The UFL was looking to bring spring football to a new level in 2024. This league attempted to do this by merging the XFL and USFL leagues.
By doing this, the UFL has eight combined teams between the two leagues. The league was hoping this would result in a stronger league. Unfortunately, attendance seems to have gotten worse rather than better in the 2024 season.
UFL Teams’ Attendance Declined in 2024
Earlier this morning, the State of the Stallions social media page released attendance reports for each of the UFL teams. This is through ten weeks of the 2024 UFL season.
So, what stands out about this report? The most notable aspect of this report is the fact that every former XFL team has seen an attendance decline in the 2024 season compared to 2023. This accounts for five of the current eight teams in the UFL.
Teams such as the St. Louis Battlehawks and D.C. Defenders have only seen a minimal attendance decline. However, other teams such as the Houston Roughnecks have seen an attendance decline of as much as 40%.
Former USFL Teams’ Improved Stadium Situations Not Helping
There are three teams from the USFL with the Memphis Showboats, the Michigan Panthers, and the Birmingham Stallions. Unfortunately, none of these teams are making a significant contribution to UFL attendance this season. These teams average just over 8,000 fans per game combined, and Memphis has the lowest attendance in the UFL.
It is fair to believe that the USFL teams should have been averaging a better attendance in 2024. The reason is that before the USFL and UFL merged, there was no permanent tenant in the current stadiums. Michigan, Birmingham, and Memphis all previously shared their home stadiums with other teams in the league. Now, they are all the sole tenants of each of their respective stadiums. Yet, this does not seem to have moved the needle when it comes to attendance.
St. Louis Battlehawks Carrying the UFL?
When you take a closer look at the attendance figures for each team, there seems to be one thing that is clear. The St. Louis Battlehawks have much better attendance than every other team in the UFL.
St. Louis currently averages over 34,000 fans per game. Meanwhile, Memphis averages just over 6,000 fans per game. If you take away St. Louis’ attendance figures, the UFL’s average attendance in 2024 goes down by over 3,000 fans per game. It will be interesting to see if this is something the UFL can sustain.
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