Bulls, Blackhawks Top Their Leagues In Attendance

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago is a Bears town to be sure, but the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks are the biggest attendance draws in their respective leagues.

Both teams rank No. 1 in three categories: total attendance, average attendance and percentage of seats filled.

If the Bears had a mega-stadium like Dallas or New York, the team would likely fill the place. The fact is that Soldier Field is the second-smallest stadium in the NFL (it was the smallest until the Raiders reduced their capacity by about 10,000 last year), so the Bears in 2013 ranked No. 26 with an average attendance of 62,358, according to statistics compiled by ESPN. Soldier Field's capacity is 61,500.

However, the Monsters of the Midway climb to No. 6 in terms of seats filled, at 101.4 percent (accounting for some standing room-only seats.)

The Blackhawks drew 927,000 total fans, for a 22,628 average, for 117.6 percent capacity.

The Bulls drew 890,000 total fans for a 21,716 average with nearly 104 percent capacity. They were essentially statistically tied with the Dallas Mavericks in terms of percentage of seats filled.

As for baseball, well, it's quite astonishing and a testament to the fans that the Cubs somehow managed to fill 80 percent of their seats this past season after yet another last-place finish. The White Sox's attendance numbers were abysmal.

For the season that just ended, the Cubs averaged 32,742 fans per game (2,652,113 total). Total attendance for the White Sox was one million fewer than the North Siders, with an average attendance of 20,896 or a paltry 51.5 percent of seats filled.

The Cubs ranked No. 11 league-wide, and the Sox were a dismal No. 28, beating only Cleveland and Tampa Bay.

All statistics are for the most recently completed season for each team.