How excited are Seattle Sounders fans about the signing of USA star Clint Dempsey? The Sounders announced today that Dempsey’s home debut on August 25 against rivals Portland had sold out. Seattle fans have snapped up 6,000 tickets in the last week, meaning close to 67,000 fans will see the match.
Interest is so high in the game that the Sounders have opened up 400 bleacher seats plus offering standing room only tickets for the first time in club history for an MLS match.
The Sounders say. Dempsey could make his debut for Seattle on Saturday at Toronto, but he sat out training on Tuesday with an illness.
Sounders manager Sigi Schmid said it was unlikely Dempsey would play 90 minutes this week.
“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow and where his recovery is,” Schmid told reporters, according to MLSsoccer.com. “We’re still a long way away from Saturday. We’ll see how he feels at the end of the day. The likelihood of him going 90 minutes on Saturday is very small. Whether that’s starting and coming off or coming on as a sub, we’ll have to see.”
It’s pretty amazing what is going on in Seattle. By the time the season ends, Seattle could end up averaging close to 43,000 fans a game. By comparison, that is more than Chelsea, Everton and Spurs all averaged last season in the Premier League.
