via www.visitkc.com
The Kansas City Chiefs currently have the 3rd largest stadium in the NFL in terms of capacity. They used that to their advantage in 2008 - at least when it came to selling tickets.
Attendance as measured by tickets sold is a whole lot different than actual clicks through the turnstiles. If you went to a game at Arrowhead in 2008, you know how barren the stadium was at times.
Here's a list of how every team stacked up in attendance in 2008 (figures courtesy of Sports Business Daily)
|
NFL FINAL REGULAR SEASON ATTENDANCE
|
|||||||
|
Team
|
Games
|
Total
|
Avg
|
% Full
|
'07
|
% +/-
|
Games
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Redskins
|
8
|
708,835
|
88,604
|
96.6%
|
88,090
|
0.6%
|
8
|
|
Giants
|
8
|
632,554
|
79,069
|
98.5%
|
78,731
|
0.4%
|
8
|
| Jets |
8
|
627,858
|
78,482
|
97.8%
|
77,107
|
1.8%
|
8
|
| Broncos |
8
|
604,074
|
75,509
|
99.2%
|
76,612
|
-1.4%
|
8
|
| Chiefs |
8
|
592,622
|
74,078
|
96.2%
|
76,777
|
-3.5%
|
8
|
| Panthers |
8
|
585,684
|
73,211
|
99.2%
|
73,403
|
-0.3%
|
8
|
| Browns |
8
|
582,230
|
72,779
|
99.4%
|
73,001
|
-0.3%
|
8
|
| Saints |
8
|
573,876
|
71,735
|
102.7%
|
70,005
|
2.5%
|
8
|
| Ravens |
8
|
570,152
|
71,269
|
100.4%
|
71,153
|
0.2%
|
8
|
| Packers |
8
|
565,460
|
70,683
|
96.9%
|
70,805
|
-0.2%
|
8
|
| Texans |
8
|
563,364
|
70,421
|
99.1%
|
70,520
|
-0.1%
|
8
|
| Eagles |
8
|
553,152
|
69,144
|
100.0%
|
68,170
|
1.4%
|
8
|
| Titans |
8
|
553,144
|
69,143
|
100.0%
|
69,143
|
0.0%
|
8
|
| Bills |
8
|
551,969
|
68,996
|
96.5%
|
71,055
|
-2.9%
|
8
|
| Patriots |
8
|
550,048
|
68,756
|
100.0%
|
68,756
|
0.0%
|
8
|
| Chargers |
8
|
545,107
|
68,138
|
97.1%
|
65,502
|
4.0%
|
8
|
| Seahawks |
8
|
543,965
|
67,996
|
101.5%
|
68,194
|
-0.3%
|
8
|
| 49ers |
8
|
540,103
|
67,513
|
96.8%
|
68,028
|
-0.8%
|
8
|
| Colts |
8
|
531,026
|
66,378
|
106.4%
|
57,305
|
15.8%
|
8
|
| Dolphins |
8
|
523,919
|
65,490
|
86.7%
|
72,229
|
-9.3%
|
8
|
| Jaguars |
8
|
521,338
|
65,167
|
97.0%
|
65,301
|
-0.2%
|
8
|
| Bengals |
8
|
516,663
|
64,583
|
98.6%
|
65,790
|
-1.8%
|
8
|
| Buccaneers |
8
|
516,088
|
64,511
|
98.3%
|
65,316
|
-1.2%
|
8
|
| Cardinals |
8
|
512,775
|
64,097
|
98.6%
|
64,581
|
-0.7%
|
8
|
| Falcons |
8
|
512,527
|
64,066
|
89.9%
|
68,396
|
-6.3%
|
8
|
| Cowboys |
8
|
506,944
|
63,368
|
96.6%
|
63,535
|
-0.3%
|
8
|
| Vikings |
8
|
506,136
|
63,267
|
98.7%
|
63,256
|
0.0%
|
8
|
| Steelers |
8
|
503,125
|
62,891
|
96.7%
|
62,084
|
1.3%
|
8
|
| Bears |
8
|
496,276
|
62,035
|
100.9%
|
62,158
|
-0.2%
|
8
|
| Rams |
8
|
479,843
|
59,980
|
90.9%
|
63,044
|
-4.9%
|
8
|
| Raiders |
8
|
462,800
|
57,850
|
91.6%
|
59,110
|
-2.1%
|
8
|
| Lions |
8
|
435,979
|
54,497
|
84.5%
|
61,305
|
-11.1%
|
8
|
| NFL Totals |
256
|
17,469,636
|
68,241
|
97.3%
|
68,702
|
-0.7%
|
256
|
Arrowhead Stadium has a capacity of 79,451 which left about 5,000 tickets per game unsold in 2008. This represents a 3.5% dropoff from the 2007 attendance figures. The Chiefs had about 2,700 more people attend each game in the previous year.
Rest of the NFL
*The Washington Redskins were #1 in attendance - as they should be considering they have the largest stadium in the NFL.
*AFC West - Broncos (4th), Chargers (16th), Raiders (31st...of course)
*The Indianapolis Colts were the leader in attendance from a percentage standpoint (106.4%). The Colts also had the largest percentage jump from 2007 with a 15.8% increase. This number is slightly skewed considering they moved into a new stadium in 2008.
*The Detroit Lions had the largest percentage dropoff from '07-'08, which is no surprise considering the winless season.
***
My question to you is, when will this 2005 quote from Sports Illustrated become relevant again:
"When the Chiefs are having a bad season, they're tough to beat at Arrowhead. When they're having a good season, they're unbeatable. With the scent of barbecue in the air and a sea of red in the stands, Kansas City is the best football atmosphere in the country." (Sports Illustrated - Arrowhead Stadium toughest place to play)