:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/11619983/20130413_ajl_se7_061.0.jpg)
(Attendance numbers were submitted prior to Saturday's home game against Toronto FC)
The Philadelphia Union's season kicked off around a month ago and a hot start by striker Jack McInerney has placed the Union in fifth place through the first five games.
McInerney has scored half the Union's goals and has put four total in the back of the net. He looks to be well ahead of last year's pace where he scored a total of eight goals on 42 attempts.
McInerney is only one reason Union fans are excited and it is evident as the team consistently fills 90%+ of seats at PPL Park. Albeit a small sample size, the Union are averaging a home attendance of 16,925 so far this season.
This is a slight decline from last year's attendance of just over 18,000 (a 6.25% decrease) but might be expected as one of the two games was against bottom feeder New England.
Like the MLS overall, prices for Philadelphia Union tickets are up this year. This season the average ticket for a Union home game is $53, up from $36 last year. These prices are right in line with the MLS average of $55 per game. So while tickets are quite a bit more expensive than last year, (+47%) they're still slightly (-4%) lower than the MLS average.
With an exciting home schedule still ahead, Union fans have a lot of great matchups to look forward to. The most expensive remaining game is a June 23 matchup against the New York Red Bulls. This is not particularly surprising given the Red Bulls international roster with stars like Tim Cahill in goal and striker Thierry Henry.
Tickets for this match up start at $32 while the average price is around $70. These tickets will likely continue to increase in price as the season progresses and the game gets closer, so fans looking to attend this matchup should snag tickets as soon as possible.
In addition to the Red Bulls game, Philadelphia will host the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy on May 15. Average tickets for this game are currently $63 with the least-expensive remaining available seats at $27. The next three top priced games on the Union schedule are:
10/26 vs Sporting KC
Average Price: $60
Get-in Price: $26
8/10 vs DC United
Average Price $58
Get-in Price: $32
6/29 vs FC Dallas
Average Price: $56
Get-in Price: $23
With a full slate of games coming up over the summer with many great matchups remaining, Union fans should get out to PPL Park and support the team as it looks to make the playoffs for the second time in its four-year history.