Philly and Pittsburgh, 7th and 8th Best Metros for Football Fans

Eagles or Steelers? Whichever team you cheer for, there’s no doubt Pennsylvanians take their football seriously – and the numbers prove it. In a recent study by Lawn Love, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington and Pittsburgh metros ranked seventh and eighth best for football fans, respectively.  

To find the best areas for football fanatics, Lawn Love analyzed 203 of the biggest U.S. metros, comparing them across four categories: infrastructure, fan experience, economic and institutional impact and climate.  

The infrastructure category considered items including number of football stadiums and arenas, all-level stadium capacity, and number of NFL, NCAA Division 1 and UFL teams. Fan experience accounted for things such as whether scalping was allowed, sports pubs, rec centers and championship titles. The economic and institutional impact category looked at the number of Super Bowls hosted, season ticket prices for both NCAA Division 1 and the NFL and the average stay of coaches for both the NFL and NCAA Division 1 teams. Lastly, climate took into account the average number of very hot and very cold days, as well as precipitation.  

With a total overall score of 30.64, Philly ranked as the seventh-best metro for football fans. Home of the Eagles, they ranked fifth in infrastructure, 10th in fan experience, 98th in economic and institutional impact and 93rd in climate. 

Coming in right behind Philly, Pittsburgh ranked eighth with an overall score of 30.40. Steelers fans pushed the city to rank sixth in infrastructure, 13th in fan experience, 80th in economic and institutional impact and 56th in climate. 

Whether you say, “Go Birds!” or chant, “Here We Go, Steelers!”, it’s clear that both cities are well-equipped to fuel their fans’ passion for the game. Pennsylvania placing twice in the top 10 best metros for football fans shows just how much of a powerhouse the commonwealth is when it comes to football.