Boulder Named Among The Worst For Soccer Fans

BOULDER, CO — Americans have trailed behind the rest of the world in fully embracing soccer. But with the incredible success of the U.S. Women’s National Team in the past two World Cup tournaments, and the upward trajectory of Major League Soccer, it looks like the United States has finally gained substantial admiration in recent years for the beautiful game.

If you consider yourself an avid soccer fan, or just someone who enjoys watching a match from time to time, we have some potentially bad news — a new study by WalletHub ranked Boulder in soccer fan experience No. 209 out of 288 largest cities across the country.

To determine the most accurate soccer fan-friendly cities in America, WalletHub compared the 288 locations based on the presence of Major League Soccer, National Women’s Soccer League, United Soccer League, Division 1 Men’s College Soccer, and Division 1 Women’s College Soccer teams. To be included, cities had to have at least one college or professional soccer team.

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Boulder ranked 20 in the MLS, 10 in the NWSL, 36 in the USL, 170 in Division 1 Men’s Soccer, and 121 in Division 1 Women’s Soccer.

WalletHub then drilled down further using 52 relevant metrics, including factors such as number of championships won, stadium capacity, minimum season ticket prices, attendance and franchise value.

In 2018, the average MLS team was worth $240 million — up 7.6 percent from 2017, according to the study’s author.

Los Angeles ranked as the best soccer city in America for fans, while Pine Bluff, Arizona, ranked in the 288th spot, as the least friendly city for soccer fans.

These are the cities that made the top ten of WalletHub’s rankings:

1. Los Angeles, California
2. Orlando, Florida
3. Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Portland, Oregon
5. Seattle, Washington
6. Atlanta, Georgia
7. Kansas City, Missouri
8. New York, New York
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Cary, North Carolina

Here are the cities that placed in the bottom five of the rankings:

284. Youngstown, Ohio
285. Hampton, Virginia
286. Las Cruces, New Mexico
287. Dover, Delaware
288. Pine Bluff, Arkansas

The 2019 best cities for soccer fans came out on Aug. 14.