How Relegated Clubs Drove a 60-Year EFL Attendance High

A Statistical Landmark for the English Football League

The 2016-17 season stands as a significant outlier in the financial history of the English Football League (EFL), providing a compelling case study on the economic impact of Premier League relegation. Across its three divisions, the EFL recorded more than 18 million supporters through its turnstiles, a cumulative attendance figure that was the highest registered in almost 60 years. This remarkable surge was not, however, distributed evenly across the pyramid. It was overwhelmingly driven by the temporary presence of two clubs with substantial supporter bases in the second tier, illustrating the distortionary effect that relegated clubs can have on divisional metrics.

Championship Figures Skewed by Fallen Giants

The Sky Bet Championship was the primary beneficiary of this attendance boom. Total attendance for the division surpassed the 11 million mark, a substantial increase from the sub-10 million figure recorded in the preceding 2015-16 campaign. This pushed the average attendance for a second-tier fixture above 20,000, a notable rise from the 17,758 average of the previous season. The cause was the relegation of Newcastle United and Aston Villa from the Premier League. These clubs brought with them a level of commercial heft and supporter engagement far exceeding the divisional norm. Newcastle United recorded an average home attendance of 51,106, representing an extraordinary 97 per cent of St James’ Park’s capacity. Aston Villa, meanwhile, attracted an average of 32,107 to Villa Park, filling 75 per cent of their stadium. The vast disparity within the division was highlighted by the club at the bottom of the attendance table, Burton Albion, whose average gate of 5,227, while representing a respectable 75 per cent of their ground’s capacity, was nearly ten times smaller than Newcastle’s.

Contrasting Fortunes in Leagues One and Two

While the Championship experienced a historic year, the effect was less pronounced further down the ladder. League One demonstrated healthy growth, with total attendance rising from 3.9 million in 2015-16 to 4.4 million in 2016-17. This corresponded to an increase in the divisional average gate from 7,038 to 7,932. In contrast, League Two experienced a marginal decline. Total attendance dipped from 2.7 million to 2.6 million, with the average crowd size falling slightly from 4,904 to 4,752. This divergence demonstrates that the 2016-17 boom was a phenomenon concentrated almost entirely in the Championship, directly attributable to the specific clubs relegated into it that year.

An Enduring Economic Lesson

The 2016-17 season serves as a clear historical example of the significant financial gap between the Premier League and the EFL. The ability of clubs like Newcastle United and Aston Villa, aided by parachute payments, to retain large fanbases immediately upon relegation can create profound statistical anomalies. Their presence temporarily inflates the perceived health of the division, masking the more modest financial realities faced by the majority of its member clubs. Both clubs secured a swift return to the top flight, cementing the 2016-17 season as a memorable but unrepresentative peak in the EFL’s attendance records.