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Nippert Stadium Draws Big Crowds for Matches

FC Cincinnati attendance record

Whether it is for hometown FC Cincinnati or other matches, Nippert Stadium is becoming a hub for a burgeoning soccer culture in Cincinnati. 

After its successful inaugural 2016 season, FC Cincinnati has managed to outdo itself on the attendance front in 2017. The club broke its own USL single-game attendance record on September 16, when it welcomed a reported 30,417 spectators for a match against New York Red Bulls II.

That was followed by another attendance success story this week. On Tuesday, a crowd of 30,596 turned out to watch USWNT defeat New Zealand by a final of 5-0 in an international friendly.

The recent attendance success stories–both for FC Cincinnati and other matches at Nippert Stadium–is reflective of a trend that stretches back to last year, and to this point shows no signs of slowing down. The way fans in Cincinnati have rallied around soccer is making an impression on many, including FC Cincinati’s Jimmy McLaughlin. More from The Cincinnati Enquirer:

“It’s amazing,” McLaughlin said. “It’s a testament to the soccer culture in Cincinnati now. This is kind of the standard.”

Including FC Cincinnati and the national team, more than 500,000 people have watched a match at Nippert Stadium in 2017.

Including all competitions last season, 333,353 was the total attendance.

“None of us expected this when we signed on,” McLaughlin said. “Originally they were trying to tell us we might get 8,000 people (per match). And at the time I thought that was crazy with how other teams have done in USL and the history of attendance in the league.

Last Saturday’s record-breaking contest is set to be FC Cincinnati’s final home match of the 2017 regular season. The club averaged a league-leading 21,199 fans per-game, and is also atop the league in total attendance (339,181).

Photo courtesy USL and FC Cincinnati.

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