"EliteXC: Heat" draws 9,414 spectators for $826,00

[Keithlewis]

"EliteXC: Heat" draws 9,414 spectators for $826,000 gate

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Saturday's "EliteXC: Heat" event at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., drew a total attendance of 9.414 (7,723 paid) for a live gate of $826,433.

EliteXC executive Jeremy Lappen released the figures in the post-event press conference that followed the CBS-televised event.

Ticket sales for "Heat" exceeded EliteXC officials' expectations and even forced the organization to open additional seating sections in the few days prior to the show.

However, despite what the organization announced as a sold-out crowd, it's worth noting that the night's "horseshoe" seating configuration used only about half of the venue's available seats.

In other words, it was a sold-out crowd for the configuration (which included a completely empty upper seating bowl), but the venue was far from reaching maximum capacity.

The BankAtlantic Center, which is home to the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers, can be configured to accommodate up to approximately 22,000 spectators, though it's usually capped at 19,000 for hockey games and other sporting events.

Still, following the disappointment of July's "EliteXC: Unfinished Business" event in California, "Heat" was a solid rebound. After all, the July 26 event, which took place at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, drew just drew just 2,871 paid attendees (out of a total attendance of 6,572). That event, which also aired live on CBS, drew a meager gate of $269,000.

[broncofan]

so do those numbers save them?

[NWOWolfpack]

EliteXC’s event Saturday on CBS was watched by 4.31 million viewers, according to initial ratings provided to Sherdog.com by CBS Primetime Senior Executive Vice President Kelly Kahl.

“In total viewers, we matched our first event in May and the male demos look like they were top-rated for the night," Kahl said. "Given the extreme competition from college football and Major League Baseball playoffs, we think it's a terrific performance.”

According to Kahl, CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. was first in several demographics, including men 18 to 34 (2.5/09) and men 18 to 49 (2.5/08), and third in households and viewers.

Kahl noted that the rankings among networks are subject to change due to live programming on ABC, but he also noted that the final 20 minutes of the EliteXC event -- which ran to approximately 11:20 -- are not included in the initial ratings averages. Those final 20 minutes, which featured Kimbo Slice’s loss to Seth Petruzelli, should improve EliteXC’s ratings.

Overall, the final ratings for Saturday’s event are expected to be down slightly from the first CBS-EliteXC event on May 31 but up dramatically from the second show on July 26.