The UFL’s Michigan Panthers are struggling to attract fans, with attendance numbers showing a lackluster turnout for their first two home games of the season. In Week 1, only 9,444 fans showed up, and in Week 2 the attendance dropped even further to 7,475. Despite this, the team still has one more home game scheduled for next weekend.
The low attendance is not just an issue for the Panthers, but it’s also affecting other teams in the league. According to Mike Mitchell of SI.com, attendance for Week 2 games was low across the board except for in St. Louis where the Battlehawks drew over 40,000 fans. The total attendance for games in the other three locations combined was only 31,318, with D.C. Defenders drawing more than 15,000 fans and Memphis having fewer than 9,000.
One of the biggest challenges facing the UFL is getting people to show up to games and watch on TV. The league’s success will be determined by whether the strong debut in the first week of games will carry over into the second week and attract more fans to attend games live or tune in on TV.
