AFL Storm Lead In Average Attendance; ESPN2 Ratings Even
The AFL is averaging 13,096 fans per game through April 26, up 1.7% compared to the same period last season. The Storm lead the league with 17,237 fans per game at the St. Pete Times Forum, up 16.7% from the same period a year ago. The Brigade and Rattlers are seeing the biggest gains thus far, up 22.9% and 17.7%, respectively. After leading the league in average attendance last season, the VooDoo are seeing the largest decline, off 19.9% through their first four home games at New Orleans Arena. The Gladiators, who relocated to Cleveland in the offseason, also are seeing strong numbers, with 15,745 fans per game to date. The following lists attendance through April 21 for all AFL teams, with comparisons to the same period last year (THE DAILY).
|
AFL ATTENDANCE THROUGH APRIL 21
|
|
HOME TEAM
|
GMS
|
TOTAL
|
AVG.
|
% CAP.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
GMS ('07)
|
|
Storm
|
3
|
51,711
|
17,237
|
89.8%
|
14,765
|
16.7%
|
4
|
|
Soul
|
4
|
66,540
|
16,635
|
94.5%
|
14,652
|
13.5%
|
2
|
| Rush |
5
|
78,845
|
15,769
|
98.6%
|
16,058
|
-1.8%
|
3
|
| Gladiators* |
3
|
47,235
|
15,745
|
84.9%
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
| Destroyers |
4
|
58,211
|
14,553
|
84.8%
|
14,538
|
0.1%
|
3
|
| Blaze |
4
|
56,519
|
14,130
|
92.1%
|
13,929
|
1.4%
|
4
|
| Avengers |
4
|
53,622
|
13,406
|
71.5%
|
12,779
|
4.9%
|
2
|
| Brigade |
5
|
66,686
|
13,337
|
72.1%
|
10,852
|
22.9%
|
4
|
| Crush |
3
|
40,008
|
13,336
|
73.7%
|
14,560
|
-8.4%
|
5
|
| VooDoo |
4
|
53,316
|
13,329
|
83.2%
|
16,651
|
-19.9%
|
4
|
| Desperados |
4
|
52,470
|
13,118
|
82.1%
|
12,484
|
5.1%
|
4
|
| SaberCats |
3
|
37,559
|
12,520
|
89.2%
|
13,064
|
-4.2%
|
3
|
| Predators |
3
|
36,451
|
12,150
|
88.7%
|
13,433
|
-9.5%
|
5
|
| Force |
4
|
40,511
|
10,128
|
90.4%
|
11,820
|
-14.3%
|
4
|
| Rattlers |
3
|
34,970
|
11,657
|
71.4%
|
9,906
|
17.7%
|
4
|
| Dragons |
4
|
34,315
|
8,579
|
71.6%
|
10,251
|
-16.3%
|
3
|
| Rampage |
4
|
29,191
|
7,298
|
68.9%
|
7,156
|
2.0%
|
4
|
| AFL TOTALS |
64
|
838,160
|
13,096
|
82.9%
|
12,876**
|
1.7%
|
58
|
NOTES: * = Team played in Las Vegas prior to this season, averaging 5,383 fans per game for the season. ** = Previous league average reflects the mark for the 16 teams playing this season in the same cities as last year. The same-date average for last year’s 19-team league, including teams in Austin and Nashville, was 12,113.
During their second season on ESPN2, the AFL is averaging a 0.3 coverage area rating through six games, even from the first six games on the net last year. The following lists game-by-game ratings for the '08 AFL season on ABC/ESPN2.
|
WK
|
DATE
|
TIME
|
TEAMS
|
NET
|
U.S. RAT.
|
COV. RAT.
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
|
1
|
03/01
|
1:00pm
|
Desperados-Force
|
ABC
|
0.6
|
---
|
817
|
|
1
|
03/03
|
9:00pm
|
SaberCats-Rush
|
ESPN2
|
0.4
|
0.4
|
448
|
|
2
|
03/09
|
1:00pm
|
Soul-Rush
|
ESPN2
|
0.3
|
0.3
|
414
|
|
2
|
03/10
|
11:00pm
|
Avengers-Rattlers |
ESPN2
|
0.2
|
0.2
|
218
|
|
3
|
03/17
|
8:00pm
|
Crush-Desperados |
ESPN2
|
0.2
|
0.3
|
336
|
|
5
|
03/29
|
2:06pm
|
Storm-Soul |
ESPN2
|
0.3
|
0.3
|
378
|
|
6
|
04/06
|
2:00pm
|
Rush-Predators |
ESPN2
|
0.2
|
0.2
|
261
|
|
