Championship Average Attendances: we're comfortably midtable

[ChippenhamRed]

1 hour ago, Pezo said:

I agree with your overall point but it is my estimation that about 10k were there that day to see Wembley and for a day out and actually have no interest in the club what so ever 25k were probably part timers that attend the odd game every season or used to go to a lot of games but now cant go regularly for one reason or another which leaves the 10k (or just over) that currently attend regularly. Regarding prices - that was not a cheep day to go and watch City but loads turned up (I would be interested to see how the tickets sold over time as a big club can sell that in hours where as we probably sold 15k on the first day 10k the next and then everything else dribbled in over the next week or so), IMO prices are about right and seems comparable to other clubs (there must be stats that show what the optimal price point is and there are problems with reducing them such as devaluing the brand (god I hate myself for saying that) and not being able to reduce the ticket prices further plus maximising profit to sustain the club) and its what's happening on the pitch that dictates if we have 10k or 18k next season people find the money when the product is perceived as high enough quality. I see no reason why with a modicum of success we couldn't get to 30k (if the ground permitted).

I disagree re the Apathy towards football attendance - there are loads of people that travel all over the country from Bristol and the South west to attend football. If we had some success we would be getting these people not just from Bristol and the south west but all over the country.

I actually think the Wembley day out was good value.  Most of the "part timers" were in the upper tier where prices were as cheap as £20, rising to £36.  All still cheaper than a standard league game in the Dolman, for a final at Wembley.  Granted, there were travel costs, but even so I still believe it represented a better value experience than a league game at Ashton Gate, given the occasion and venue.

I do not consider £38 for a non-member to watch City in the Dolman to be "about right".  That's a very large sum of money and does nothing to encourage new fans, who understandably wouldn't pay for a membership.  Even for members, it's £33 and you have to factor in the cost of buying a membership in the first place.  I appreciate that cheaper tickets are available elsewhere in the ground but that doesn't change the fact that £38 is horrifically expensive for second tier football, so much so that it would be simply unaffordable for many people.  Even South Stand tickets are above £30.

We shouldn't say that ticket prices are acceptable because they are comparable with other clubs.  For me that simply confirms that football is overpriced across the board.  The away attendance at West Brom, and the large number of non-regulars present at Ashton Gate for the replay, proves that ticket prices are a hugely influential factor for casual supporters and overall attendance figures.

The German league proves that it is possible to offer high quality football for affordable prices.  Defending current ticket prices as acceptable simply perpetuates the problem by making them an acceptable norm, ruling out more and more of the working classes, and contributes towards the disproportionately high salaries paid to average players.

[bs3]

8 hours ago, havanatopia said:

With only 3 stands i think you are being a little unfair. With Westie open next season and the clubs drive to promote the club to a wider audience including the not to be underestimated rugby boys I fully expect us to be over 20k next season, assuming we stay up which i think we will.

Thanks for sharing OP.

Nearly every match this season as been a sell out this weekend is also a sell out. I'm pretty sure we would have had over 20,000 on more than one occasion if we have been able.

With the new West Stand opening next season and we stay up and push on I fully expect us to average over 20,000.

Who said build it and they will come, well that seems to be happening.

[Marlborough Red]

If the whole of the Atyeo is given to away fans next season then you could expect a large increase in visiting fans compared to this season . Several clubs , Vila , Leeds , Newcastle /Sunderland / Derby /Birmingham / Cardiff may even sell out .(Capacity 4,500?) This would also make the remaining 3 stands a lot fuller as at least  15,000  home fans fill  the remaining stands. This increased away support   means the average for next season should be well over 17,000 and if the team (and new manager) are successful,   may even be over 20,000 with a potential full house  for the big games. Atmosphere too could be electric with home fans competing with the larger away following .

First things first - need to stay up - 3 points tomorrow would be a good start .

[Calculus]

Very decent numbers given that we're in the middle of a rebuild.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me if the number of ST sales went down for next year: firstly, there must have been people signed up this year to make sure they had a seat when availability might again be a problem and then also after the marvellous season we had people would be excited and enthused.

Hope next year to see the board make attractive ST offers to encourage all those to renew, attract newbies so that we can push ourselves to regular over 20k attendances.

[Bris Red]

15 hours ago, ChippenhamRed said:

The population of Burnley is 73,000 and there are numerous larger clubs in the region. They are fantastically supported.

The population of Derby is 248,000. Again, big clubs nearby. 29k crowds are hugely impressive.

The population of Bristol is 442,000 and the wider urban area 617,000. There are no Premier League clubs anywhere near. Sorry, but I find it uncomfortable when we start "patting ourselves on the back" about our attendances. They are nothing to write home about.

15 k isnt bad, not at all considering how relatively poor we have been over the last 20/30 years.. I think the stand out one is leeds for me on there.. 23k? There support is a myth IMO.

[havanatopia]

6 hours ago, Jack Dawe said:

Villa and Leeds, plus a Christmas game, say: all could be 20k plus crowds, given a decent side. When did we last have 3 20k league crowds in one season? The 1970s I reckon

The first season with GJ in the Championship we were full to the brim for the last 3-4 matches... About 19k.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Don't see how Leeds' support is a myth...string of poor and worse owners, Champions League to relegation from PL to 3rd tier in a few years, administration too..I remember a pre season friendly in 03, fairly sure they filled the away end or close to.

As for us yeah I do recall a number of sellouts in 07/08 and in 06/07. So the potential sure is there but beyond a certain section based purely on ppl I know, a chunk of our support is fairweather like many clubs. Maybe PL football would get them on board medium-long term.

[NOTBLUE]

I think we should also be taking into account the local and localish derbies,we only have Cardiff close by,whereas Derby for example,have Sheffield Wed,Forest,Rotherham,Wolves Brum even Leeds and Huddersfield  are only 80 miles away,like Reading are to us.

[hantsred]

I was on this site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Valley_(London) having a check on the Valley for the upcoming game, but if you scroll down to the bottom at Charlton's average gates over the past 20 years, you can clearly see that getting into the prem had a lasting effect for the club when they came back down. Before they were a prem club they had gates 10-11K but when they were back in the old div 1/championship they have doubled their average gates for quite a while afterwards.

So if we never make it to the top division I think our gates are destined to stay in the mid table, if we ever to get up and inevitably come back down I would expect us in the top quarter of support for the championship.

Am I right in saying it is just Forest who are the only club above us who have not been in and out of the top division in recent times?

[Bris Red]

1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Don't see how Leeds' support is a myth...string of poor and worse owners, Champions League to relegation from PL to 3rd tier in a few years, administration too..I remember a pre season friendly in 03, fairly sure they filled the away end or close to.

As for us yeah I do recall a number of sellouts in 07/08 and in 06/07. So the potential sure is there but beyond a certain section based purely on ppl I know, a chunk of our support is fairweather like many clubs. Maybe PL football would get them on board medium-long term.

Well when you have people on here spouting that cus' Bristol has a population of 600k we should be averaging more it does make you wonder about Leeds. A city of close to a million if you include the areas around it with only one club 23k to our 15 k aint bad at all.

[Mr Popodopolous]

56 minutes ago, bris red said:

Well when you have people on here spouting that cus' Bristol has a population of 600k we should be averaging more it does make you wonder about Leeds. A city of close to a million if you include the areas around it with only one club 23k to our 15 k aint bad at all.

True that. Leeds does have a lot of teams around it tho but 15k is promising indeed for us.

[Jack Dawe]

1 hour ago, hantsred said:

I was on this site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Valley_(London) having a check on the Valley for the upcoming game, but if you scroll down to the bottom at Charlton's average gates over the past 20 years, you can clearly see that getting into the prem had a lasting effect for the club when they came back down. Before they were a prem club they had gates 10-11K but when they were back in the old div 1/championship they have doubled their average gates for quite a while afterwards.

So if we never make it to the top division I think our gates are destined to stay in the mid table, if we ever to get up and inevitably come back down I would expect us in the top quarter of support for the championship.

Am I right in saying it is just Forest who are the only club above us who have not been in and out of the top division in recent times?

Good points, mate.

Leeds, Ipswich, Forest and Wednesday haven't been in the PL for 10 to 15 years but have all had great success at some point.

Brighton haven't been in the PL. Brighton seem to be a law unto themselves. Great crowds.

Reading have held on to a good deal of their PL/glory hunter support, more than Cardiff have for sure! And Hull, too. How Reading can be better supported than Birmingham when the latter are having a good season for them and are well above RFC in the table, I don't know. Be interesting to know.

Compared to small places like Burnley, Ipswich and even Reading, our crowds aren't anything special, but compared to much bigger places like Birmingham and Leeds, they hold up well. Like I say, we are midtable.

Leeds away support is Premier League, though. But that helps the other club's ffp, not your own. And that's why I wanted to put these figures on here. And to cheer us up a bit.

[Jack Dawe]

1 hour ago, bris red said:

Well when you have people on here spouting that cus' Bristol has a population of 600k we should be averaging more it does make you wonder about Leeds. A city of close to a million if you include the areas around it with only one club 23k to our 15 k aint bad at all.

Sheff Utd average 20,000 in L1, Leeds 23k. Sheffield's population (512,000) is significantly less than that of Leeds (720,000). There are two teams in Sheffield. Away support in the Championship is greater than in L1. Sheff Utd were last champions of England in 1898, Leeds in 1992. Being Champions of England is a good way of building loyal support (a bit better than trundling along in L1). 

Leeds home gates are not that good, given everything in their favour. They have been poorly run for a while, but so have Sheff Utd. Sheff Utd's support embarrasses that of Leeds, in my opinion, looking at the facts laid out above.

When you think how many years we have laboured in L1, we are doing ok for support.

[citywest30]

9 hours ago, cityboy said:

Here you go, quick workings based on Jack Dawes post and data from Wiki...

 

    Av Att    Capacity    Av Att % of Cap
City    15099    16500    91.5%
Derby    29500    33597    87.8%
QPR    15600    18439    84.6%
Brentford    10000    12300    81.3%
Brighton    24900    30750    81.0%
Rotherham    9000    12021    74.9%
Reading    17900    24161    74.1%
Burnley    16100    21940    73.4%
Fulham    17400    25700    67.7%
Boro    23400    34742    67.4%
Hull    17200    25586    67.2%
Wolves    20100    30852    65.1%
Forest    19900    30602    65.0%
Ipswich    19400    30311    64.0%
Leeds    23061    37890    60.9%
Birmingham    17500    30016    58.3%
Charlton    15300    27111    56.4%
Wednesday    21600    39732    54.4%
Bolton    15050    28723    52.4%
PNE    12800    24500    52.2%
Cardiff    14400    28000    51.4%
Huddersfield    12500    24500    51.0%
Blackburn    13700    31367    43.7%
MK    12900    30500    42.3%

Didn't think you got enough appreciation for this. Many asked for it. Top work fella.

[Peter O Hanraha-hanrahan]

Again...

Imagine if we were doing well...