Edmonton Elks seeing noticeable uptick in attendance compared to last season
The Edmonton Elks are re-establishing themselves as a premier sporting event in the Alberta capital.
Years of losing seasons have seen Edmonton’s CFL franchise struggle to draw large crowds over the past several years, but things seem to finally be turning in the right direction.
The 2026 season has been a huge success so far for the Elks, who are currently sitting atop the West Division standings and second in the entire CFL, with a sparkling 7-3 record through the first 10 games of the season. Not only is Edmonton expected to break their five-year playoff drought, but they may also be legitimate Grey Cup contenders.
All that success has rejuvenated the local fanbase, who have been coming out in droves to support the Elks this season. Through five home games, the Elks have welcomed in a total of 104,922 fans to Commonwealth Stadium this season, which averages out to just under 21,000 per game.
That is compared to the 83,299 fans that attended the first five home games of the 2025 season for an average of 16,660 fans per game. Overall, the Elks have experienced a 25 per cent increase in attendance so far this season.
The Elks failed to draw a crowd over 20,000 through the first five home games last season, something that they’ve done on three separate occasions so far this year.
Commonwealth Stadium welcomed its biggest CFL crowd since 2024 earlier this month, with 31,757 fans packing into the venue to watch the Elks take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Aug. 1.
Ticket demand was so high for the game that the Elks opted to open up the upper bowl of Commonwealth Stadium for the first time since they closed that part of the stadium to ticket sales prior to the 2024 season.
There is a chance that the Elks could find a way to beat that attendance mark later this season, as they are still set to host the highly anticipated Labour Day Rematch game against the Calgary Stampeders on Sept. 12.
The Elks firing on all cylinders combined with a Battle of Alberta matchup is sure to stir up excitement in the Alberta capital.
Some seem to have blamed the name change for the diminishing attendance numbers over the years, but this season has shown that on-field success may be the biggest driver of ticket sales.