The MLS week started with a Tuesday night tilt at BBVA Compass Stadium.  The game again drew a crowd in excess of 22k.  A mid-week crowd of just over 11,500 scattered throughout RFK for DC United’s weeknight match.  The weekend started in Vancouver with a packed crowd of 21k in attendance for Cascadia Cup match.  Later that day, DC managed to eclipse 14k in their second home game of the week.

The Revs managed almost 16,500 for their draw with the Dynamo.  That number was seemingly bolstered by an armed forces ticket give-away in excess of 3,000 seats.  Montreal drew more than 20k at Olympic Stadium as the days count down to the re-opening of Stade Saputo.  Dallas cracked the 13k mark will the Rapids managed to shoot past 15k at DSG Park late Saturday night.  Chivas hosted the LA Galaxy on Saturday night but failed to get a crowd in excess of 19k for the Classico.  San Jose got its usual 10k plus for their home match against the Crew.

On to the MLS slate, which started with a series of mid-week games.  The week started at Red Bull Arena which saw record low numbers for their 1-0 victory over Houston.  Less than 11,500 were in attendance for the game. Chicago was able to draw just over 13k for their mid-week tilt, while FC Dallas scraped past the 10k mark at what is now the smallest MLS facility in Texas. \

David Beckham’s only visit to Montreal drew a remarkable crowd of over 60k and all were treated to a classic Beckham free kick goal.  The sellout in Houston was officially reported as 22,039.  The Revs crept past 12k for their impressive victory over Vancouver, while Columbus was able to move past 11k at Crew Stadium.  Chicago managed to slide past the 14k mark while Seattle managed a remarkable 39k plus for their home loss to RSL.

In a Sunday afternoon tilt, the Philadelphia Union managed more than 18k at PPL Park. The match was televised after the Manchester City match on ESPN2.

Overall it was a great attendance weekend for the league at the gate.

Since the season started in March, there have been no new jersey sponsors to discuss and no new league sponsors to highlight.  There have been no high profile designated player signings and no new expansion announcements. There have no new local television deals and  attendance and ratings have been solid but not spectacular.

What does it all mean?  There is one argument that league has reached a certain level of maturity and stability and that big changes are now less frequent and subtle shifts will become the norm.  After years of scrambling for relevance, the league has grabbed a solid foothold on the American sports pyramid and fears of crashing and fading seem like distant memories.   Publications like the Sports Business Journal have sung the praises of league management for years and sports business executives remain impressed with the league’s steady growth.  This consistent process suggests that league, while still on the upswing, is entering a period that will be marked by occasional significant events and fewer peaks and valleys.

Another argument is that league has peaked as a corporate property.  Those companies that wanted to get involved in the league have done so, and those local networks that want to televise their MLS team have already inked deals.  Teams like Dallas and Colorado continue to struggle to find jersey sponsors despite their successful runs in 2010 and the league has peaked as the nation’s 5th professional sport.

I’m inclined to the first view.  MLS has grown dramatically over the last few years and has earned a few moments to breathe.  New deals will come, new partners will be found and the league will continue to grow.

Do you agree?

The Canadian teams played their mid-week Canadian Championship (now sponsored by Amway through 2013), while a number of US based squads played Wednesday matches.    The week started off in a challenging fashion, with the Revs mustering just over 6k for their home win over Colorado.  San Jose fared a bit better with a crowd in excess of 8,700k.  Seattle rescued the mid-week slate packing more than 30k into Century Link Field. Chivas posted a shockingly good number with more than 14,500 for their Friday night match at the Home Depot Center.

The Saturday numbers started strong with more than 18k to watch a woeful TFC team fall again at BMO field while an afternoon match in Seattle drew more than 38k on NBCSN.  Vancouver managed a crowd of more than 19k for their home match, while LA reportedly sold out their game at the Home Depot Center against the Red Bulls.  The crowd looked sparser than full on ESPN2.  Kansas City cracked through the 20k figure during their shocking home loss to Montreal. At Rio Tinto more than 18k saw a match marred by red cards.  Portland managed its usual 20k plus for a scoreless draw at Jeld-Wen.

The league week started on Wednesday with just over 10k in Dallas, a decent weekday crowd for the Metroplex.  The Montreal Impact hosted the Timbers on Friday night and exceeded 19k while counting down towards the move to their permanent Stade Saputo home.  On Saturday, the Red Bulls started with more than 18,500 for their match with New England, while the Union managed just over 18k at PPL Park.

DC United managed almost 14k at RFK for their Saturday night match, while Columbus fell just short of 12k.  Both matches were played in unusually chilly late April weather in the East.  In Chicago, the Fire hosted more than 14k at Toyota Park, while at RSL, more than 17k packed into Rio Tinto as RSL managed to squeak past TFC at home.    Both are solid crowds for an April Saturday evening.

In the late night games, Colorado fell just shy of 11k in another tough weather game.  The Galaxy managed a big crowd at the Home Depot Center, with more than 23k on hand to witness a match that was tight until the end.

The stadium includes 33 suites in close proximity to the field and 2 party suites.  Construction is moving along nicely.  Those standing on the grass field will have the opportunity to look at 75 foot canopies hanging over the stands.  The downtown stadium is part of a stadium district that includes facilities for a number of Houston’s sports teams.  The team just finished hosting a job fair for positions at the new park.  Corporate partners at the stadium include, Bud, Mambo Seafood, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, AT&T, Mazda, Kroger, greenstar, Statoil and Methodist Hospital System.  A link to the stadium construction webcam is here.

Finally, in San Jose, things have been reasonably quiet since last February.  At that time, a vote by the San Jose Planning Commission upheld earlier action by the same board in December.  However, concerns raised by a neighbor to the project had required additional action.  The team is aggressively targeting next Summer to open the new venue.  A rendering of the proposed stadium is here.

In Montreal, Saputo Stadium is continuing to move towards completion. The stadium is expanding to just over 20,000 seats and the roof will now hang over the upper rows of each grandstand.  As a result, about one third of seats will be covered.   There will be more than double the number of  suites and 5x the number of concesssions.  The stadium is accessible by two suway stops and includes a synthetic surface training field next door.  For photos and a virtual venue, click here.

The Charlotte Observer weighs in with this piece about the possibility of MLS expansion in the Carolinas.

With respect to attendance, the week opened on Wednesday where RSL played host to more than 20k fans at Rio Tinto. That is a great crowd for a mid-week game. On Thursday night in Frisco, FC Dallas knocked off the Revs in stoppage time before just over 11k at FC Dallas Stadium. Montreal continued the solid showing with more than 23k at their second home game.   In Columbus, the arrival of Thierry Henry only resulted in a crowd in the 11,500 range.   The Red Bulls are the league’s second most glamorous franchise, so the smallish crowd is disappointing.

In Kansas City, Sporting drew a raucous crowd of more than 20k for the arrival of the league’s glitziest team, the Los Angeles Galaxy.   Oddly, RSL’s second game of the week drew less than 17k after the big mid-week crowd.  In Portland, more than 20,000 came to Jeld-Wen Field on Saturday night. DC United drew a solid crowd in excess of 15k while San Jose sold its typical allotment of just over 10k.

Keeping with theme of clubs coming stateside without involving MLS, it was announced that Liverpool will make its long awaited trek to Fenway Park.  The American owned EPL team will face AS Roma on July 25.  The storied baseball venue hosted soccer last Summer with great success, but given the joint ownership between the Red Sox and Liverpool, it was only a matter of time before the Reds made their way to Boston.  The ownership group has faced criticism from both sets of fans who believe that their beloved franchise is suffering from joint ownership.

One final note.  Television viewership for the various games on the NBC Sports Network continue to roll in via Twitter and the overall numbers are fairly good.  The broadcasts are averaging more than 100k which compares favorably to the rest of the programming on the NBC Sports Network other than the NHL.  The Stanley Cup playoffs are coming in the next couple of weeks and the viewership explodes for the network during that time.  It will be interesting to see if promotion by the network during those games brings viewers to MLS.

On the attendance front, it was a weekend of great highs and troubling lows.  On the top end, Montreal opened its MLS home schedule before almost 60k at Olympic Stadium on Saturday afternoon.  Later that day, Chivas USA failed to top 8k at the Home Depot Center, a troubling number for a franchise we highlighted 2 years ago for their success in achieving reasonable crowds in a environment.  Elsewhere, San Jose played at AT&T Park before more than 21k in a rather dull affair against Houston.  Kansas City hit its 19,777 number in their home thrashing of the Revs.  At the same time, Dallas drew 12,200 for their second home game of the season.  In Seattle, more than 38k witnessed the Sounders victory while 16,700 were at Rio Tinto for RSL’s win over New York.

On Sunday, Philadelphia opened its home schedule with its first 19k plus sell out of 2012.  The game was broadcast on the NBC Sports Network.

Elsewhere, ESPN2′s ratings for the riveting Monday match in Portland are in.  The match drew an average of 337,000 viewers and a rating just over .2  The numbers are down over last year’s opener but are not overly disappointing for a match not featuring Los Angeles or Seattle.  However, the game is significant increase over the ESPN2 average for 2011.  Also recall that the opener last year was on ESPN.

The Washington Post’s Steve Goff is reporting that DC United has signed a two year lease to remain at RFK Stadium and will limit capacity at the stadium to just under 20k.  The upper levels will be tarped and the team will attempt to sell sponsorships for the covers.  The deal also includes a promise to provide certain improvements to the stadium which will be paid for through a ticket fee surcharge.

Finally, ESPN offers this 47 movie devoted to David Beckham’s time in Los Angeles.