Athletics: What makes Lafayette such a great city for sports fans?

Kristin Askelson, The Advertiser, September 8, 2015

 

With fall sports season underway and the U.S. sports industry pulling in more than $60 billion annually, the personal finance website WalletHub conducted an analysis of 2015’s best and worst cities for sports fans.

Lafayette was ranked No. 11 among mid-size cities, ahead of such places at Madison, Wisconsin, Durham, North Carolina, and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Overall, Lafayette ranked No. 63 out of the 341 cities that WalletHub compared — varying in size from small to large — across more than 50 key metrics. The data includes such metrics as the performance level of the city’s teams, average ticket price of a game, number of sports bars and attendance rates.

The cities were also measured by sport. Lafayette got a boost from it’s overall baseball ranking, which was No. 55. Its football ranking was No. 76 and for basketball, it was No. 106.

Best large cities for sports fans

1. Boston, Massachusetts

2. Denver, Colorado

3. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

4. Washington, D.C.

5. Chicago, Illinois

6. New York, New York

7. Minneapolis, Minnesota

8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

9. Detroit, Michigan

10. St. Louis, Missouri

29. New Orleans

Best midsize cities for sports fans

1. Ann Arbor, Michigan

2. Cincinnati, Ohio

3. Orlando, Florida

4. Gainesville, Florida

5. Norman, Oklahoma

6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

7. Columbia, South Carolina

8. Buffalo, New York

9. Waco, Texas

10. Eugene, Oregon

*11. Lafayette, Louisiana

Best small cities for sports fans

1. East Lansing, Michigan

2. Stanford, California

3. Chapel Hill, North Carolina

4. West Point, New York

5. Clemson, South Carolina

6. Bowling Green, Ohio

7. College Park, Maryland

8. Morgantown, West Virginia

9. Fayetteville, Arkansas

10. Oxford, Mississippi

32. Ruston

48. Monroe

82. Hammond

88. Natchitoches

105. Thibodaux

143. Grambling

164. Lake Charles

You can read the full report here.

By the numbers

•The viewership rate for NFL games Green Bay, Wis., is three times higher than in Oakland, Calif.

•The average ticket price for an NBA game in New York is three times more expensive than in New Orleans.

•Morgantown, W.Va., has 38 times more sports bars per capita than Evanston, Ill.

•NHL fans in Pittsburgh are 28 times friendlier and more engaged than those in New York.

•The attendance rate for MLS games in San Jose, Calif., is two times higher than in Orlando, Fla.