Can the Steelers blame low attendance in 2021 solely on the pandemic?

[ad_1]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a season of ups and downs in 2021, topping a regular season record of 9-7-1. At home, the team posted a 6-2-1 record. Compared to their track record on the road, Heinz Field was good for black and gold.

What hasn’t been so good for the Steelers is their overall game attendance. When the Steelers played games, it was common to see beat writers taking pictures of empty yellow seats in the middle of a quarter. NFL cameras were panning around the stadium only to see empty seats throughout the game.

In 2021-2022, things were definitely different. The Steelers, like all NFL teams, were welcoming fans into their friendly confines for the first time since 2019 at full capacity. After a year of hardly any fans in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic still with us, it would only make sense for some fans to want to stay away. However, the lack of attendance was not only noticed by fans, it caught the attention of team president Art Rooney II.

Speaking to the media after the end of the 2021-22 season, Rooney acknowledged the low turnout in the pandemic, but it’s something the organization is looking into.

“From an attendance perspective, we don’t like having so many no-shows, and we’ve researched that, and I think the pandemic played a part in that.” said Rooney. “It was an unusual season in that our busiest games were actually the night games. There are different things going on that we need to study and understand. I think at the end of the day, from what we’ve seen across the board, there’s still a strong demand for our tickets. If we can get back closer to normal, I think we’ll see that attendance go back up. Overall, the enthusiasm from our fans is strong, and I think people are looking forward to seeing what’s next.

Before I go any further, I decided to take a look at the Steelers average home attendance in the regular season and their percentage of home fans last season.

2021 regular season home average: 60,488 (28th)

2021 home regular season percentage: 88.4 (29th)

Figures not really encouraging when you look at them from a global point of view across the NFL. I wanted to dig into the numbers and compare them to previous seasons where fans were present.

2019 home regular season average: 62,237 (24th)

2019 home regular season percentage: 91.0 (27th)

Looking at the 2019 numbers, you can see an average of nearly 2,000 more people attending games. On top of that, the average percentage has increased significantly. It should also be noted that this was the season Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the Week 2 season after suffering an elbow injury against the Seattle Seahawks. Did it keep fans away from the stadium on match days? The statistics do not suggest that is the case.

Going back even further, look at the numbers for the 2018 and 2017 seasons. I have to be honest, I was shocked that the Steelers ranked so poorly in those two major categories.

2018 home regular season average: 63,456 (23rd)

2018 home regular season percentage: 92.8 (26th)

2017 home regular season average: 62,471 (27th)

2017 home regular season percentage: 91.3 (26th)

Of course, I must add the fact that the Steelers play in a smaller venue, compared to other NFL stadiums. Below is detailed information about Heinz Field.

Heinz Field: 68,400 seats (17th largest venue)

Could the pandemic have impacted Steelers attendance? Absoutely. Everyone has a different level of comfort when it comes to going to crowded public places. However, the attendance numbers were drastic enough to attract the attention of Rooney and the front office.

The NFL isn’t the only league that has seen attendance become an issue. The Steelers’ cross-town neighbors, the Pittsburgh Penguins, saw their home-selling streak snapped in 2021-22 and had more tickets available than imagined during the era. Sidney Crosby this season. When you look at a team like the Penguins, who have consistent success and more games to play, you see how hesitant to go to games is a real thing.

These numbers shouldn’t be seen as a blow to the front of the Steelers organization or fan base. Everyone has the right to go or choose not to go to a particular game. Does the team’s success, or lack thereof, have anything to do with attendance in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic? I think that’s quite fair to say when you look at the numbers. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the pandemic played a role in the decline in attendance at Heinz Field in 2021. Whether that will persist in 2022, well, that remains to be determined.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest Steelers news and notes as they prepare for what could be a very eventful 2022 offseason.

[ad_2]