NFL Statistically Speaking – Stadium Capacity ‘11
Throw out the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals and the capacity that NFL teams played in front of last season pretty much matches up with their regular season record.
The formula is simple – win games equals more butts in the seats for every home game. The New Orleans Saints led the NFL in capacity percentage, filling the Superdome at 107.4 percent with an average attendance of 73,041. They also went 13-3 on the season.
Of the top 10 stadiums in capacity, only one team finished with a losing record in 2011, the Indianapolis Colts. They went 2-14 and finished with 102.1 capacity at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The lowest capacity team actually finished with a winning record. Cincinnati averaged just 49,251 fans, and that was just 75.2 percent of capacity.
The figures the Chiefs turned in on the season show they played to 90.7 percent capacity, the eighth worst average in the league. They averaged 72,082 per game in a 7-9 season.
Here are the numbers of the lowest and highest capacity teams in the NFL for the 2011 home games:
Lowest Capacity % for Home Games 2011
| Team |
Attendance |
Average |
Capacity |
% Capacity |
Rec. |
| Cincinnati |
394,000 |
49,251 |
65,515 |
75.2 % |
9-7* |
| Miami |
487,089 |
60,886 |
75,192 |
81.0 % |
6-10 |
| Washington |
615,368 |
76,921 |
91,704 |
83.9 % |
5-11 |
| Buffalo |
438,864 |
62,694 |
73,967 |
84.8 % |
6-10 |
| St. Louis |
451,153 |
56,394 |
66,000 |
85.4 % |
2-14 |
| Tampa Bay |
398,300 |
56,614 |
65,908 |
85.9 % |
4-12 |
| Cleveland |
526,874 |
65,859 |
73,300 |
89.8% |
4-12 |
| CHIEFS |
576,659 |
72,082 |
79,451 |
90.7 % |
7-9 |
| Jacksonville |
498,655 |
62,331 |
67,164 |
92.8 % |
5-11 |
| San Diego |
523,143 |
65,392 |
70,000 |
93.4 % |
8-8 |
Highest Capacity % for Home Games 2011
| Team |
Attendance |
Average |
Capacity |
% Capacity |
Rec. |
| New Orleans |
584,335 |
73,041 |
68,000 |
107.4 % |
13-3* |
| Dallas |
684,096 |
85,512 |
80,000 |
106.9 % |
8-8 |
| Philadelphia |
553,152 |
69,144 |
67,594 |
102.3 % |
8-8 |
| Indianapolis |
518,627 |
64,828 |
63,500 |
102.1 % |
2-14 |
| Chicago |
497,166 |
62,145 |
61,500 |
101 % |
8-8 |
| Houston |
571,969 |
71,496 |
71,054 |
100.6 % |
10-6* |
| Baltimore |
569,792 |
71,224 |
71,008 |
100.3 % |
12-4* |
| Tennessee |
553,144 |
69,143 |
69,134 |
100 % |
9-7 |
| New England |
550,048 |
68,756 |
68,756 |
100 % |
13-3* |
| San Francisco |
557,856 |
69,732 |
69,732 |
100 % |
13-3* |
*-made the 2011 playoffs.
I guess I don’t feel that almost 91% attendance is all that bad. Actually it looks fairly good if you look at it from the average of 72,082 per game. I will say that only once did I sit up in the nose bleed section and I said never again.
So the Chiefs are about 7500 fans short of a sellout per game. How does that relate in lost revenue? If an average fan spends a modest $100 which includes ticket, parking, concessions, and merchandise sales per game, here’s the spreadsheet:
$100 x 7500= $750,000 x 8 games= $6M
That number is likely even higher but does bring focus and clarity to the need for a consistent winning product being on the field.