With the professional sports world generating tens of billions of dollars in revenue every year, it comes as no surprise that it’s an important industry to watch. While much of this revenue comprises ticket and food sales, professional teams drive revenue from sponsorships from brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, Adidas, New Era, Pepsi, and more.
Of course, the amount of money each team earns is heavily dependent on fan support, and in some cases, some teams lose fans and likely lose revenue as a result. Using data from ESPN and the New York Times, we can look at which sports teams across the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL are losing the most fans in order based on each sport.
Why Is This Important?
Football is one of the sports in which some teams are losing fans.
There is little question that many readers of 24/7 Wall St are fans of sports as much as they are fans of finance-related materials. More importantly, many of the brands we love, like Coke, Pepsi, and Nike, are widely covered on this site, and these brands are major sponsors of both the leagues and some of the teams listed here. The same goes for teams like the Detroit Lions, who play in a stadium bearing the Ford name, another brand widely covered on this site, which makes this topic highly relevant to our readers.
1. Oakland Athletics
It’s been a long time since Oakland Athletics fans have cheered for the team.
- Home attendance average: 9,746
- Stadium capacity: 45,000
- Percentage of capacity: 21.6%
Suffice it to say, if you’re a fan of the Oakland Athletics, you’re a member of a dwindling community. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Oakland as the lowest-attended team in baseball, as the team has been in this position for years. This hasn’t always been the case, as the one-time play of Jose Conseco and Mark McGwire once brought fans in droves, but the days of superb Athletics baseball appear to be far behind us.
2. Miami Marlins
Miami Marlin’s fans aren’t getting this excited for the team.
- Home attendance average: 12,792
- Stadium capacity: 37,442
- Percentage of capacity: 34.1%
When it comes to sports in Miami, the town’s football and basketball teams receive the most attention, not baseball. A lot of this likely comes down to the fact that fans have been upset with team ownership and that the stadium is in a very busy downtown area that isn’t easy to get to. In addition, you can any number of things to do in Miami for four hours that are a lot more fun.
3. Tampa Bay Rays
Tropicana Field is one of the oldest stadiums in major league baseball.
- Home attendance average: 16,676
- Stadium capacity: 25,025
- Percentage of capacity: 66.6%
Fan attendance for the Tampa Bay Rays has been largely attributed to the stadium. Tropicana Field needs to be updated as it’s an aging building that lacks many of the more exciting amenities of newer stadiums. On top of that, Tampa Bay doesn’t have a marquee player on the field that fans would pay to see regularly.
4. San Jose Sharks
The stadium never looks like this when the Sharks play today.
- Home attendance average: 13,559
- Stadium capacity: 17,435
- Percentage of capacity: 77.8%
As the NHL team with the lowest attendance, the San Jose Sharks are in danger of running out of fans. It certainly doesn’t help that the team had a terrible start to the 2023-2024 season and hosted 13 games, with fan attendance below 11,000 fans. The team had better figure out something fast.
5. Buffalo Sabres
Fans would return to the stadium if the Buffalo Sabres won a little more.
- Home attendance average: 15,981
- Stadium capacity: 19,070
- Percentage of capacity: 83.8%
As season ticket sales have dropped significantly, Buffalo needs help filling seats during Sabres games. Unsurprisingly, high ticket prices and a poor-performing team are the worst possible combination for any professional sports organization. Fans have also expressed concern over the price of concessions going up, which is a big turnoff for game attendance.
6. Winnipeg Jets
Only a small number of fans cheer this loudly for the Winnipeg Jets.
- Home attendance average: 13,447
- Stadium capacity: 15,325
- Percentage of capacity: 89.6%
Unfortunately, the Winnipeg Jets’ attendance issues have been a source of much discussion. Even the team’s chairman has expressed concerns that the team has to figure out a new solution, as attendance dropping “is not going to work over the long haul.” It certainly doesn’t help that the team plays in the NHL’s smallest arena.
7. Washington Wizards
It’s been a disappointing run for the Washington Wizards, and fans are making their frustrations clear.
- Home attendance average: 17,328
- Stadium capacity: ~20,000
- Percentage of capacity: 84.1%
The Washington Wizards finished 2023-2024 with the lowest overall percentage of stadium attendance across the NBA. If you look across Reddit, Wizards fans will argue that stadium attendance is low because the team doesn’t have an ownership group that appears as if it wants to improve the team’s chances for an NBA title.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
Questions remain around whether the Oklahoma City Thunder can start winning again.
- Home attendance average: 15,534
- Stadium capacity: 18,203
- Percentage of capacity: 85.3%
While Oklahoma City spent the summer of 2024 trying to rebuild the team’s confidence, it still has to figure out how to attract fans during the 2024-2025 season. At only 85% capacity, the team has its work cut out, and fans are starting to joke online that team ownership may begin to think about relocating the team to a bigger market.
9. Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers needed to start winning much earlier last season before fans started abandoning the team.
- Home attendance average: 15,647
- Stadium capacity: 17,274
- Percentage of capacity: 87.3%
For a team that seemingly performed well in the playoffs last year, it must be disappointing for die-hard Pacers fans to learn of its low attendance. Of course, it doesn’t help that the team plays in the third smallest stadium in the NBA and is already at a disadvantage regarding attendance. Attendance picked up during the playoffs, but the team has to figure out how to fill seats during the regular season.
10. Las Vegas Raiders
Since moving to town, the Las Vegas Raiders haven’t given fans much to cheer about.
- Home attendance average: 62,190
- Stadium capacity: 65,000
- Percentage of capacity: 95.6%
There would always be a risk with fans when the Raiders relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas. However, I don’t think team ownership saw it as the team being ranked among the bottom three regarding overall team attendance. It certainly doesn’t help that the team didn’t find its groove until late in the 2023-2024 season, but fan interest had already waned.
11. Arizona Cardinals
Fans of the Arizona Cardinals aren’t doing much smiling lately.
- Home attendance average: 62,864
- Stadium capacity: 63,400
- Percentage of capacity: 99.1%
Unsurprisingly, the Arizona Cardinals have been at or near the bottom of the NFL attendance chart. The team hit record lows in 2024, and fans showed their disappointment online. There is no question that the low attendance is a direct result of the Cardinals’ poor performance on the field. After losing 8 of its last 11 games, fan frustration bubbled to the surface, and it showed in the stands.
12. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears have been losing for far too long for fans to be happy.
- Home attendance average: 61,769
- Stadium capacity: 61,500
- Percentage of capacity: 100.4%
It won’t be surprising that the Chicago Bears are on the hot seat regarding stadium attendance. Fans’ disapproval of team ownership and on-the-field results has been boiling for years. The Bears have even considered moving to the suburbs of Chicago to do a hard reset of the team. Although this plan has seemingly failed, it must find a way to turn things around and bring fans back to their seats.
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