The Hartford Athletic has only recorded a handful of wins in its inaugural season at Dillon Stadium, but it did see some victories at the ticket office.
The new pro soccer club (7-5-21), a member of the expanded United Soccer League (USL), is entering its final regular season game Saturday and has averaged 5,200 ticket sales per game in nine home matches at the 5,500-seat stadium.
That averages to about 95 percent of seats being filled per game, which ranks highly compared to the six other teams that joined the USL in 2019 — even though most of those teams play in larger venues.
USL data shows the Athletic tied with New Mexico United — which is home to a 13,500-seat stadium — with average home game capacity of 95 percent. Trailing were other first-year teams Birmingham Legion FC (92 percent of a 4,611-seat stadium); El Paso Locomotive FC (87 percent of a 7,500-seat stadium); and Memphis 901 FC (67 percent of a 10,000-seat stadium).
Other startup franchises that filled less than half of their stadiums per game were Austin Bold FC and Loudoun United FC, which both play in venues with a capacity of just over 5,000 seats.
In total, average game attendance for all 36 USL teams stood at 4,443, as of Oct. 13, USL data shows. That covers a sample of 588 games.
The Athletic this season was only able to play 10 USL games at the historic Dillon Stadium, which faced construction delays as it underwent a $14 million renovation over the last year. As renovations were being completed, the Division II club played its first seven home games at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
Team officials this week said they were pleased with Dillon Stadium attendance.
“We are incredibly proud and grateful for the support we’ve received from our fans in our inaugural season,” Donovan Powell, the club’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Week in and week out, our fans provide one of the best home field advantages in the league singing, chanting, and jumping for 90 minutes.
In August, the Athletic also played an exhibition match at Dillon Stadium against Puerto Rico’s national soccer team, which drew 4,685 fans.
Next week, the team will play a second home international friendly match vs. Portmore United FC of the Jamaican National Premier League. The game begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. Dillon in November will also be used for Hartford high school football and soccer games, UConn men’s and women’s soccer games, and other community events.
The Athletic’s final regular season game begins Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Broadcasting partner WTNH News 8 will air Saturday’s game on its sister station, WCTX MyTV9. It will also broadcast on subscription service ESPN+.
The Athletic is currently 17th out of 18 teams in the USL’s Eastern Conference.
