We usually like to check out the biggest stadiums and praise the most well-attended teams in sports, but there are those that don’t get a whole lot of love from their fans, be it for consistent failure or some other reasons. For the teams with more empty seats than anyone else in the NFL, NBA, NHL, Baseball and College Football, we made this list of worst attended teams in sports.
NFL: Los Angeles Rams
Things might be different this season, as the Rams moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles, but in the 2015 season, they were at the bottom of the pile in both average attendance and percentage of the capacity they filled. Only 52,402 fans showed up per game in a 7-9 season, missing the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season, filling up only 80.2% of The Dome, which now doesn’t have a team to play in it.
NBA: Denver Nuggets
The race for the bottom is a little bit closer in the NBA, but in terms of average attendance, the Nuggets finish last, with only 14,095 fans showing up each game, filling 73.6% of the seats on average. Both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers did slightly worse in terms of percentage, filling up 73.2% of their seats.
MLB: Tampa Bay Rays
The numbers for the baseball season refer to the 2015 season, as we’re just over halfway through in 2016. The Rays averaged only 15,403 fans per game in 2015, while the Cleveland Indians posted the lowest percentage out of the capacity at 41%. Both teams made their last postseason appearance in 2013, when the Rays beat the Indians in the Wild Card game.
NHL: Carolina Hurricanes
Not making the playoffs since 2009 and finishing 10th in the conference, the Hurricanes didn’t inspire too much enthusiasm from the fan base, with only 12,203 showing up for their games in 2015-2016, filling up only 65.3% of the seats.
College Football, Power Conferences: Duke Blue Devils
Duke might be having something of a golden age by their standards, going through three consecutive winning seasons, but it’s still a basketball school, first and foremost. On average, 26,427 show up to Wallace Wade Stadium each Saturday, filling up 66.1% of the capacity. Their most attended game last season was the home opener against North Carolina Central, with 33,941 showing up.