By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Less COVID-19 restrictions in Texas and Florida helped the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers finish 1-2-3 in attendance in the National Football League, which forged ahead to complete a regular season that miraculously did not have a single lost game because of the novel coronavirus.
The Raiders here in Las Vegas did not have a single paid fan in attendance inside domed Allegiant Stadium during the venue’s inaugural NFL season because team owner Mark Davis said if all fans could not Raiders home games then none would.
The Cowboys easily had the most home fans attending games with 197,313 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, or 28,187 a game, which was 28.2 percent of capacity. The Jaguars drew 127,355 home fans, or 15,919 a game (23.5 percent of capacity). It should be noted that Las Vegas-based UFC staged the first major sports event in the U.S. with a fight show event in Jacksonville in May.
The Buccaneers, a popular draw because of star quarterback Tom Brady’s first season in Tampa, averaged 14,483 fans a game, for third in the NFL.
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs were fourth of the NFL in attendance with 13,153 a game, while the Houston Texans finished fifth at 12,400 a game and the Miami Dolphins averaged 12,294 fans a game in South Florida.
The Giants and Jets in metro New York and the two LA teams — the Rams and Chargers — did not have a single fan.
Teams in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Buffalo, Philadelphia, New England, Detroit also had no fans.
Texas was a popular place for other sports events to move to in order to stage events. For example, a college football national semifinal game (Alabama vs Notre Dame at a transplanted Rose Bowl game) was staged at the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, while the National Finals Rodeo shifted from Las Vegas to Texas and so did the Professional Bull Riders’ championship.
While the Buffalo Bills did not have any home fans during the regular season, the team was permitted to have nearly 7,000 fans for this wildcard playoff game against the Colts Saturday after they were tested for COVID-19. Just under two percent of the fans who were tested for the novel coronavirus were infected with COVID-19 and received a refund for the first home playoff game in 25 years. It was reported that 137 Bills fans tested positive.
ESPN football broadcaster Louis Riddick said on Twitter, “Can’t help but be happy for #Bills fans. Spent many afternoons of my youth in Orchard Park, NY, watching games in what was then “Rich Stadium”, and was a highlight of my career to then play there as a visitor (and lose). The place ROCKS!!!”