What XFL Game 1 Attendance Says About The League's Viability

The XFL had decent attendance on week 1, sports betting could help keep fans around throughout the season.

XFL games are currently being played at MLS stadiums.
Around 17,000 people watched the D.C. Defenders game live.
The XFL has room to grow when compared to the NFL.

WASHINGTON – Thousands of football-hungry people showed up to the first D.C. Defenders game. Ticket sales and more show how interested football fans are in the XFL.

When compared to the NFL, the XFL has had a very modest showing to the live games. Low ticket prices and the novelty of a new league could have helped increase the number of fans in the stadiums.

Ticket Sales And XFL Stadiums

For the D.C. Defenders and Seattle Dragons game, around 17,000 fans showed up to the game. None of the teams in the XFL currently have their own stadium. Instead, they used preexisting stadiums to play their first games.

The D.C. Defenders game took place in the MLS stadium for D.C. United. The field was big enough for the XFL game and there is not a lot of seating compared to the FedExField where the Washington Redskins currently play. Thanks to that, the stadium appeared to be filled up when cameras looked at the audience in the stadium.

Nearly all the other XFL games were played in MLS stadiums. The smaller stadium made it appear that XFL has plenty of fans wanting to show up. The only game that was not played in an MLS stadium was the New York Guardians and the Tampa Bay Vipers game. They played in the Metlife Stadium where the New York Giants typically play.

Only mistake XFL made in Week 1 was putting New York team in MetLife Stadium instead of Red Bull Arena in Harrison. Crowd filled 22 percent of seats in MetLife. Would have been 72 percent at Red Bull.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 10, 2020

Thanks to that, the stadium was filled with empty seats. Typically, NFL games usually have around 75,000 fans go watch the games live. This shows that the XFL still has a long way to go to catch up to the NFL.

XFL Longevity

Having a high turnout for the first XFL games was expected. It is a brand-new league and football fans were curious about the league. The key is keeping fans around for future games and potentially, a second season.

That is why XFL commissioners are promoting XFL betting. With sports betting spreading around the country, the XFL is looking to take advantage of it to bring more fans. That is why betting lines will be shown during XFL games on TV.

If the XFL wants to last, it needs a reason to make fans stay. Sports betting could be the trick to do so. At the very least, the novelty of a new league brought in a good number of fans. But the real test is when the XFL starts playing for their second week. Then the XFL will see if people really are interested in the league.

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Daniel Borjas

Daniel is a writer that enjoys writing to inform readers. When Daniel was writing for The Borgen Project, he liked informing the world about victories in global poverty issues. Daniel is also an avid horse racing fan who has been going to the track with his father for over a decade betting the ponies. When he is not writing about sports betting or at the track, Daniel loves playing video games and watching sports in his spare time.