The Lions have only 1,500 tickets left for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings. The deadline to reach a sellout is Thursday afternoon, but with the Lions so close to a sellout, an extension will likely be granted if the final 1,500 tickets aren't sold. The extension would give the Lions 24 additional hours to reach a sellout, but based on what has happened earlier this season, I would anticipate the blackout to be lifted on Thursday.
If the Lions reach a sellout, it would be their seventh of the season. The only home game this season that was blacked out locally was the win against the Washington Redskins on Halloween. Every other game so far has been a sellout, and it looks like Sunday's game against Minnesota will be sold out as well.
Considering the problems the Lions have had with blackouts the last two seasons, this is a big step in the right direction. Before 2008, every game at Ford Field was a sellout for the Lions despite the losing problems. Once they reached an all-time low with the 0-16 season in '08, the blackouts piled up, and only now does the interest in going to Lions games seem to be coming back. Whatever the case, it's good that we have been talking about sellouts rather than blackouts this season.