Op-Ed: Nashville Soccer Club’s attendance shows a lack of interest in the sport

When the United States was announced as a future World Cup host in 2018, there was a general expectation that it would be the final piece to the puzzle of American soccer. Not only would there be the big financial boom that would naturally come from the biggest sporting event in the world, but it could potentially boost the popularity of the sport in the American public. Especially since MLS, the professional soccer league in the US, lags far behind in popularity to the NFL, NBA and MLB. There was a real optimism about the opportunities on the horizon for American soccer.

Moving forward, it’s now been 100 days since Spain defeated Argentina to become world champions in MetLife stadium and we’re yet to see the kind of domino effect that was expected in American soccer. Granted, within a 100-day time frame we were never going to see MLS or US soccer completely transcended, but I would expect that there would be some positive signs to suggest that change would be on the way. In the end, the tournament didn’t even provide much to a financial boom to the 11 host cities. The American Hotel & Lodging Association even labeled the World Cup as a “non-event” in their outlook report with 80% of hosts saying bookings were falling behind original forecasts. Host cities were asked to invest millions of dollars into hosting free Fan Festivals and had to invest their money into buying security for the event. By the end of the World Cup, the only real winner was FIFA itself, who got to walk away with the millions in ticket sales without having to pay for all the security measures and events cities had to pay for.

Evidently, the World Cup didn’t bring in the kind of financial success to its host country that was expected. But there was still the possibility of the soccer culture the tournament could bring to the US. MLS would be handed the heavy task of trying to transform some of the World Cup buzz into a real audience for the league. They did try to capture some of the world cup audience with marketing efforts such as their “Thanks World, We’ll Take it From Here” campaign. But that hasn’t panned out. To me, the most damming example of the post-World Cup failure is our local MLS team, Nashville SC.

Nashville SC is on track to become the greatest MLS team of all time. Despite this, it seems like a city with a population of over 700,000 does not seem to care. In MLS, the best team in the regular season is awarded a trophy called the Supporters’ Shield. Nashville clinched this trophy with a 2-0 win in Montreal two weekends ago. They won the Shield so emphatically that there were still three matches left in the regular season, as it was mathematically impossible for any other team in the league to match their record. Unfortunately for the team, they clinched their title away from home, but the following two matches would be back in Nashville in front of their people. It was the perfect recipe for an incredible reception for the regular season champs. What Nashville SC got in return for their first game back was a half-empty stadium.

It’s concerning how empty the stadium, Geodis Park, was in the match against the Philadelphia Union last Wednesday. Especially in the upper stands that were completely vacant in what was supposed to be a big reception for the local champions. When asking people why they thought the stadium was so empty, the response was always the same from match-goers and even team staff.

I spoke with Casey Rivas, an outreach coordinator for Nashville SC and he blamed circumstances. “It’s the weekday,” said Rivas. “There’s always work, there’s always school. So, there’s a lot of things that get in the way for an event that’s outdoors, especially compared to the weekend.”

While I’m sure that it being a weekday plays a part in the lack of attendance, the reality is that the team doesn’t even get close to being a sellout on weekend games either. There’s been a significant drop-off in general interest in the team. And this isn’t just some rash assumption of mine: Nashville SC has been making constant pushes to get new people into seats over the last year. Most notably, they’ve implemented the “First Match on us Promo.” This deal gives locals who have never been to an NSC game the opportunity to attend their first for free. Up to 2 tickets can be claimed for free, and an additional 4 can be purchased at a discounted rate. While the promotion is a great deal for people who want a free event, this is not the kind of promotion that a team that consistently fills out their stadiums creates.

Alongside that, there’s also the Vet Tix situation. Vet Tix is a non-profit organization that gives free event tickets to US military personnel, veterans and first responders. Tickets are donated by venues, artists and promoters. Nashville SC constantly donates tickets to the site. And while the donations are honorable, the tickets often go unclaimed. For Nashville’s match against Philadelphia, 268 tickets went unclaimed by veterans and first responders. These have been available for every Nashville SC home game this season.

Both of these promotions helped me to gauge the kind of interest the team gets. The result is bleak.

The lack of interest is not due to a lack of trying. I’ve been going to games at Geodis Park since the stadium first opened in 2022. When the stadium first opened, attendance would be announced at the end of every home game. Somewhere along the way since then, they’ve stopped doing this. The drop-off in attendance has been significant enough that the team has simply stopped reporting numbers.

The attendance situation is disheartening to more loyal fans of the team. I think most would agree that sports events are significantly more fun with more people there. The most electric Nashville SC games I’ve experienced have been ones that have complete sellouts. Most notably, the Leagues Cup final in 2023, where Nashville faced off against Messi’s Inter Miami.

One would expect that the team performing well would guarantee seats being filled, but that’s not the case. Nashville SC did not lose a single MLS game at home this season, but it still hasn’t been enough to get the attention of the people of Nashville.

With playoffs on the horizon, there’s concern about people showing up, but Rivas says he and the rest of the workers are optimistic about the turnout.

“The chance to be able host the playoffs is exciting. The more matches we win, the most matches we’ll have,” he said. “Most playoff games are going to be on the weekend, so it gives people that have days off the ability to come out and now that we’re the best team in the country it gives people an incentive to come out and support.”

Despite internal optimism, there seems to be little to suggest public interest will increase, given the last year of attendance in Nashville. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what kind of Nashville crowd will come to support NSC in the MLS playoffs, which kick off later this month.

Feature image shot by Samuel Espinoza.