The television ratings will be the most important metric for the XFL’s inaugural weekend. However, attendance matters too, and if the early numbers are any indication, the attendance numbers and revenues are very good.
According Action Network Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell, the XFL surpassed the now defunct Alliance of American Football (AAF) in revenues from ticket sales before they ever even kicked off.
The XFL, before kickoff, has already surpassed ticket sales revenue for the entire season of the AAF.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 8, 2020
The D.C. Defenders nearly sold out the 20,000-seat Audi Stadium in the league’s first game.
Attendance for the DC Defenders’ inaugural XFL game at Audi Field: 17,163. Pretty fantastic, honestly. Let’s see how much it tapers off from here on out.
— Pablo Maurer (@MLSist) February 8, 2020
While TDECU Stadium in Houston is significantly larger, 40,000-seat capacity, the Houston Roughneck drew a similar sized crowd for their game against the Los Angeles Wildcats.
The Houston Roughnecks announced an attendance of 17,815 at TDECU Stadium for their season opener.
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) February 9, 2020
While these numbers are encouraging, again, the television numbers will really tell the tale. The NFL has had woeful attendance (by NFL standards) for years, yet still managed to reap huge financial profits by delivering huge television ratings.
The ratings for this weekends XFL games should be made public on Tuesday. Though, with so much attention on the performance of the new league, it’s highly likely that those numbers will be leaked before Tuesday.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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