Cup-deciding Game 3 sold out with 19K expected in Banditland
KeyBank Centre, Buffalo, New York (Photo: Ben Green)
The Buffalo Bandits have announced that Saturday’s Cup-deciding Game 3 of the National Lacrosse League Finals at KeyBank Center will be sold out.
Buffalo will host the Colorado Mammoth in the league’s last game of the season, the two teams splitting the series with a home win apiece so far.
Earlier today, the Bandits shared a “19K STRONG” graphic on social media, the caption reading, “It's a SELLOUT! Their house is loud. Ours will be louder.” The clever & cheeky chirp was referring to Denver’s Ball Arena, also known as the Loud House by locals. The Mammoth’s home floor, which was most definitely loud during last weekend’s Game 2, an 11-8 Mammoth win, had a confirmed attendance of 10,082.
BizJournals.com reports that a sell out on Saturday would likely gross the franchise nearly a mil:
With an average ticket price for the final game of $49.63, a sellout would gross $946,565 in ticket revenue (not including luxury box revenue). That revenue total would more than double the per-game total the Bandits earn during the regular season, not only because of fan volume but also due to premium ticket pricing.
Already involved in some of the league’s all-time capacity contests, the Bandits will again host one of the largest pro lacrosse crowds ever this Saturday. The KeyBank Centre has a Wikipedia-confirmed capacity of 19,070 for hockey and lacrosse. As per the league’s most recent NLL Media Guide, this coming Saturday would be the fifth time the Bandits hosted that many fans. A regular-season game against the Rochester Knighthawks in 2018 was the last time they had that many butts in Banditland.
2022 NLL Finals, Game 1, KeyBank Center (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
Only three games in NLL history top that impressive tally:
19,432 on May 14, 2005 when the Toronto Rock beat the Arizona Sting in the NLL Finals at the then-named Air Canada Centre, a game that was also televised on NBC
19,409 on April 27, 2001, again at the ACC, when the Philadelphia Wings upset the Rock in the Finals
19,289 on May 7, 2004 when the Calgary Roughnecks became the league’s second Canadian club to be crowned champions, beating the Bandits 14-11 at the then-named Pengrowth Saddledome
The Roughnecks hosted those same Bandits in 2020’s NLL Finals, Calgary claiming the Cup in a 2-0 sweep of that series. It was the last time the NLL Cup was competed for, Game 2 garnering a significant 17,038 in attendance.
Buffalo hosts Colorado this Saturday at 8pm ET. Although no seats remain, the game will be live on ESPNU, ESPN+ & TSN5.