The National Basketball Association (NBA) in North America faced significant disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical attendance in most venues is still under special conditions, while some arenas are still off-limits to fans due to varying pandemic conditions around the continent. According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, The average regular-season home attendance of the 2020/21 season is a 95% decrease from the previous season – 892 people per game.
NBA Suffers 95% Drop In Attendance Due To COVID-19 Pandemic
The sports world was one of the most visibly hit by the pandemic as sports leagues around the globe had suspended play upon the outbreak of the pandemic globally. Even when leagues such as the NBA were able to resume later in the year, it was to a much different landscape than it ever was before. The 2019/20 Playoffs had to be played at a neutral venue absent of fans which later became popularly known as ‘the bubble.
Since then, the 2020/21 season has also been completed, in improved yet far from normal conditions. Home games were allowed to be held in their respective arenas with some locations even allowing fans depending on the pandemic situation in that specific location. But because of the varying situations across the North American continent, some teams have yet to play in front of their own home fans.
As a result, the 2020/21 season suffered a 95% decrease in average regular season home attendance at just 892 people compared to over 17K in the years prior to the pandemic. The Utah Jazz had the highest average attendance at 3675 while the Orlando Magic welcomed the most fans in total at 89,461.
Rex Pascual, Sports editor at Safe Betting Sites Canada, commented:
“The COVID-19 situation in many parts of the world still remains very fluid and citizens around the world have voiced out concerns about sports events potentially in danger of being ‘super spreader’ events. As an example, the year-delayed 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic games were finally held in July of this year much to the objection of the majority of the Japanese population. Notably, however, as the 2020 Games went on, reports of a change in perception of the Games were reported from the Japanese people with the uplifting benefits of the Olympic spirit often cited as one of the reasons.”
Robert is a professional writer and researcher informed by a global perspective that allows him to uniquely analyse numbers and convey them in a relatable way. He specialises in the area of Sports and eSports, as well as having an eye for the latest Financial and Technological trends. Well versed in SEO and other aspects of digital marketing, Robert puts his skills to good use as the owner of a successful writing business in The Netherlands.
