The BattleHawks drew a crowd that filled the entire lower bowl of The Dome at America’s CenterGETTY IMAGES
XFL attendance continues to be a "key issue to watch, where a strong showing from St. Louis BattleHawks fans for their home opener might have been overshadowed by dips" from the Seattle Dragons and L.A. Wildcats, according to Lorenzo Reyes of USA TODAY. BattleHawks fans for yesterday's victory over the N.Y. Guardians "showed out," as the official attendance for the game was 29,554, the "highest mark in an XFL game this year." The lower bowl of The Dome at America’s Center, where the Rams once played their games, was "sold out" (USA TODAY, 2/24). Meanwhile, in Seattle, Matt Calkins noted Dallas Renegades-Dragons drew 22,060 on Saturday at CenturyLink Field, "down about 7,000" from last week's league-record total of 29,172. That could be viewed as a "damning dip that foreshadows a major drop-off as the season progresses, or a respectable follow-up to the Dragons’ home debut" (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/23).
FILLING A VOID: In St. Louis, Nathan Rubbelke noted thousands of fans packed downtown St. Louis hours before the BattleHawks' home opener yesterday, with "dozens of homemade BattleHawks costumes, scores of tailgates and hundreds of 'ka-kaw' chants." The BattleHawks currently only sell tickets in The Dome’s lower bowl, but President Kurt Hunzeker said that the team will "explore possibly opening up more seats later in the season." Several fans outside The Dome yesterday said that the upstart XFL "fills a void" that has existed since the Rams' '16 relocation to L.A. Fans "could be heard at the start of the ESPN national TV broadcast chanting 'Kroenke sucks' -- sending a message to Rams Owner Stan Kroenke" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/23). Also in St. Louis, Ben Frederickson writes pro football’s first return to the city "represented something more" than the BattleHawks win. Frederickson: "Some came to prove something to the Rams owner who trashed St. Louis during his move to Los Angeles. Some came so they could say they were here on the ground floor of whatever this becomes." Whatever the motivation, the crowd’s "energy and enthusiasm became the story." Greed put Kroenke’s peers on the "wrong end of an ugly divorce, and now the XFL is reaping the rewards." Frederickson: "I don’t know where the XFL is headed. No one does. I know St. Louis has quickly become its crown jewel" (St. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/24).
LASTING POWER? In Tampa, Mari Faiello writes the Tampa Bay Vipers' first home game against the Houston Roughnecks on Saturday had 18,117 in attendance at Raymond James Stadium, and what made fans "stick around" may be that the "idea of games that are 30 minutes to an hour shorter than some NFL or major college football games is appealing." Other reasons for fans coming to XFL games could be that tickets are as "inexpensive as $24 and splitting the schedule between Saturday and Sunday games" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/24). The TIMES' Calkins wrote of the XFL, "I still don’t know what I’m watching. Is this a legitimate winter-sports filler, a sustainable niche sport or a novelty whose expiration date is fast approaching?" The "product remains suspect through this point of the season." Calkins: "There are an array of reasons why people might want to attend an XFL game. The question is how this will look a few weeks from now" (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/23).
