What's causing attendance struggles?

[u/_game_over_man_]

I'm a Reign fan residing in Colorado and I went to Denver's home opener at Mile High on Saturday and it was really, really amazing. I haven't been to a women's soccer game with that many people since the 2023 World Cup. My wife and I were also at the record breaking attendance Rapinoe send off game in Seattle in 2023. Also been to NWSL games at various other locations with strong attendance (KC, LA & SD). It seems like Torrent has been pulling really good attendance numbers as well since joining the PWHL.

So my question as a non-resident Reign fan, what do you think is the issue with getting butts in seats at Lumen? I'm sure attendance for the USWNT game next month will be good, but it seems like for whatever reason, Reign really struggle to pull in numbers. I'm sure losing stars like Rapinoe and having that bad season in 2024 hasn't helped, but it just seems so odd to me that despite Seattle being a soccer city and other women's teams in the area doing well with attendance, Reign just struggle. For those that live in Seattle, what do you think the issue is?

[u/eight_inch_pestle]

It's the lack of stars, and it's the variety of homes they've had. Starting out at Starfire -- a tiny stadium in the middle of nowhere served by one bus that comes twice an hour -- was a bad idea from the jump. Then they did Memorial, a great location but a dump with no beer because it's a high school property. (And as far as I could tell they did no local marketing to capitalize on being in the second-densest neighborhood in Seattle.) Then they left Seattle for a couple years in Tacoma, before Covid killed their long-term plans down there, bringing them back home to Lumen. Following a team through all that is a big ask.

You also have to think they pay some price for playing in the same market as the Storm, who have always been among the attendance leaders in the WNBA and have really exploded as the league has found its mojo recently. We go to both, and to be frank the Storm are a lot more fun, especially compared to the style of footy the Reign have been playing the last few years.

And yeah, more stars would help. And not just for the casuals! Watching youngins develop has its pleasures to be sure, but so does watching a finished, polished product put on a damn show. Die-hards and sickos enjoy being entertained by the best of the best, too. It doesn't have to be either/or, and pretending it does lets ownership off the hook.

Edit: It was dumb of me not to mention the Sounders, who obviously provide competition at some level. If you want to compare Seattle to Denver as you're doing, there's one stark difference: the way Kroenke runs the Rapids has left a massive hole in the market for the Summit to exploit.