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Steelers Among NFL Teams Battling "Epidemic" Of Empty Seats At Night Games

More often than not, Heinz Field is "filled to near-capacity," but night games are "another story," according to Mark Kaboly of the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW. The Steelers have "sold out all 117 games" at the stadium since it opened in '01, and have a sellout streak dating to '72, plus "20 years worth of names" on their season ticket waiting list. But three of the past four Monday night games at Heinz Field "resulted in 9,125, 7,856 and 7,346 no-shows." Steelers CB Ike Taylor said, "It's a Monday and people have to work on a Tuesday. I understand. Everybody has to pay bills. Those 9,000 people who couldn't make it had some bills to pay." Kaboly noted the Steelers' most recent Sunday night game (Dec. 15, 2013 against the Bengals) was the "lowest attended game in Heinz Field history with 19,627 no-shows." One reason for the no-shows is that "fans prefer watching from the comforts of home." The empty seats at Heinz Field "haven't gone unnoticed," as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently "brought it up during a casual conversation" with Steelers Chair Dan Rooney. No-shows "are becoming a league-wide epidemic, even though the official attendance numbers don't support that." For the Steelers, home games against the Ravens have proven to be "an exception to the rule," as the "no-shows have been few." The Steelers host the Ravens on Sunday night (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 10/30). In Charlotte, Jonathan Jones writes of last night's Saints-Panthers game at Bank of America Stadium, "The crowd in the upper level left much to be desired. There were plenty of splotches of empty seats before the game, at the start and during the first quarter" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/31).

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