You're Not Imagining It: USA 7s Attendance Down, But There's A Reason

The attendance at the USA 7s tournament will drop for 2018.

Mar 4, 2018 by Alex Goff

You're Not Imagining It: USA 7s Attendance Down, But There's A Reason

It you're at the USA 7s or watching it, you might get the impression that the stands aren't quite as full as you've come to expect.

According to tournament organizers, that's correct. Expectations are that attendance could be down around 20% from 2017. The reason? The Rugby World Cup 7s. Fans based in the USA have a decision to make about what Big Rugby Trip they take in 2018. For many, it's a case of one or the other, but not both.

So a percentage, maybe one fifth of the expected crow, has decided for San Francisco over Las Vegas for this year. This is basically the same issue the New Zealand 7s faced in 2015 when the Cricket World Cup was held at the same time. Fans just had to make a decision.

Final numbers will be released after the tournament is over (or possibly late Sunday). The 2017 figure of 80,691 might well be in the mid-60s for 2018.