San Diego Wave Set to Break Single-Game NWSL Attendance Record

In a year filled with new attendance records in women’s soccer, San Diego is catching the next wave. 

In an announcement on social media Tuesday, the San Diego Wave confirmed that it will set the league’s single-game attendance record when it plays Angel City FC in the first match at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 17. 

The expansion club, currently in its inaugural season, said it has sold more than 27,000 tickets for the match, which would break the current single-game record of 25,218 set by the Portland Thorns in 2019 against the North Carolina Courage. Now, the Wave has their sights set on a sellout of more than 32,000. 

“This is a remarkable moment for our club, San Diego, and women’s professional sports in our country,” San Diego Wave president Jill Ellis said in statement. “We are so proud to be a part of such a supportive community and we cannot wait to sell the whole place out.”

The club currently plays its home games at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium, but it will move in September to its new stadium at the site of the former Qualcomm Stadium, which it will share with San Diego State football and Major League Rugby’s San Diego Legion. 

It has been a remarkable year for attendance—as well as TV ratings—in women’s soccer. In the spring, Barcelona Femení broke the world record—twice—for attendance at a women’s soccer match by filling the Camp Nou for Champions League games against Real Madrid (91,553 fans) and Wolfsburg (91,600 fans), respectively. 

Meanwhile, the Women’s Euro final in London between England and Germany was the biggest-ever attendance for a European Championship match, men’s or women’s, with 87,192 fans. Days later, the Lionesses sold out Wembley Stadium in less than a day for their prospective Oct. 7 friendly against the U.S. women’s national team.