The Aporia · Wembley’s upper tier sits empty as Kansas-Arizona State football kicks off in London

Wembley’s upper tier sits empty as Kansas-Arizona State football kicks off in London

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Maguire, K. (2026, September 19). Wembley’s upper tier sits empty as Kansas-Arizona State football kicks off in London. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/wembley-s-upper-tier-sits-empty-as-kansas-arizona-state-football-kicks-off-in-london/article_32a659e9-f942-56a9-a897-08bc15a9814f.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Wembley Stadium hosted its first college football game between Kansas and Arizona State with lower-tier seating filled but an empty upper tier, reflecting challenges in attracting a full crowd. Organizers hoped for attendance of around 60,000 at the stadium’s capacity of over 86,000 seats. Local fans expressed mixed feelings about the event, contrasting it with NFL games that have become less novel to them.

Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Brian Dubiski, chairman of Union Jack Classic, organized the first U.S. college football game in nearly 40 years at Wembley Stadium on September 19, featuring teams from Kansas and Arizona State. Despite an initial goal to fill all 86,270 seats, only about 46,523 fans attended the event. Dubiski, whose involvement is personal due to a tragic family incident—a concert he planned in 1999 was followed by a fatal shooting at Columbine High School—seeks to build college football's brand globally through such matches.

The game itself drew mixed reactions; while the pre-game atmosphere was lively with tailgating and band performances, the match proved less exciting. Marching bands from both universities significantly enhanced the event’s spirit by playing popular songs, contributing to a unique experience for attendees. Dubbed Union Jack Classic, the competition aims to introduce American college football culture to British audiences.

Organizers hope this inaugural game will inspire future events and fan enthusiasm in Europe, much like NFL games held previously at Wembley. Despite lower-than-expected attendance, the event showcased the energy and excitement of U.S. college football, with students from both teams expressing their ambitions for professional careers in the NFL.

Written for “Wembley College Football Game” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

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Publisher

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Who wrote this

Ken Maguire

16 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 16 articles by Ken Maguire →

Topics

Arizona Kansas LONDON NFL Packers

Subjects

Arizona ORG · 3× Packers ORG · 3× Goldsack PERSON · 2× Jake PERSON · 2× Kansas GPE · 2× LONDON GPE · 2× NFL ORG · 2× Paul Goldsack PERSON · 2× Arizona State ORG · 1× The Associated Press ORG · 1×

Narrative

LONDON (AP) — Wembley Stadium’s upper-tier seating was empty for the college football game between Kansas and Arizona State on Saturday, a reflection of the difficulty in filling the U.K.‘s largest venue.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19

2026-09-19 · Toronto Star

Wembley’s upper tier sits empty as Kansas-Arizona State football kicks off in London · assertive framing

Claims (26 extracted, 0 hedged)

seating → fill → venue

Organizers of the inaugural Union Jack Classic were hoping attendance hits 60,000 for the first college game at the stadium, which has a capacity of more than 86,000. asserted

which → hop → 86,000

Local fan Paul Goldsack and his teenage son bought tickets in the upper section and were informed via email two weeks ago that they’d be moved into a lower section, closer to the field. asserted

they → buy → field

“We were in the cheap seats and then they’ve moved us down into some decent seats,” Goldsack told The Associated Press on his way to the stadium. asserted

Goldsack → move → stadium

“As they’re struggling to sell around the top tier, they’ve moved people down. ... asserted

they → struggle → people

So we’ve ended up with some really decent seats.” asserted

we → end → seats

Organizers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but shortly before kickoff, the upper section was empty and no stewards were visible there. asserted

stewards → respond → kickoff

Meanwhile, Goldsack and his son, Jake, were looking forward to the Big 12 Conference matchup. asserted

Goldsack → look → matchup

Both wore jerseys of their favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers. asserted

Both → wear → team

“We’ve done the NFL in the U.K. before, kind of got tired of that, in all honesty,” Paul Goldsack said. asserted

Goldsack → do → honesty

“They brought the Packers over once. asserted

They → bring → Packers

We both went to that. asserted

We → go → that

(The Packers are) probably not coming back in a hurry. asserted

Packers → come → hurry

We’re a bit tired of the teams that they keep sending over here. asserted

they → ’re → that

So this is something different — college game, give it a go, see what it’s like.” asserted

it → give → what

Jake added: “I love American football, it’s a fantastic sport.” asserted

it → add → football

The duo is headed to Lambeau Field next month to watch the Packers play the Dallas Cowboys. asserted

Packers → head → Cowboys

Jacob Robles and Brisa Salazar visited Iceland first and then continued to London for the game. asserted

Robles → visit → game

The Arizona residents attended a pep rally on Friday night and fielded some questions from Londoners. asserted

residents → attend → Londoners

“They were like, ‘Is this game important?’” Robles said. asserted

Robles → say → ?

It’s foreign to them to do the whole TV show pregame for two hours and then the marching bands, the fireworks. asserted

It → ’ → hours

It’s so much more for them than for us.” asserted

It → ’ → us

Salazar added: “It’s cool that they’re doing a game over here. asserted

they → add → game

I like it so far.” asserted

I → like → it

Scarf missing a key word It’s their first time hosting big-time college football, so give them a break. asserted

It → miss → break

At least one vendor along the pedestrian walkway to Wembley was selling game scarves that said Kansas and Arizona — not Arizona “State.” asserted

that → sell → Kansas