Fans of Triestina, a professional soccer team from the northern Italian city of Trieste, were greeted with a surprise Saturday when they arrived at the team's stadium for a game against Padova.

For the first time in four years, nearly every seat in the "Colaussi" stand, which runs along one side of the field and faces the television cameras, appeared to be taken. That stand alone, which holds 10,000 fans, would have nearly doubled the team's average attendance from the previous year.

On...