Arsenal, West Ham and Manchester City can’t find enough bankers to fill their grounds
The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) says every empty seat at the Emirates is “a tragedy for those who want to watch but can’t get in”. Too true. The suits buy the pricey seats then can’t be arsed to attend. And it could be a scam. Just as Facebook promises to show your advert to a defined number of accounts, a large proportion of which turn out to be operated by robots not humans, thus making the deal much more costly per head than advertised, Arsenal say the official average crowd for home games last season was 57,054. Balls, says the AST. It says the real average attendance was around 46,000. Any advertisers and sponsors are paying potentially 20% over the odds to reach the fans.
The BBC has more:
West Ham: Newham council says the average attendance at West Ham was 42,779 based on the 12 games it attended – which is 12,530 fans fewer than the club’s season average figure of 55,309.
Manchester City: Greater Manchester Police’s average figures were 7,482 lower than club figures, again based on 12 games.
Southampton: Hampshire Police figures were an average of 4,246 fans lower than figures issued by the club.
Tottenham: Brent Council says crowds at Wembley Stadium were on average 3,740 less than the club’s stated numbers.
Chelsea: Hammersmith and Fulham council says its average was 3,505 fans lower than club numbers, based on six games.
And the most honest club whose figures were shared with the BBC was Manchester United. Trafford Council and Greater Manchester Police both said United’s published attendance figures matched its own, based on 12 games.
Why does it happen?
Most teams in the Premier League choose to publicise the number of tickets sold for a game rather than the number of people actually in the stadium. That means they include season ticket holders who don’t attend, and complimentary tickets that are not used.
If only you could still pay on the gate and just rock up with your mates. It’s all so corporate and organised. Where is the next generation of fans coming from?
Posted: 12th, September 2018 | In: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports, Spurs Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
