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With rising costs and increasing access via the internet, professional sports fans in certain cities have decided that it’s better to just stay home rather than venture out to the local ballpark, arena or stadium.
According to a new study conducted by financial news website 247wallst.com using attendance data from ESPN over the past 10 decade, the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB have all seen a decline in overall attendance from 2008 to 2018.
The problem, however, for certain professional sports franchises, is far worse for some teams than others.
While it is tough to know exactly what is stopping fans from coming to games, losing is likely a top cause. Fans are simply not willing to pay top dollar to see a game that will probably end in disappointment for them. In fact, 10 of the 12 teams running out of fans played worse in 2018 than they did a decade earlier. Every team can have losing seasons, but franchises that always seem to come up short can lose the attention of their fans. Those squads are the hardest teams to root for.
Here are the 12 professional sports teams that have lost the most fans over the past decade. (Note: teams, such as the Chargers, that “built a new facility or moved to a new city in those years were excluded.”)
NFL
12. Indianapolis Colts – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -10.8%; 2008 record: 12-4; 2018 record: 10-6
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -15.7%; 2008 record: 9-7; 2018 record: 5-11
7. Cincinnati Bengals – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -21.4%; 2008 record: 4-11-1; 2018 record: 6-10
5. Washington Redskins – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -31.1%; 2008 record: 8-8; 2018 record: 7-9
MLB
8. Cincinnati Reds – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -20.9%; 2008 record: 74-88; 2018 record: 67-95
4. Chicago White Sox – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -34.9%; 2008 record: 89-74; 2018 record: 62-100
3. Philadelphia Phillies – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -35.3%; 2008 record: 92-70; 2018 record: 80-82
2. Tampa Bay Rays – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -35.9%; 2008 record: 97-65; 2018 record: 90-72
1. Detroit Tigers – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -41.3%; 2008 record: 74-88; 2018 record: 64-98
NBA
9. Phoenix Suns – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -17.0%; 2008-2009 record: 46-36; 2018-2019 record: 19-63
NHL
11. Carolina Hurricanes – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -13.6%; 2008-2009 record: 45-30-7; 2018-2019 record: 46-29-7
6. Ottawa Senators – Avg. home attendance change 2008-2018: -23.2%; 2008-2009 record: 36-35-11; 2018-2019 record: 29-47-6