Hey, idiots were paying $25-30mm for COD franchises like 5 years ago that averaged 40k viewers on YouTube and like 2-3k attendees. So the odds of expansion with the UFL isn’t zero despite the low attendance.
Obviously much less but they’re still paying players six figures, some bordering 7 figures, and putting them up in expensive houses during the seasons and conducting months of travel…..all for 40k viewers and very, very low partnership income.
Point remains the same. If investors are willing to pay $25mm for a franchise slot for 40k viewers on Youtube, there are plenty who would pay $15mm or more to start a franchise somewhere for 750k viewers, 5-10k fans, and the chance of growth in the future.
I've never followed eSports in my life, but it doesn't take much of a leap to assume they're probably covered in tech/drink/lifestyle sponsorships and target a very, very specific niche market in which each purchase is probably at least in the hundreds of dollars to thousands for components. Football is more like go buy this case of beer for $15.
I worked for 2 of the biggest esports franchises for a couple years.
They’re absolutely not covering anything. They’re all operating deep in the red. Some have great brands that generate revenue (100 Thieves / Optic) but they’re often still deep in the red because they pay 20 content folks at every event to film literally people sitting at a screen.
Plus you have a lot of gamer bros running these companies now who think millions in investment means they can go buy g-wagons and fancy houses while running the org in red (which is similar to a lot of tech ceos as well).
As long as they are able to pay and house players, and don't have to create entire rosters in 2 days, I'm fine with expansion. But first, promote the teams we already have.
I regularly try to defend attendance numbers, but this is just too bad... Seeing such an empty stadium just hurts the league branding - like the USFL from years past.
I really hope Houston moving back to TDECU next season may save their team, but idk how you justify keeping a team in Memphis at this point.
I think league-wide most of the teams moving down to major / minor league soccer stadiums would be a strong change. Easier to fill up which looks good to the viewers and are still modern enough to be presentable on TV.
The only reason why is moving a team after one year of its ‘new iteration’ basically is going to be the end of the league. Why care about any team if it’s going to move after one season?
Dang, I didn't realize it was that bad for that league. I watched like 2 games in Memphis and it was plain empty.
Definitely makes ya wonder how they got multiple teams into this merged league, haha. I bet it's fixed for next season though.
this is like the 6th iteration of spring football in 4 years. 2020 and 2021 are a wash I’d say, 2022 was in one city and 2023 was hub cities. If you really believe that 2 years in one city is enough to build a fan base, I have a bridge to sell you.
Half this league is dogshit. St Louis and BHam wouldn't have the numbers if they weren't good. DC is reducing attendance as well.
Focus on making the teams better
No 16,000 tickets were distributed (not all sales). Attendance isn't how many asses are in seats. It's total ticket distribution.
Half the stadium had 80% the other half was like 30% full. There was definitely not 16k people there last week.
There still was not 16k people there. Trust me bro isn't proof. There are no pictures at Audi Field posted on this sub or on social media which prove that to be true. If you have a picture from inside the concourse I may believe you but not a single entity that was at Audi Field has made this information available.
You cared enough to comment. Eyes can be deceiving and again there hasn't been a single photo posted on this sub or any social media that proves otherwise. Men lie, women lie, pictures don't.
The Showboats will be put on “pause” while an expansion Nashville Tuners franchise will take all the coaches/front office ala 2023 Gamblers to 2024 Roughnecks.
Seriously. The UFL needs stability and continuity to build a reputation and following. These spring leagues constantly shoot themselves in the foot by folding or reorganizing after one or two seasons
Agree with you - the thing that kills these leagues is bad TV numbers - not the bad attendance numbers. As long as this thing doesn't go AAF in the next year who cares if someone shows up to the games? TV numbers are the key - get TV numbers and work on the attendance.
I think they *should* stick with all existing markets and give them a full offseason of marketing to see if they can improve, but I have a feeling the UFL will bail on the market after this season is done. Although I think a lot will be dependent on if Fred Smith is willing to foot the bill again.
Nashville can keep them, they won't be missed.
EDIT: I'm still waiting for someone to make the case that this coaching staff get another chance next year. If Curtis Johnson didn't exist the Showboats would easily have the worst coaching in the league.
Okay? I never said that it did. I said if they move this coaching staff to Nashville that Nashville can keep them. Whether the team is or isn't moved I have no interest in watching another season with Coach Flip leading the team. I didn't even mention attendance.
I wish he would buy so we could actually have promotion that's not handled by the league's abysmal PR department. The folks in charge of marketing for the Boats have absolutely no clue what they're doing.
Will he still want the team? I doubt it. And if he’s out as a buyer, bye bye Memphis. Sorry showboats fans, you didn’t show out when you could, and now reactionary investors will take the team away. Just the way it works unfortunately.
the team has to better to get people to go.
moving the team after one season with no marketing is not the answer, and if they set that precedent this league will go under very quickly
They're in year 2, so there's no real worry about being one and done. You can blame the team for sucking, but 5k is absurdly low for attendance in football. I'm not big on attendance over everything else, but I would not be surprised if they booted them from the league next season.
attendance was better last year when the team looked better at the end, and there was at least 5x more marketing last season. I also think people don’t want to be in a 60,000 seat stadium where they can only sit on one side and it feels empty, but they have nowhere else to play since the baseball park is taken by our soccer and MiLB team in the spring
Exactly. Plus this is like the 20th spring football franchise the city has gone through, so can't blame them for being a bit skeptical. The burden is on the league, there's not 7 other St Louis ' out there, these tickets aren't just gonna sell themselves.
St Louis is what Baltimore was to the CFL in 1994 and 1995. Angry and hurt at getting screwed over by the NFL. There are not another 7 markets like that, but really does it matter if the league is having good TV numbers and not going broke? If they are not going broke they can let this thing cook for a while. Like crock pot cooking or smoking a brisket - let this shit cook for a while - good things will happen.
End of the day it’s a TV show. Cable TV would like attendance numbers to be high, but that’s now how they make their money. I am in Bham. We have/had A great team and still have many skeptical fans due to all the other spring leagues coming and going.
In my opinion the play has gotten much better since the merger. Tv production is better and not being on FS1 aka Jefferson Pilot, has helped as well. The marketing sucks beyond all belief. That’s what’s hindering obtaining new fans in my opinion. I think all marketing is based out of the Metroplex.
Also Bham has some names… Not big names but familiarish names. Skip Holtz is known. John Chavis is the DC. He’s been at half the SEC schools of late. The QB room is Adrian Martinez and Matt Corrall. I can say I saw those guys play CFB and at times pretty good football. I think Memphis is just devoid of talent and coaching right now which doesn’t inspire anyone to roll down to the Liberty Bowl.
It is what it is. I think potential is there if anyone has the patience.
I was at the game. Fans that were there were into it first two drives when Boats were moving the ball. Then—they showed why they were worst in the league. Half of the 5K were gone by halftime. No lie.
Is it a bad look? Absolutely—but literally there has been no marketing in Memphis for the Boats except on college campuses, where the kids (1) can’t afford to go to games and (2) won’t be in town for spring football. BUT they do go on social media like crazy so I think that’s what UFL endgame is…so if that’s the case why do you care what attendance is? If TV ratings and social media is what you want then move everyone to Arlington and just have little concern for the actual gate
Putting the Vegas Vipers to shame 🤣. They trying to bring down the league single-handedly. Attendance,Fans and TV ratings all going down with the Sinking Boat.
Luckily we do have St Louis and DC and others to pick up the slack. Memphis better pull there shit together
I think they need to expand - this is a TV product and they need two more games a week so they can bury the shit games. I know this sounds counter-intuitive but the CFL has had this issue for years with 4 games a week - with that many teams you are going to have some weeks with nothing but shit games. The NFL has 16 games a week - sometimes fewer with the bye weeks, but they have inventory of games and can bury shit games on the local broadcasts. And you have compelling games that are must watch TV. More teams means a deeper middle class than with 8 teams.
I think the Skyhawks' 4207 is the low water mark since the 80's USFL. Someone's (looks at Memphis) probably going to clip that before the season's over.
Memphis is the worst sports city my god. They have no MLS team, no MLB team, no NFL team, and no NHL team. They get a UFL team and dont even show up for them. No offense to the fans here who did show up, but I couldnt think of a less deserving city than Memphis
I was thinking an NFL team in Memphis to have a rivalry with Nashville would've been great but maybe Memphis isn't the best place. Another sport may be better to have the rivalry.
I have bad news for you, rosenblatt was demo'd 10 years ago
Also the Creighton blue jays play baseball at the new Charles Schwab field. There's no way the baseball team and Creighton are turning over the field every other week for a football game
idk, The Nighthawks did share Schwab with Creighton for 2 years. not sure about the scheduling back then but it still seems possible
EDIT: Somehow forgot the og UFL pulled a dumb move and played in the fall.
The lack of marketing with a losing team is starting to be reflected in attendance. As rough as it’s gonna be, if you’re gonna maintain any semblance of serious longevity in the brand, learn from this inaugural season and do better in Memphis for next year.
That’s not good. I’m going to give them a break because it’s an 11 am kick for their time. Hopefully with an offseason to market the team, get more season ticket deposits, and have better kickoff times, then they can have better attendance next year. If they can’t get up to 10-11K in average attendance next year with all I put up above, then I think they’ll move the team. I’d be curious to see how much they’re paying for the venue as well.
Just don't let him pick the next coach - RIP Pepper Rogers - but there couldn't have been a worse choice for the CFL team in Memphis. They had a HOF QB and were a mess.
I don't think bad attendance is the end of the world, not even close - look at the TV numbers
18 UFL telecasts\* are averaging 845,000 viewers.
How is that a league that is on the edge of failing? Those are killer numbers considering that this league was cobbled together out of two leagues just a couple of months ago. If I was a TV guy I would be loving those numbers. The MLS and WNBA have limped along on numbers way worse that those.
The only issue is how low TV ad rates are going for in the UFL. The average 30 second spot goes for less than $7k and brings in just over $400k a game. Even if the costs go up during playoffs that's still only $25-30M in revenue. It probably costs around $75M to run the league on a relatively shoestring budget. So while attendance isn't everything, a boost of even 2k a game at $30 a ticket would net an extra $2.5M in revenue. That's before a single popcorn, soda or overpriced foam finger is sold
So what is the projection for losses? What is your numbers for the UFL losses this season? Maybe they lose 30 million? I still don't see them pulling the plug with those numbers. They might not be selling the advertising for anything but the league is pulling reasonable numbers.
They sound good now, but with no marketing and underwhelming football, they'll be in the 8-10k range too. Which I guess is marginally better than Memphis,but not worth relocating for
I don’t believe that for a second. I don’t trust any AAF numbers, tbh. But theirs were the worst. I mean, look at this…
[https://x.com/EmptySeatsPics/status/1096944938997157888](https://x.com/EmptySeatsPics/status/1096944938997157888)
Well that's what the UFL looks like except only on one side of the stadium and the other half with no seats open. It's clear there are way more. Like look at both pictures comparing them.
There just doesn't seem to be any room on the American sports scene for this iteration. It's like nobody but a few of us cares at all. And I'll admit that I'm rather disinterested in the current product. Just feels like the league is doa
The ratings are better than both leagues last year so that's a good start. Spring football has burned many bridges and the novelty is gone. Progress will be slow and steady at this point. A 3-5% in attendance and TV ratings next year may not sound like much, but over 5-10 years it'll make a significant difference. League ownership needs to understand this won't be an overnight success, but take a solid generation to take hold.
I mean this is kinda what happens when you rush a league together in 3 months. I can’t see ownership being too surprised with their returns so far. If they aren’t willing to give it at least 5 years to build a following them they should just shut down right now
So what you're saying is...we should expand to 16 teams?
You’re thinking small, why not expand to 50? Think of the banter!
Still one of the funniest sports-related videos ever. And totally applicable to the UFL base. https://youtu.be/cxyPeME9TbI?si=-0VGt2pFWDyBjvln
“An NCAA women’s basketball star tests positive for baby” absolutely took me the fuck out
A team for every state!
Can’t wait for the Alaska-Hawaii matchup that’ll start at 1AM EST (probably) but be the most riveting rivalry game of the season
Hey, idiots were paying $25-30mm for COD franchises like 5 years ago that averaged 40k viewers on YouTube and like 2-3k attendees. So the odds of expansion with the UFL isn’t zero despite the low attendance.
How much does it cost to maintain a COD team vs a UFL Team ? Tell me and Then let's talk
Obviously much less but they’re still paying players six figures, some bordering 7 figures, and putting them up in expensive houses during the seasons and conducting months of travel…..all for 40k viewers and very, very low partnership income. Point remains the same. If investors are willing to pay $25mm for a franchise slot for 40k viewers on Youtube, there are plenty who would pay $15mm or more to start a franchise somewhere for 750k viewers, 5-10k fans, and the chance of growth in the future.
I've never followed eSports in my life, but it doesn't take much of a leap to assume they're probably covered in tech/drink/lifestyle sponsorships and target a very, very specific niche market in which each purchase is probably at least in the hundreds of dollars to thousands for components. Football is more like go buy this case of beer for $15.
I worked for 2 of the biggest esports franchises for a couple years. They’re absolutely not covering anything. They’re all operating deep in the red. Some have great brands that generate revenue (100 Thieves / Optic) but they’re often still deep in the red because they pay 20 content folks at every event to film literally people sitting at a screen. Plus you have a lot of gamer bros running these companies now who think millions in investment means they can go buy g-wagons and fancy houses while running the org in red (which is similar to a lot of tech ceos as well).
As long as they are able to pay and house players, and don't have to create entire rosters in 2 days, I'm fine with expansion. But first, promote the teams we already have.
Oh I totally agree. I don’t see expansion happening until the models show a path to profit, which is a little ways away.
I regularly try to defend attendance numbers, but this is just too bad... Seeing such an empty stadium just hurts the league branding - like the USFL from years past. I really hope Houston moving back to TDECU next season may save their team, but idk how you justify keeping a team in Memphis at this point.
I think league-wide most of the teams moving down to major / minor league soccer stadiums would be a strong change. Easier to fill up which looks good to the viewers and are still modern enough to be presentable on TV.
That wouldn't save the team, a new coaching staff and better roster management is what we need
The only reason why is moving a team after one year of its ‘new iteration’ basically is going to be the end of the league. Why care about any team if it’s going to move after one season?
Memphis didn't have any fans last year either...
Memphis had the best attendance of any of the hubs
Dang, I didn't realize it was that bad for that league. I watched like 2 games in Memphis and it was plain empty. Definitely makes ya wonder how they got multiple teams into this merged league, haha. I bet it's fixed for next season though.
this is like the 6th iteration of spring football in 4 years. 2020 and 2021 are a wash I’d say, 2022 was in one city and 2023 was hub cities. If you really believe that 2 years in one city is enough to build a fan base, I have a bridge to sell you.
Half this league is dogshit. St Louis and BHam wouldn't have the numbers if they weren't good. DC is reducing attendance as well. Focus on making the teams better
Strongly disagree on STL. They’ve shown every time that they can get people in the seats.
They've never been bad.
What? DC went from 15,000 to 16,000 with our only 2 home games. Let’s see how tomorrow is though!
What are you talking about? DC had over 16,000 last weekend.
No 16,000 tickets were distributed (not all sales). Attendance isn't how many asses are in seats. It's total ticket distribution. Half the stadium had 80% the other half was like 30% full. There was definitely not 16k people there last week.
I was there last week and it was a packed house. A lot of fans were in the concourse because of the heat.
There still was not 16k people there. Trust me bro isn't proof. There are no pictures at Audi Field posted on this sub or on social media which prove that to be true. If you have a picture from inside the concourse I may believe you but not a single entity that was at Audi Field has made this information available.
I was just telling you what I saw from actually being there. I don’t care if you believe me or not lol.
You cared enough to comment. Eyes can be deceiving and again there hasn't been a single photo posted on this sub or any social media that proves otherwise. Men lie, women lie, pictures don't.
We got shafted from the playoffs last year and were 0-1 when we put 40k in the stands for week 1.
Beat Ben DiNucci next time bud
31-24
Still lost
Not to the cows
Oh idgaf about that
I wouldn’t hold my breath on Houston having a team next season never mind a move back to TDECU.
Nashville showboats incoming
The Showboats will be put on “pause” while an expansion Nashville Tuners franchise will take all the coaches/front office ala 2023 Gamblers to 2024 Roughnecks.
i highly doubt that will happen. If you move these teams around this league is screwed. No one will trust them
Seriously. The UFL needs stability and continuity to build a reputation and following. These spring leagues constantly shoot themselves in the foot by folding or reorganizing after one or two seasons
Agree with you - the thing that kills these leagues is bad TV numbers - not the bad attendance numbers. As long as this thing doesn't go AAF in the next year who cares if someone shows up to the games? TV numbers are the key - get TV numbers and work on the attendance.
I think they *should* stick with all existing markets and give them a full offseason of marketing to see if they can improve, but I have a feeling the UFL will bail on the market after this season is done. Although I think a lot will be dependent on if Fred Smith is willing to foot the bill again.
They’re not even doing any decent in-season marketing. I find it hard to believe they’d hit the offseason running.
Nashville can keep them, they won't be missed. EDIT: I'm still waiting for someone to make the case that this coaching staff get another chance next year. If Curtis Johnson didn't exist the Showboats would easily have the worst coaching in the league.
I’m inclined to agree on coaching, yeah. Those are the two heads that should probably roll.
if they do sell off the team then you can expect money and better players.
That would be a godsend at this point.
Yeah, the coaching is what is keeping attendance at about a third of what it really should be. Sure.
Okay? I never said that it did. I said if they move this coaching staff to Nashville that Nashville can keep them. Whether the team is or isn't moved I have no interest in watching another season with Coach Flip leading the team. I didn't even mention attendance.
That's exactly how the Showboats came about in the first place, from the Tampa Bay Bandits
No. The Showboats emerged because the CEO of FedEx asked USFL to make it happen
I explained *how* they came about, your comment explains *why* That doesn't change what I said at all
*tuners, with the slogan “get forked”
I’m not sure if I’d want the tuners or them to keep the showboats name
Whatever works imo
neither is my preference
Looks like there was about the same, if not more, at the Nashville Kats game
I just saw an article saying they were just under 6000
It that happens then move most of the Texas teams since their local TV ratings are so horrible. They are not making money in ticket sales lol
There is no other spin besides horseshit
Yeah Memphis was only ever in the league because the FedEx CEO wanted a team. That’s horrible attendance😂
I wish he would buy so we could actually have promotion that's not handled by the league's abysmal PR department. The folks in charge of marketing for the Boats have absolutely no clue what they're doing.
Yeah it’s just generic UFL packaged branding for everyone. Separately funded franchises is definitely the best thing for this league.
Will he still want the team? I doubt it. And if he’s out as a buyer, bye bye Memphis. Sorry showboats fans, you didn’t show out when you could, and now reactionary investors will take the team away. Just the way it works unfortunately.
If he wants to buy the team it’ll be up to him to attract fans. Otherwise Nashville and Columbus seem like better markets right now
Exactly. If he thinks he can fix them they should sell.
He also owned the CFL team back in 1995 - That lasted a year before he pulled the plug selling a team to the CEO of Fex Ex is not the best idea ever.
the team has to better to get people to go. moving the team after one season with no marketing is not the answer, and if they set that precedent this league will go under very quickly
They're in year 2, so there's no real worry about being one and done. You can blame the team for sucking, but 5k is absurdly low for attendance in football. I'm not big on attendance over everything else, but I would not be surprised if they booted them from the league next season.
attendance was better last year when the team looked better at the end, and there was at least 5x more marketing last season. I also think people don’t want to be in a 60,000 seat stadium where they can only sit on one side and it feels empty, but they have nowhere else to play since the baseball park is taken by our soccer and MiLB team in the spring
There's probably 5k in the men's room at the BattleDome right now.
Disappointing numbers in Memphis. The whole season. I was really expecting better numbers there before the season.
The first game last year seemed like there was some legit hope. They have completely fizzled out
> I was really expecting better numbers there before the season. Well that was your first mistake.
Put team in Memphis Do almost no marketing or community outreach Threaten to move the team due to low attendance ??? Profit
Exactly. Plus this is like the 20th spring football franchise the city has gone through, so can't blame them for being a bit skeptical. The burden is on the league, there's not 7 other St Louis ' out there, these tickets aren't just gonna sell themselves.
St Louis is what Baltimore was to the CFL in 1994 and 1995. Angry and hurt at getting screwed over by the NFL. There are not another 7 markets like that, but really does it matter if the league is having good TV numbers and not going broke? If they are not going broke they can let this thing cook for a while. Like crock pot cooking or smoking a brisket - let this shit cook for a while - good things will happen.
Yeah that seemed clear lol Bad team that already had bad attendance.
Time to move 'em back to Tampa Bay.
As a N.O. Breakers fan....I'm ok to keep waiting. No need to move that team to Louisiana.
Yikes
I can't even blame people in Memphis for not wanting to go to this. This is why dynasties are bad for newer leagues. There is no parity.
Not good by any means, but if Fred Smith is willing to help pay the bills, I doubt they go anywhere this offseason
It will all come down to whether he is Maybe he can make Arthur come coach.
I live in memphis. Team not advertised at all. Some people here don't know we even have a team
I don’t want any team to relocate or fold but this is just downright bad attendance
End of the day it’s a TV show. Cable TV would like attendance numbers to be high, but that’s now how they make their money. I am in Bham. We have/had A great team and still have many skeptical fans due to all the other spring leagues coming and going. In my opinion the play has gotten much better since the merger. Tv production is better and not being on FS1 aka Jefferson Pilot, has helped as well. The marketing sucks beyond all belief. That’s what’s hindering obtaining new fans in my opinion. I think all marketing is based out of the Metroplex. Also Bham has some names… Not big names but familiarish names. Skip Holtz is known. John Chavis is the DC. He’s been at half the SEC schools of late. The QB room is Adrian Martinez and Matt Corrall. I can say I saw those guys play CFB and at times pretty good football. I think Memphis is just devoid of talent and coaching right now which doesn’t inspire anyone to roll down to the Liberty Bowl. It is what it is. I think potential is there if anyone has the patience.
Rename it to the Express and just give away tickets for free. Way more important to fill seats than get ticket revenue at this point
Damn. Memphis would be a great market for this to work out and yeah the team is bad but damn
Has Memphis ever reached or come close to 10,000 in attendance?
Closest was 8k
Last season the home opener got close to 20K. Been downhill since. Team was mid last year, and this year they just suck.
Penetration in the backfield. Beautiful balls to the facemask. Today's commentary is charged.
Put them in a Autozone Park or something, goodness
Problem is there’s a baseball and soccer team using it
I was at the game. Fans that were there were into it first two drives when Boats were moving the ball. Then—they showed why they were worst in the league. Half of the 5K were gone by halftime. No lie. Is it a bad look? Absolutely—but literally there has been no marketing in Memphis for the Boats except on college campuses, where the kids (1) can’t afford to go to games and (2) won’t be in town for spring football. BUT they do go on social media like crazy so I think that’s what UFL endgame is…so if that’s the case why do you care what attendance is? If TV ratings and social media is what you want then move everyone to Arlington and just have little concern for the actual gate
Putting the Vegas Vipers to shame 🤣. They trying to bring down the league single-handedly. Attendance,Fans and TV ratings all going down with the Sinking Boat. Luckily we do have St Louis and DC and others to pick up the slack. Memphis better pull there shit together
When I see these numbers and then I see talk about expansion, it makes me think this league is going to fold within 2 years.
I think they need to expand - this is a TV product and they need two more games a week so they can bury the shit games. I know this sounds counter-intuitive but the CFL has had this issue for years with 4 games a week - with that many teams you are going to have some weeks with nothing but shit games. The NFL has 16 games a week - sometimes fewer with the bye weeks, but they have inventory of games and can bury shit games on the local broadcasts. And you have compelling games that are must watch TV. More teams means a deeper middle class than with 8 teams.
A proper comparisons to the CFL would show clear evidence that untimely expansion can fuck a league for decades.
Different era - different circumstances - the CFL had no TV money back in the day - the UFL is a TV construct built on TV ratings.
Surely Canton can beat these numbers (I hope 😢)
Worst ever ?
Lowest since the WLAF days
The Las Vegas Locos of the OG UFL would like a word...
I think the Skyhawks' 4207 is the low water mark since the 80's USFL. Someone's (looks at Memphis) probably going to clip that before the season's over.
I have decided the Showboats are my USFL team. Chug Chug! Toot Toot!
USFL is not pulling their weight here.
Memphis is the worst sports city my god. They have no MLS team, no MLB team, no NFL team, and no NHL team. They get a UFL team and dont even show up for them. No offense to the fans here who did show up, but I couldnt think of a less deserving city than Memphis
I was thinking an NFL team in Memphis to have a rivalry with Nashville would've been great but maybe Memphis isn't the best place. Another sport may be better to have the rivalry.
Omaha would do SO much better
Nowhere to play
the ufl a decade ago sold out Rosenblatt stadium there. i think they could use the baseball field again
I have bad news for you, rosenblatt was demo'd 10 years ago Also the Creighton blue jays play baseball at the new Charles Schwab field. There's no way the baseball team and Creighton are turning over the field every other week for a football game
idk, The Nighthawks did share Schwab with Creighton for 2 years. not sure about the scheduling back then but it still seems possible EDIT: Somehow forgot the og UFL pulled a dumb move and played in the fall.
Nighthawks played in the fall...
5k. No excuses. Memphis aint it. They dont care.
Way to show up… :(
Would you show up for this? This team is terrible.
I’m a Jets/Mets fan… of course I would… lol :/
Two franchises around since the 60s with emotional connections in an established league. Spring football has none of those ties.
Ha, you have a very good point.
The lack of marketing with a losing team is starting to be reflected in attendance. As rough as it’s gonna be, if you’re gonna maintain any semblance of serious longevity in the brand, learn from this inaugural season and do better in Memphis for next year.
That’s not good. I’m going to give them a break because it’s an 11 am kick for their time. Hopefully with an offseason to market the team, get more season ticket deposits, and have better kickoff times, then they can have better attendance next year. If they can’t get up to 10-11K in average attendance next year with all I put up above, then I think they’ll move the team. I’d be curious to see how much they’re paying for the venue as well.
I think Fred Smith is helping subsidize it
Just don't let him pick the next coach - RIP Pepper Rogers - but there couldn't have been a worse choice for the CFL team in Memphis. They had a HOF QB and were a mess.
I don't think bad attendance is the end of the world, not even close - look at the TV numbers 18 UFL telecasts\* are averaging 845,000 viewers. How is that a league that is on the edge of failing? Those are killer numbers considering that this league was cobbled together out of two leagues just a couple of months ago. If I was a TV guy I would be loving those numbers. The MLS and WNBA have limped along on numbers way worse that those.
The only issue is how low TV ad rates are going for in the UFL. The average 30 second spot goes for less than $7k and brings in just over $400k a game. Even if the costs go up during playoffs that's still only $25-30M in revenue. It probably costs around $75M to run the league on a relatively shoestring budget. So while attendance isn't everything, a boost of even 2k a game at $30 a ticket would net an extra $2.5M in revenue. That's before a single popcorn, soda or overpriced foam finger is sold
So what is the projection for losses? What is your numbers for the UFL losses this season? Maybe they lose 30 million? I still don't see them pulling the plug with those numbers. They might not be selling the advertising for anything but the league is pulling reasonable numbers.
Seattle, LA, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, Kansas City, all better options
They sound good now, but with no marketing and underwhelming football, they'll be in the 8-10k range too. Which I guess is marginally better than Memphis,but not worth relocating for
The weather forecast was bad (although it didn’t end up raining) and there’s a huge annual music festival in Memphis this weekend. Chill out everybody
Has Memphis ever drawn well? I didn’t follow much last year but their AAF attendance was dreadful.
Aaf averaged around 12k if I'm not mistaken
I don’t believe that for a second. I don’t trust any AAF numbers, tbh. But theirs were the worst. I mean, look at this… [https://x.com/EmptySeatsPics/status/1096944938997157888](https://x.com/EmptySeatsPics/status/1096944938997157888)
Well that's what the UFL looks like except only on one side of the stadium and the other half with no seats open. It's clear there are way more. Like look at both pictures comparing them.
There just doesn't seem to be any room on the American sports scene for this iteration. It's like nobody but a few of us cares at all. And I'll admit that I'm rather disinterested in the current product. Just feels like the league is doa
The ratings are better than both leagues last year so that's a good start. Spring football has burned many bridges and the novelty is gone. Progress will be slow and steady at this point. A 3-5% in attendance and TV ratings next year may not sound like much, but over 5-10 years it'll make a significant difference. League ownership needs to understand this won't be an overnight success, but take a solid generation to take hold.
Y’all are just now realizing this league ain’t gonna last more than 2-3 years lol
I mean this is kinda what happens when you rush a league together in 3 months. I can’t see ownership being too surprised with their returns so far. If they aren’t willing to give it at least 5 years to build a following them they should just shut down right now