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The Kansas City Chiefs had the Fifth Best Attendance in 2008

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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)

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