When you are not a very good football team, it should be no surprise at all when your home attendance drops and that is exactly what happened to the Detroit Lions from 2019 to 2021.
According to Greg Auman, the Lions actually had the second biggest attendance drop from 2019-2021 as their average attendance at Ford Field during that time went down by 9,820 fans per game.
Biggest drops in average announced home attendance for NFL teams from 2019 to 2021:
Commanders -12,737
Lions -9,820
Saints -8,153
Jets -6,847
Texans -4,982
Falcons -4,015
49ers -3,615
Jaguars -3,117— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 10, 2022
This does not come as a huge surprise as the Lions finished the 2021 season with a 3-13-1 record, which was the second-worst record in the entire National Football League.
The Detroit Lions attendance should go up in 2022
With expectations much higher than a year ago, we would expect the Lions’ home attendance at Ford Field to go up in 2022, especially if they can get off to a hot start and remain in contention.
Back in March, MLive reported that though the Detroit Lions had the worst attendance in 2021, they were currently in the Top 10 when it came to new season ticket sales for the 2022 season. During the 2021 season, the Lions averaged just 51,522 tickets sold per home game at Ford Field and there were two games where they fell short of 50,000 tickets sold.
That being said, if the Lions were to struggle out of the gates, it sure would be tough to pony up the money it takes to get into a game at Ford Field.
During the offseason, Detroit Lions team president Rod Wood had the following message for season ticket holders.
From Detroit Free Press:
“As we prepare for the 2022-23 season, I want to acknowledge where we are as an organization,” Lions president Rod Wood wrote in the email. “We understand that our results last season weren’t good enough and I speak for everyone at the Lions when I tell you that we are committed to being better on and off the field.”
The Lions are reducing prices on about 16% of the seats at Ford Field for 2022, with the average price reduction about 10%.
“The last year has confirmed for the entire organization that we have the right people in place to achieve our goal of creating sustained success in Detroit,” Wood wrote. “The work that Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell have done to create a plan for the future of this team, is evident every day in our building. The work we did this year to establish a culture of collaboration, grit and resilience will serve as a foundation for where we are headed.”
Nation, do you plan on attending one or more Detroit Lions’ games this coming season?
