Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium Empty From TheCrunchZone Photo By Mark Blankenabker

History: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium Attendance After 2013

Mark BlankenbakerNovember 25, 2013

2013 was the HIGHEST ATTENDED CARDINAL FOOTBALL SEASON IN HISTORY. That’s impressive. The Cards are 10-1 and benefited from fabulous weather despite a sub par schedule. Attendance around the country has declined as a result of the television experience becoming more & more attractive with the ability to watch more games & being more cost effective. Still the fan experience at the University of Louisville is still developing. Last week we learned that the University of Louisville is exploring the possibility of expanding the North End Zone of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and increasing the stadium’s capacity. The stadium will also have an Academic Center added to the South End Zone and the Howard Schellenberger Complex will also be increased in size very soon.

In 2013, the Cardinals saw their highest average attendance of 52,913, which is 2265.57 more than the previous high of 50,648.14 the first year after Papa John’s was expanded in 2010. Louisville also broke their total attendance record by 15,859 for the season. That’s a huge margin and a 4.47% jump from the previous record.

Next season the Cards will have a completely different kind of schedule than they have ever seen in school history. The Cards will host 6 home games: Florida State, Miami, NC State, Wake Forest, Kentucky, FCS. And will play Boston College, Clemson, FIU, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Virginia away. The schedule couldn’t be more different and the home slate will encourage even more interest in attendance. I look for 2014 to break the 2013 record. But for now, Card fans should celebrate this achievement, but they must also realize that the fanbase must continue to grow.

	2013
	55332
	53647
	51586
	55168
	55215
	53027
	46421	–
		–	–	–
Total	370396
Average	52913.71

	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008
	55386	46157	55327	39344	42696
	47553	47228	51427	39948	38694
	53334	53267	48427	37268	42208
	50167	48435	55106	21497	42523
	53271	44817	48591	33223	38319
	44609	51321	43887	23422	40384
	45618	–	51772	–	37822
	–	–	–	–	34796
Total	349938	291225	354537	194702	317442
Average	49991.14	48537.5	50648.14	32450.33	39680.25


	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
	42185	42597	42647	42681	40205
	40882	42704	40219	40220	38489
	40922	41549	41334	42032	40432
	40894	43217	42692	40107	38119
	34792	40348	41219	37617	30114
	39612	38476	37896	–	33268
	–	–	–	–	–
	–	–	–	–	–
Total	239287	248891	246007	202657	220627
Average	39881.17	41481.83	41001.17	40531.4	36771.17


	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
	42660	38129	42510	38147	42643
	38109	35214	41227	40332	38231
	34127	39256	38121	41214	35479
	32428	39389	39233	33879	39247
	36253	33627	38024	27261	32649
	35261	40479	30387	34786	40349
	–	–	40328	41826	–
	–	–	–	–	–
Total	218838	226094	269830	257445	228598
Average	36473	37682.33	38547.14	36777.86	38099.67