Fox Business Network attempted to do a story about attendance at the upcoming Super Bowl XLIX. They failed miserably.
Maria Bartiromo comically sites a “report” that says the NFL is “already preparing for record-low attendance” at the upcoming Super Bowl. Shen then tosses it to Elizabeth MacDonald, who reports the Super Bowl attendance hasn’t surpassed 100K since 2011.
Well, maybe someone should tell MacDonald that the game hasn’t been played in a stadium that holds 100K since… 2011.
MacDonald goes on to mention how attendance has been dropping since the 2011 game, which was played in Dallas’ super-sized AT&T Stadium. A total of 103,219 people attended the game in Dallas and it still wasn’t large enough to accommodate everyone who paid for a ticket. In fact, AT&T Stadium is the only current stadium in the NFL even capable of holding 100K people.
Prior to 2011, the only four Super Bowls cracked 100K in attendance. All four were played at the enormous Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California back in 1987, 1983, 1980 and 1977.
Last year’s game in New Jersey held 82,529 and was completely sold out. Just like all 48 Super Bowls have been sold out, dating back to 1967 when 61,946 fans packed into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This year’s game will be played at Arizona’s University of Phoenix Stadium, which holds roughly 79K fans and will easily be filled to capacity.
Bartiromo did manage to get something correct when she said, “the home experience has gotten so much better.” Adweek is reporting that NBC expects the game to become the most-watched event in television history.
The Super Bowl will air February 1 on NBC.
(h/t Deadspin)