Precipitous attendance declines in the UFL’s strongest markets have muted a reasonably positive debut in the league’s three new cities, and the league is likely to post its second consecutive year-over-year decline in total attendance.
The St. Louis Battlehawks have averaged crowds of 22,893 through four home games, down 22.5% compared to 2025’s full-year average. In Washington, the D.C. Defenders have drawn an average of 8,769, down 32.6% from 13,026 one year ago. They’re still the two best markets in the league.
With all eight teams still eligible for a spot in the semifinals, league officials hope a close playoff chase will improve the picture somewhat. We’ll hold off on a more comprehensive analysis until the year is over.
All told, the 32 UFL games so far have averaged a crowd of 10,416, down 14.3% from 12,162 in 2025, which was itself down 5% from ’24.
Together, the new markets — Columbus, Louisville and Orlando — have averaged 10,548, up 20.3% above the three markets they replaced together: Detroit, Memphis and San Antonio. Columbus has had three home games; Dallas has had five. All others have had four.
Incidentally, viewership on TV is about flat, up marginally from 622,000 viewers on average last year to 624,000 viewers.
Here’s the full attendance rundown through Week 8, compared to last year:
