English rugby’s financial concerns have deepened after research by City A.M. revealed that the average attendance at Premiership rugby matches is down by more than 1,000 spectators per game on last season.
More than 70 per cent of Premiership fixtures so far this season have seen attendances fall, with 47,000 fewer fans in total watching England’s top flight in 2023-24 than in equivalent matches last year.
As the league breaks for a fortnight of European action, the research shows that just seven of the surveyed 38 fixtures saw an increase in attendance on the same match last year, while three – all sell-outs – maintained the same.
Premiership in bother?
It comes as Premiership Rugby has removed the registry of attendances from their website in contrast with other seasons, raising questions about transparency amid the financial crisis gripping the domestic game.
The English top flight has been looking to recover from a tumultuous period in which three clubs went bust within 12 months of one another following a difficult period during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Harlequins’ match against Exeter Chiefs was excluded from the figures due to being played at Twickenham last season, while there was no data on Newcastle Falcons’ trip to Leicester Tigers in round eight.
The biggest fall in attendance was seen at Gloucester Rugby’s Kingsholm Stadium with over 5,500 fewer fans turning out to watch the side play Harlequins in round one – that’s down by a third of the stadium capacity of 16,115.
Derby downgrade
And though some will argue that this was down to the World Cup, it is not alone in being a fixture experiencing a major downturn in ticket sales.
Nearly 5,500 fewer fans went to Welford Road in round five to see Tigers take on Harlequins than the same fixture last season, while nearly 5,000 fewer people watched Exeter take on Bristol and 4,600 fewer for Bristol’s game against Gloucester last weekend.
Even on of the Premiership’s biggest matches, the east Midlands derby between Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers, saw attendances decline by over 2,750.
Overall attendances have fallen, on average, by over 1,000 per game across the 38 fixtures City A.M. have gathered data on.
Premiership vs Luton Town?
These 38 fixtures last term saw an average attendance of 12,528 – with Leicester’s near 26,000 stadium and Newcastle’s lower attendances at either end of the fan spectrum – but that number has dropped to 11,290 in the opening eight rounds of Premiership action this season.
The collective loss equates to 5,000 more than the 42,000-capacity of Villa Park and would see the average Premiership attendance rank 19th among football’s 20 Premier League clubs, above only Luton Town’s 10,300 (capacity) average at Kenilworth Road.
Sources suggest that occupancy is around the same as last season’s opening eight rounds which reinforces the depressing state of affairs.
Premiership Rugby declined to comment.
