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The conclusion of the UFL 2024 season has painted several pictures of the league’s overall outlook heading into the offseason.
Attendance is an area where the UFL will look for the same year-over-year growth they saw on TV and in the digital realm.
UFL Co-Owner Dany Garcia believes an earlier schedule release and the first “full sales cycle” will grow support in current team markets.
A year ago, including three playoff games, the XFL averaged 14,703 fans per game from February to May. The overall attendance figure across 43 games was 632,247.
XFL 2023 Regular Season Attendance Team Averages Per Game/+Playoffs
The United Football League could not match that XFL 2023 figure. The UFL’s 43 games, occurring from late March through mid-June, averaged 13,512 fans. The overall season attendance number was under 581,016.
The XFL conference championship (30,237), USFL conference championship (10,287) and the UFL title game (27,396) gave the league a 22K average in the postseason. Two of those matches taking place in the UFL’s best market, St. Louis, certainly didn’t hurt.
There are many reasons why the UFL underperformed overall at the gate in its inaugural merger season.
First and foremost is the short window the league had to set up shop after government approval, which arrived just before the new year. As a result, the UFL didn’t have time to schedule its games for maximum attendance strategically. The delay in announcing teams and the UFL’s new market configuration in the merger put the league and its fans in pause mode.
On top of that, it led to a later ticket sale rollout for teams like the Michigan Panthers and re-branded Gamblers. The latter took on the Roughnecks moniker at Rice Stadium, a placeholder venue for TDECU Stadium, which housed Houston’s XFL team.
The official attendance figure for @TheUFL Championship Game between the Birmingham Stallions and San Antonio Brahmas at the Dome at America’s Center in St.Louis is 27,396.#UFL #UFL2024 #UFLChampionship pic.twitter.com/E1LbNy5Wdn
— Mike Mitchell (@ByMikeMitchell) June 16, 2024
Another factor in play is a weakness derived from a league strength.
One of the drawbacks to having prestigious broadcasters like FOX and Disney is that those two networks have set schedules with other sports league entities. Therefore, the UFL has to settle for whatever game times are available.
With FOX UFL games headed primarily to Friday nights in 2025, drawing fans on that particular evening could prove challenging. The league will need to amp up marketing to appeal to specific crowds on a night that isn’t as family-friendly as weekends are.
Another key factor in attendance could be the starting and finishing point of next season. Will the league journey back into a week after the Super Bowl or stay with its more natural 2024 spring launching point?
No matter which part of the calendar the league occupies next year, amping up marketing efforts will be a must if the UFL wants to improve its attendance in 2025.
You can find Mike Mitchell on X @ByMikeMitchell.
Catch up with UFL at SI.com on Facebook and X.
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