Wallethub just released their annual rankings of the country’s best and worst cities for sports fans assessing 341 cities across more than 50 key metrics. Ya, they’re hardcore.
Their results take into account things like ticket prices, number of sports bars, attendance rate and something called the Global Sports Media Consumption Report, among other things.
So who was declared among the best sports cities?
Boston — makes sense considering the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox and Bruins have all won championships over the past decade. Plus Boston College is no slouch, especially in hockey.
Ann Arbor — Evidently Michigan fans have gone crazy after getting Jim Harbaugh.
East Lansing — Michigan State is not just really good at basketball anymore.
Best Large Cities for Sports Fans
1 Boston, MA
2 Denver, CO
3 Pittsburgh, PA
4 Washington, DC
5 Chicago, IL
Best Midsize Cities for Sports Fans
1 Ann Arbor, MI
2 Cincinnati, OH
3 Orlando, FL
4 Gainesville, FL
5 Norman, OK
Best Small Cities for Sports Fans
1 East Lansing, MI
2 Stanford, CA
3 Chapel Hill, NC
4 West Point, NY
5 Clemson, SC
So what about the worst? Which cities could care less about athletics?
Based on the same city-scale system it’s Hackensack, NJ, Hampton, VA, and Corpus Christi, TX.
Fun-Filled Stats
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.
Top ranked cities for each sport
You can check out the entire WalletHub report here.
