MISL News Release
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
TAMPA, Fla. – The Major Indoor Soccer League is set to surpass the 200,000 attendance mark for the season as the race for the playoffs rolls on in both the Eastern and Central Division this weekend. After an outstanding turnout of more than 8,000 fans this past Saturday at Kansas City’s Sprint Center, the league is also set to pass its overall attendance from the 2010-11 season.
Saturday’s event, which also recorded the highest attendance of the season at 8,276, showed the drawing power of the indoor game. With the game staged in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention the Comets put on a remarkable show on and off the field, and have already been asked to return for a similar event next season.
“I can tell you from an ownership standpoint I’ve been completely thrilled with what the USL has been able to do to grow our brand from a league perspective,” Missouri Comets President Brian Budzinski said. “The USL has really put the MISL back where it used to be, but then also into new territory to grow this great sport.”
Averaging almost 4,000 fans per contest, the MISL is on pace to break through the 300,000 fan mark, which would see a 50 percent rise in attendance from 2010-11. Leading the way is the Baltimore Blast, who host Norfolk on Friday night aiming for revenge after the SharX claimed a 17-12 victory in their last meeting this past Thursday. Baltimore leads the league with an average attendance of 5,749.
The big contest of the weekend in the Eastern Division, though, comes at the Oncenter War Memorial in Syracuse, N.Y., where the Silver Knights play host to in-state rivals the Rochester Lancers at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. Both sides enter with matching records, meaning the winner will have a leg up in the pursuit of Baltimore for the division lead and for the division’s second playoff berth.
In the Central Division, Wichita will aim to build on the momentum of their victory against the Comets, but face a big challenge with a pair of games against defending MISL champion the Milwaukee Wave on Friday and Saturday night at 8:35 p.m. Wichita is tied with second-placed Missouri in the loss column, but must now take advantage of its games in hand to close the Comets’ lead in the race for the playoffs.
Norfolk will also aim to continue its strong form of late with two contests this weekend. After facing Baltimore on Friday night, the SharX will return to the Norfolk Scope Arena on Saturday night to host the Missouri Comets. 3-2 in their past five outings after a slow start to the season, the SharX still have an outside chance at challenging for the Eastern Division playoffs.