Weak Six: NFL Attendance Woes Continue As Thousands of Seats Go Empty

Empty Seats
AP Photo/Dave Einsel
Warner Todd Huston

As the NFL’s Week Six kicked off across the country, it still looked as if stadium attendance had not rebounded despite the small increase the league has seen in the television ratings.

Last week, with national anthem protests nearly extinguished, the league was encouraged by news that ratings had stopped sliding and that there was even a modest three percent gain after two seasons of losing viewers. However, though fans may no longer be abandoning their TVs, the same cannot necessarily be said of in-person attendance at the games.

For instance, the NFL has hopes for expanding the reach of the game by playing in foreign locales such as Britain’s Wembley Stadium. But according to those watching on TV and in attendance, there were thousands of empty seats in the grand stadium as the Seattle Seahawks dominated the L.A. Raiders in London.

The league said a huge number of tickets were sold, but fans aren’t convinced:

Things were just as dodgy back home as the Atlanta Falcons edged past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-29. Falcons fans seemed to have their pick of thousands of empty seats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:

The Cincinnati Bengals got beat by the Pittsburgh Steelers 28 to 21, but few were in the stands at Paul Brown Stadium, to see it:

Likewise, as the Denver Broncos take on the Rams (with the Rams beating up on the Broncs by the third quarter at press time), fans at Sports Authority Field may have decided to take in other local activities in the Mile High City:

NRG Stadium in Houston also seemed to have trouble turning out fans as the Houston Texans topped the Buffalo Bills 20-13:

Despite a high-scoring game with a 42-34 final as the Indianapolis Colts lost to the New York Jets, some said MetLife Stadium was full of empty seats:

With the Tennessee Titans still battling the Baltimore Raves at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium at press time, some fans said there were plenty of seats to be had:

Finally, the Cleveland Browns were stomped 38-14 by the Los Angeles Charges, but fans stomped off somewhere else leaving FirstEnergy Stadium with lots of empty seats according to witnesses:

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.

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