NLL regular season attendance surpasses 1M fans for second straight year
Published
The National Lacrosse League welcomed 1,060,706 game attendees through its turnstiles during the 2023-24 regular season, a 2.0% increase compared to last season, and the second time the NLL has enjoyed consecutive seasons exceeding one million in attendance in its 37-year history.
Defending NLL champion Buffalo Bandits led all NLL teams in attendance again this season with 152,767 – up 11.0% from last season. The Bandits’ average crowd of 16,974 is the largest NLL game average since the 2011 Bandits drew 17,095 per game at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo.
“Growing again upon our one-million-plus attendance exemplifies the NLL fans’ commitment and passion toward our family friendly, action-packed entertainment, said NLL Commissioner Brett Frood. “The Unified Standings and revised playoff format have accelerated interest across the entire league and we are confident that the momentum will carry into what we expect to be an epic post season.”
The Vancouver Warriors (+19.2%) joined Buffalo with an annual increase of more than 10%, leading 10 NLL teams with total attendance increases this season.
The NLL Playoffs begin Saturday with a quarterfinal tripleheader starting with #8 Rochester Knighthawks at #1 Toronto Rock (4:30 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPN+, TSN+), #5 Georgia Swarm at #4 Buffalo (7 p.m., ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+), and #7 Panther City Lacrosse Club at #2 San Diego Seals (10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, ESPN+, TSN+), followed by Sunday’s final quarterfinal matchup between #6 Halifax Thunderbirds and #3 Albany FireWolves (3 p.m. ET, ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+).