak.com |
Major League Lacrosse | Field Lacrosse | 2007 | 10 USA | 0.00% | 60 | 0.00% | 265,783 | 3.13% | 4,429 | 3.12% | Pointstreak.com |
Major League Lacrosse | Field Lacrosse | 2008 | 10 USA | 0.00% | 60 | 0.00% | 270,942 | 1.94% | 4,515 | 1.94% | Pointstreak.com |
Major League Lacrosse | Field Lacrosse | 2009 | 6 (5 USA 1 CAN) | -40.00% | 36 | -40.00% | 200,076 | -26.16% | 5,557 | 23.08% | Pointstreak.com |
Major League Lacrosse | Field Lacrosse | 2010 | 6 (5 USA 1 CAN) | 0.00% | 36 | 0.00% | 192,133 | -3.97% | 5,337 | -3.96% | Pointstreak.com |
Major League Lacrosse | Field Lacrosse | 2011 | 8 (7 USA 1 CAN) | 33.33% | 36 | 0.00% | 231,023 | 20.24% | 6,417 | 20.24% | Pointstreak.com |
Major League Lacrosse | Field Lacrosse | 2012 | 8 (7 USA 1 CAN) | 0.00% | 56 | 55.56% | 314,096 | 35.96% | 5,608 | -12.61% | Pointstreak.com |
Major League Lacrosse | Field Lacrosse | 2013 | 8 (7 USA 1 CAN) | 0.00% | 56 | 0.00% | 283,875 | -9.62% | 5,069 | -9.61% | Pointstreak.com |
Major League Lacrosse attracts players from colleges and some elite recreational leagues. MLL is a semi-professional league. MLL players reportedly earn annual salaries in the $10,000–$25,000 range; players and staff generally hold other jobs.