Article Taxonomy: Attendances

Articles on attendances and spectator numbers in football – soccer.

You’re supposed to be at home

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It’s a long time since football fans could walk or take a short tram or bus ride to the ground.  Rightmove have surveyed over 13,000 football fans to find out what proportion of each clubs’ fans are local to their stadium.

The Premier League’s most local fans are Wigan Athletic with 65 per cent of their support living in the same postcode district as the DW Stadium.   Not surprisingly, the least local were Manchester United fans with only 9 per cent living in the same postcode area as Old Trafford.

Re-sell your season ticket

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Season ticket holders do not necessarily turn up at games for a variety of reasons: family or work commitments or lack of interest in a particular match.  Over a season they may miss enough games for it have been cheaper to buy tickets for individual games.  But for many the main attraction is an assured seat in familiar surroundings and company.

How many will renew their season tickets?

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Any survey of whether fans will renew their season tickets undertaken at this time of the year needs to come with a health warning.   Many fans declare at this stage that they will not be renewing and then eventually do when the deadline approaches such is the emotional pull of the tie to their club.   They are then set up for another year moaning about their team which serves as a distraction from other frustrations in their lives.

Attendance was down at play off final

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West Ham United are unhappy that Blackpool failed to sell about 7,000 of their 35,000 ticket allocation for the Championship final.   The Hammers could easily have sold more than their allocation.   Over a season about 100,000 different individuals go through their turnstiles.

The shortfall means a loss of revenue of around £500,000.   Given that the clubs will split 50 per cent of the ticket income West Ham (and Blackpool) will be £125,000 worse off.

The cost of watching a game

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Tickets to watch a game of football in the Premier League have risen by an average of 11 per cent over the past year, far outstripping inflation and wage growth, according to a review of leisure spending by the Halifax.   One note of caution is that these figures presumably relate to single match tickets rather than season tickets.

The rise in price of the average Premier League ticket is 10 times the growth in pay which rose just 1.1 per cent in the year to February.   It is also more than three times annual inflation, which was 3.5 per cent in March.

The cost of relegation to League 2

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Any relegation is difficult for a club.   It’s a blow to morale and a big financial setback as well.  But the costs of relegation from League 2 to the Conference are particularly heavy.   Just look at the clubs who have found it difficult to return to the Football League: among them Grimsby, Lincoln, Luton, Mansfield and York (who have had the longest stay at the lower level).

Good profit at Leeds but still some concerns

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Leeds United have seen big increases in turnover, gate receipts and central distribution payments from the Football League since their promotion from League One in 2010.   They have recorded an operating profit of £939,00 and a total profit of £3.5m in the 2010-11 financial year.

Carlisle plan to move on

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Carlisle United are the latest club to plan to move to a new stadium.    They have been at Brunton Park for 102 years.   It is the largest stadium in England that isn’t fully seated with a capacity of 18,202.   However, although it means Football League regulations for the bottom two divisions, it wouldn’t satisfy those for the Championship.

Ipswich move into profit

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Ipswich Town have announced pre-tax profis of £136,000 for the 12 months to June.    This looks impressive after a loss of £14m for the previous year and £10m in 2009, but is largely down to player sales.   Jon Walters went to Stoke for £2.75m and Connor Wickham to Sunderland for £8.1m.