As had been the case with both versions of the Wranglers, Phoenix-area fans largely viewed the Outlaws with indifference. For the second year in a row, attendance dropped—from the 25,568 George Allen's Wranglers' drew the year before, to 17,881. The crowds looked even smaller than that due to the spacious configuration of Sun Devil Stadium. The Outlaws actually drew 4,000 "fewer" fans than they did in Tulsa, even though Sun Devil Stadium was almost double the size of Skelly Stadium. It did not help matters that the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Cardinals were taking a serious look at moving to Phoenix, which had rocketed to major-city status due to its explosive growth in the second half of the 20th century.