12 Sports Teams That Have Been Losing Fans at an Alarming Rate
The four big sports . . . the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB . . . have all seen a decline in total attendance over the past decade, mostly because it’s become so easy to watch games at home, either on TV or streaming.
And the at-home experience keeps improving with technology, while the stadium experience is getting even MORE expensive.
But not all teams are losing fans at an equal rate. Some have seen average attendance declines of more than a THIRD over the last decade.
The site 247wallst.com used attendance data from ESPN over the past decade . . . and here are the 12 pro sports teams that have seen the biggest drop in attendance, with the teams’ records from 10 years ago and now:
(Why the Seattle Mariners aren’t on this list, we’ll never know.)
1. The Detroit Tigers, MLB, attendance change from 2008 to 2018: -41.3%
2008: 74-88 . . . 2018: 64-98
2. The Tampa Bay Rays, MLB, attendance change: -35.9%
2008: 97-65 . . . 2018: 90-72, which are both great records.
3. The Philadelphia Phillies, MLB, attendance change: -35.3%
2008: 92-70 . . . 2018: 80-82
4. The Chicago White Sox, MLB, attendance change: -34.9%
2008: 89-74 . . . 2018: 62-100
5. The Washington Redskins, NFL, attendance change: -31.1%
2008: 8-8 . . . 2018: 7-9
6. The Ottawa Senators, NHL, attendance change: -23.2%
2008: 36-35-11 . . . 2018: 29-47-6
7. The Cincinnati Bengals, NFL, attendance change: -21.4%
2008: 4-11-1 . . . 2018: 6-10
8. The Cincinnati Reds, MLB, attendance change: -20.9%
2008: 74-88 . . . 2018: 67-95
9. The Phoenix Suns, NBA, attendance change: -17%
2008: 46-36 . . . 2018: 19-63
10. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL, attendance change: -15.7%
2008: 9-7 . . . 2018: 5-11
11. The Carolina Hurricanes, NHL, attendance change: -13.6%
2008: 45-30-7 . . . 2018: 46-29-7
12. The Indianapolis Colts, MLB, attendance change: -10.8%
2008: 12-4 . . . 2018: 10-6
It’s worth pointing out that the Top 12 includes two teams from Tampa Bay and two teams from Cincinnati.
(For the full breakdown, hit up this link.)