Dear USL Fans,

When the 2017 USL regular season started just five months ago, it marked our first year as a U.S. Soccer Federation-sanctioned Division II. We expected another year of records across the league but little did we know that – thanks to you – the USL would accelerate its trajectory to heights previously unseen in the United States and Canada.

On Wednesday night, the USL surpassed 1.5 million fans in attendance for the regular season, a major landmark that is testament to the relentless passion and loyalty you, the fans, have brought to your respective clubs. With eight weeks remaining in the regular season, we have already surpassed our total attendance for 2016, and remain on target to welcome more than 2 million fans this season, a 34 percent increase over last year, a remarkable achievement by any standard, and a first for Division II soccer in the United States and Canada.

While FC Cincinnati and Sacramento Republic FC have continued to lead the way, averaging five-figure attendances again this season, clubs such as Louisville City FC, Phoenix Rising FC, San Antonio and Rio Grande Valley FC have been instrumental in the league’s continued rise in cumulative attendance. Those teams, and the league’s new additions in the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Reno 1868 FC and Ottawa Fury FC, all sit in the Top 11 in average attendance nationally outside Major League Soccer.

A major part of that has been the investment of our ownership groups in new, soccer-specific venues that have given fans the chance to see the game in a great environment. Venues like the Rio Grande Valley’s H-E-B Park, the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex and Orange County SC’s recently-opened Champions Soccer Stadium, which welcomed a sellout crowd this past Friday night, have helped the USL continue its strong momentum.