Portland, Maine’s Soccer Revolution: Hearts of Pine Leads League in Attendance

To say it's been a whirlwind of a season already for Maine's new soccer team would be an understatement.

The Portland Hearts of Pine have taken the state by storm with exciting play and one of the best fan experiences in the league. Fitzpatrick Stadium has never seen this kind of energy in nearly 100 years of existence.

The Hearts have played just four home games so far (three regular season matches and one USL Cup game), but they already feel like a well-seasoned powerhouse. And the numbers back it up.

How Good Has Portland Hearts of Pine's Attendance Been?

Through the first two months of the season, Portland leads the entire league in average attendance — and by a wide margin.

The Hearts are currently averaging 5,734 fans per game in USL League One. That’s over 1,000 more than the second-best team, One Knoxville, which is averaging 4,510. That’s downright awesome.

There’s no question Maine was hungry for pro soccer, these numbers clearly back that up.

And really, it shouldn't be surprising. Portland is a fantastic minor league sports town, with successful franchises like the Portland Sea Dogs, Maine Celtics, and Maine Mariners. The Hearts of Pine have seamlessly fit right in.

While Portland is dominating its own league in attendance, the team is actually outperforming many clubs in the league above, USL Championship.

Portland Hearts of Pine Beating Many Large Cities in Attendance Figures

As of the time of publishing this article, Hearts of Pine’s attendance is better than that of 15 teams in the USL Championship. That includes clubs in Phoenix, Tampa, Miami, Hartford, and El Paso—just to name a few. That is simply stunning.

Now, one could argue that it’s still too early to read too much into this. Like most new things, it’s shiny and fun.

However, as someone who has been to every game and is a season ticket holder (full disclosure), this is a lot more than just shiny and fun. The game-day experience is genuinely impressive—especially with the incorporation of rotating food trucks, numerous locally available craft beverages, and an enormous kids’ zone, just to name a few.

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It’s also worth mentioning that the majority of tickets for the entire season are already accounted for. So, I’d say Portland has a great chance to finish the year as the most successful franchise in terms of average attendance.

Tack on a championship to that, and we’re talking about one heck of a year.

No pressure, though.