Detroit Lions Ranked Last in NFL Attendance in 2021

The Detroit Lions averaged approximately 10,000 less fans in 2021 than in 2019.

The Detroit Lions averaged 51,522 fans at Ford Field in 2021, which ranked last in the National Football League. 

In 2019, prior to the global pandemic causing games to be attended without fans in 2020, the team averaged 61,323 fans in attendance. 

Despite sagging attendance, Lions team president Rod Wood explained to reporters at the NFL owners meeting that season-ticket renewals have been "better than we expected."  

The sales have been so strong that the team ranks seventh or eighth in the NFL in new season-ticket sales.

There were several factors that impacted ticket sales and attendance last season, including the closing of the Canadian border all last season. 

Admittedly, Wood understood that the product on the field was the biggest factor for the declining attendance. 

The Lions have been bottom dwellers of the NFC North for the past four seasons. 

"I certainly think the key is you got to win football games. If you look at the teams that had the most attendance growth last year, it was teams that turned around their football team, teams that relocated to new markets or teams that built a new stadium," Wood said. "We’re not going to do the last two, so we got to focus on the first one."

A bonus for Lions fans this upcoming season is the organization announced it would not be raising ticket prices in 2022.

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