Mid season attendance numbers

XFL Football discussion.
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johnnyangryfuzzball
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Re: Mid season attendance numbers

Post by johnnyangryfuzzball »

You can remember back in 2020, they'd just come off the AAF, which spent money they didn't have in a way that make drunken sailors look like Dave Ramsey in comparison. :mrgreen:

Seriously, though, Vince probably invested quite a bit heavier in the league than he otherwise would have, had the AAF not existed. The difference, of course, is that McMahon actually had a business background in sports entertainment and knew what to spend his money on to get a better return on his investment.

2023 is probably a little bit closer to what a realistic long-term spending plan would have been.

How that pertains to attendance... the OG Commanders weren't that great, either--they were 3-5 at the end of their season--but were still consistently over 27k every game except the last one where it was obvious the league was going belly up. And that initially carried over to Week 1. But horrendous scheduling and virtually no marketing has hurt this league.

We know the potential the XFL has to draw fans in places like San Antonio. Now they have to bring the awareness back up and put the teams in the position to draw the fans that St. Louis--which also has had some of the most favorable time slots--is drawing.
4th&long
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Re: Mid season attendance numbers

Post by 4th&long »

johnnyangryfuzzball wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:27 am You can remember back in 2020, they'd just come off the AAF, which spent money they didn't have in a way that make drunken sailors look like Dave Ramsey in comparison. :mrgreen:

Seriously, though, Vince probably invested quite a bit heavier in the league than he otherwise would have, had the AAF not existed. The difference, of course, is that McMahon actually had a business background in sports entertainment and knew what to spend his money on to get a better return on his investment.

2023 is probably a little bit closer to what a realistic long-term spending plan would have been.

How that pertains to attendance... the OG Commanders weren't that great, either--they were 3-5 at the end of their season--but were still consistently over 27k every game except the last one where it was obvious the league was going belly up. And that initially carried over to Week 1. But horrendous scheduling and virtually no marketing has hurt this league.

We know the potential the XFL has to draw fans in places like San Antonio. Now they have to bring the awareness back up and put the teams in the position to draw the fans that St. Louis--which also has had some of the most favorable time slots--is drawing.
Commanders were 5-3 when AAF shutdown.

Also with AAF collapse first thing XFL did was cut salary expectations, so I don't think AAF impacted the XFL 2.0 to spend more in the end.
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FootballYoda
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Re: Mid season attendance numbers

Post by FootballYoda »

It’s close but it’s not close. St. Louis makes it close. That’s it.

I think it’s been determined this XFL did not market and started late at it. They relied on the Rock to draw in the fans. (Face Palm)
4th&long
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Re: Mid season attendance numbers

Post by 4th&long »

FootballYoda wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:32 am It’s close but it’s not close. St. Louis makes it close. That’s it.

I think it’s been determined this XFL did not market and started late at it. They relied on the Rock to draw in the fans. (Face Palm)
I said way back the same thing (its relying on the Rock) - so far that's a mixed to underperform results at best.

As far as attendance... they averaging 11.8k a game (officially) sans StL and 14.3 with, and on course for 15k-16k+/-. I don't think that's a bad number but its not moving the needle much either.

Has in-house attendance helped TV ratings - eh, not noticeably so far. Not surprisingly.

Lets see ratings today and we have half the season in the can. Rtaings likely bottom out week 5 and pick up as more on ESPN/ABC in weeks 6-10. The good news is not a peep about finance issues or that type of BS that plagued AAF/UFL and other leagues.
laxtreme56
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Re: Mid season attendance numbers

Post by laxtreme56 »

FootballYoda wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:32 am It’s close but it’s not close. St. Louis makes it close. That’s it.

I think it’s been determined this XFL did not market and started late at it. They relied on the Rock to draw in the fans. (Face Palm)
To play devil's advocate, maybe The Rock bought in some fans to equal out the ones who've just grown weary of spring football. A buddy of mine moved just outside of Orlando a little over a year ago. He's genuinely a spring football fan and even attended 2 ArenaBowls with me in New Orleans. He finally watched his first XFL game last week and was mildly impressed. He said he'd get "more into it" if they come back next year. I think there's more wait and see fans out there than ever before, especially in San Antonio which is on its 10th or more spring football team/league.
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Firecop
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Re: Mid season attendance numbers

Post by Firecop »

It might help if they wouldn't play Thursday night games in Seattle!
Direct from the Dragon's Lair
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