Gourt Home::Gourt :: List of sports attendance figures
This article lists the attendances at many sports competitions around the world. The statistics are incomplete but they are sufficient to support the following observations:
- Paid attendance at live sporting events only approaches one event per person per year in a few countries.
- Generally it is highest in the English speaking developed countries, that is the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Australia and New Zealand. Possible reasons for this are that most of the world's best attended sports originated in these countries and therefore more deeply culturally embedded in them than anywhere else, and that the practice of attending live sport was established in them for several generations before it was challenged by the alternative of watching sport on television.
- Most other developed countries occupy the middle ground in attendances per head.
- Attendances are generally lowest in developing countries. Reasons for this may include a lack of disposable income to spend on tickets, unattractive venues, the relative recent introduction of many sports to these countries, and the emigration of many top local competitors.
- In some countries a culture of regular attendance at sporting events barely exists. For example in China, football is often said to be the most popular sport, and audience of tens of millions are reported to watch overseas games on television, but the top local league drew fewer ticket buyers in 2004 than the league in Norway, which has less than 0.4% of China's population.
Domestic professional leagues
The table below lists domestic professional sports leagues from around the world by total attendances for the last completed season. It is unlikely that any leagues with total attendances over 10 million are missing, but below that level the table is very incomplete at present.
Points to consider:
- The correlation between revenue and attendance is quite weak. For example, the NFL is on a par with Major League Baseball financially despite having less than one quarter of the total attendance because it charges much higher ticket prices and has a larger television contract.
- In some cases the figures listed are for main season games only.
- In some sports (mainly North American centred sports) the main league competition provides each club or franchise with virtually the whole of its attendance and revenue. In others, there are multiple competitions, for example leading English football clubs compete in four competitions each season, but only the league competition is listed below.
- In some sports, for example rugby union, international competitions and transnational club competitions provide a significant part of total attendances and revenue.
- Free or heavily discounted seats may be counted by some leagues. No-shows for paid seats may be included in some cases, but not in others.
- Not all leagues publish official attendance figures. Various media outlets produce their own figures and sometimes these do not agree, but the differences in the averages given are usually no more than one or two per cent.
This table is incomplete. Please help Wikipedia by adding more leagues. Notable leagues which are not yet listed include:
- Basketball: Other american leagues, the national leagues in Europe and Latin America.
- Football (soccer): many leagues worldwide, including the top divisions in Algeria, Argentina, Mexico, Indonesia, Iran,South Africa, Uruguay, Primera División, Colombia.
- Rugby league: Queensland Cup and NSWRL Premier League
- Rugby union: national leagues in South Africa and Italy.
- Australian rules football: Victorian Football League, Northern Territory Football League, Northern Tasmanian Football League, Southern Football League (Tasmania).
- Volleyball: leagues in Europe and Brazil.
- Handball: leagues in Europe.
- Cricket: All English competitions except Twenty20, Australian Leagues, Indian Leagues and South African Leagues.
Note: Until 2005, the attendance figures in NPB were estimated by the home teams. The estimated figures were normally much higher than the actual numbers of spectators in the game. The total and average attendances only covered regular season games.
Note 2: The total attendance for the four fully professional football divisions in England (FA Premier League, Football League Championship, Football League 1 and Football League 2) in 2004-5 was 29,252,189. This doesn't include domestic and European cup games.
Domestic knock-out cup competitions
This section list attendances at domestic knock-out cup competitions in order of total attendance. It is very incomplete. In particular, there is a professional football (soccer) cup competition in most countries, and some countries have two.
| Cup | Sport | Country | Season | Games | Total attendance | Average attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FA Cup | Football (soccer) | England/Wales | 2004-05 | 146 | 1,988,269 | 13,618 | thefa.com |
| League Cup | Football (soccer) | England/Wales | 2005-06 | 91 | 1,072,402 | 11,785 | ESPN soccernet |
| NAB Cup | Australian rules football (pre-premiership season competition) | Australia | 2006 | 15 | 235,980 | 18,152 | |
| Malaysia Cup | Football (soccer) | Malaysia | 2005 | 61 | 387,048 | 6,345 | msl.com.my |
| Malaysian FA Cup | Football (soccer) | Malaysia | 2005 | 55 | 186,832 | 3,397 | msl.com.my |
College and amateur leagues
This section lists college and amateur leagues by total attendance. Most remaining amateurism requirements in top level sport were dropped in the late 20th century, and there are now few if any amateur leagues which are of interest to a wide public outside of the United States, where college sports are very popular and at least one significant ice hockey league retains an amateur requirement.
The NCAA championships listed here are all comprised of several separate conferences with varying attendance levels. For example, in American football, Division I-A per-game attendances in 2005 ranged from 14,489 for Mid-American Conference teams to 74,579 for Southeastern Conference teams. *
| League | Sport | Country | Season | Games | Total attendance | Average attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I-A football | College American football | United States | 2005 | 709 | 32,641,526 | 46,039 | PDF file at NCAA.org |
| NCAA Division I men's basketball | College basketball | United States | 2005-06 | 4,756 | 25,808,346 | 5,426 | PDF file at NCAA.org |
| NCAA Division I women's basketball | College basketball | United States | 2003-04 | 4,435 | 7,173,377 | 1,617 | PDF file at NCAA.org |
| NCAA Division I-AA football | College American football | United States | 2005 | 638 | 5,436,122 | 8,521 | PDF file at NCAA.org |
| NCAA Division I men's hockey | College ice hockey | United States | 2003-04 | 987 | 3,617,107 | 3,665 | NCAA.org |
| United States Hockey League | Ice hockey | United States | 2004-05 | 330 | 1,061,399 | 3,216 | mib.org/~lennier/hockey/ |
| USL PDL | Football (soccer) | United States/Canada | 2005 | 428 | 203,134 | 503 | kenn.com |
| W-League | Football (soccer) | United States/Canada | 2005 | 246 | 151,944 | 618 | kenn.com |
International club competitions
This section lists the attendances at international competitions between sports clubs. These are usually organised on a continental basis. The teams which compete in these tournaments also compete in the domestic competitions in their home countries.
This table is incomplete. Please help Wikipedia by adding more competitions. Notable competitions which could be added include:
- Basketball: Adriatic League
- Football: AFC Champions League; CAF Champions League; Copa Libertadores de América; Royal League
- Rugby union: Anglo-Welsh Cup and Super 14 for South Africa and New Zealand, then, total
| Tournament | Sport | Continent | Year | Games | Total attendance | Average attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | Football (soccer) | Europe | 2004-05 | 125 | 4,955,612 | 39,645 | uefa.com |
| Euroleague | Basketball | Europe | 2005-06 | 225 (note) | 1,348,607 | 5,941 | euroleague.net |
| Heineken Cup | Rugby union | Europe | 2004-05 | 79 | 920,239 | 11,649 | ercrugby.com |
| Super 14 | Rugby union | Australia, New Zealand, South Africa | 2006 | 26 | 624,443 | 24,017 (Just Australia) | * |
| FIFA Club World Championship | Football (soccer) | Worldwide | 2005 | 6 | 215,003 | 35,834 | fifa.com |
| Asia Series | Baseball | Asia | 2005 | 7 | 120,877 | 17,268 | asia.npb.org.jp |
Note: all stages except Final Four.
Competitions between national teams
- This section lists attendances at competitions between national representative teams sorted by total attendance. Please help Wikipedia by adding more competitions.
Although 32 games were played in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, tickets were sold only for 20 matchdays. A total of 24 matches were scheduled as doubleheaders—18 during pool play, all four quarterfinals, and both semifinals. However, FIFA took attendance separately for each individual match, and the calculation here reflects this practice.
Domestic club championship events
This section lists the most recent attendances at annual championship events (single league decider matches) by total attendance, and includes domestic leagues and competitions.
International club championship events
| Tournament | Sport | Continent | Crowd | Source | Year | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heineken Cup final | Rugby union | Europe | 74,534 | International Herald Tribune | 2005-06 | Millennium Stadium | Cardiff |
| Super 14 Final | Rugby union | Australia, New Zealand, South Africa | 35,000 | Sports Illustrated | 2006 | Jade Stadium | Christchurch |
| Euroleague Final | Basketball | Europe | 16,805 | CSKA Moscow | 2006 | Sazka Arena | Prague |
Competitions between domestic representative sides
This section lists major domestic representative competitions sorted by total attendance. Please help Wikipedia by adding more competitions.
| Tournament | Sport | Region | Year | Games | Total attendance | Average attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby League State of Origin | Rugby League | Queensland, New South Wales | 2006 | 3 | 180,074 | 60,025 | * |
| 2006 City vs Country | Rugby League | New South Wales | 2006 | 1 | 11,423 | 11,423 | * |
Miscellaneous
This section lists attendances which do not fit into any of the sections above.
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship: The 2006 tournament had a total attendance of 670,254 in 35 sessions, for an average of 19,150. *
- NB: The NCAA sells tickets for "sessions" rather than individual games. The "play-in" game, the four regional finals, and the national championship game are single-game sessions; all other tournament games are part of a doubleheader at a specific site.
Commonwealth Games
- 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia: Total ticket sales 1.6 million. *
Cricket
- Annual tri-series (Australia): Total attendance in 2003-04 was 343,329 (Av. 24,452) (Source:2005 Wisden)
Cycling
- Tour de France (France and neighbouring countries) the organisers claim 15 million spectators every year with the Guinness Book of Records claiming a more modest 10 million [http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=45186&Reg=1. This is the highest total for any single sporting event; it should be pointed out, however, that attendance is entirely free and not closely monitored.
Gaelic Games
- Gaelic Athletic Association: attendance at GAA championship events in Ireland in 2003 (including both Gaelic football and hurling) was 1,962,769. * All-Ireland finals draw sell out crowds of over 80,000.
Golf
- PGA Tour: 2004 attendance was over 10 million. *
- PGA Tour's FBR Open: drew 536,767 spectators in 2006, more than any other golf tournament in the world. [http://www.tickco.com/sports_golf_fbr_open_tickets.htm. This is a routine PGA Tour event which is played on a course which can accommodate exceptionally large crowds. Attendances at most events, including the major championships, are capped well below this level.
- U.S. Women's Open attendance in 2005 was 131,298. *
Horse Racing
- Japan Racing Association: in 2004 8,099,985 racegoers attended meetings in Japan. * Attendances at JRA meetings have fallen every year since 1996, when they were 14,116,684. These numbers do not include the many "local racing" meetings in Japan.
- British horse racing: in 2005 5,896,922 racegoers attended the 1,300 meetings held in the United Kingdom, an average of 4,536. *.
- Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival: a total of 730,110 in 2005 includes the major events e.g., Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup (93,825 in 2005) and Cox Plate (44,189 in 2005) * held in Melbourne, Australia
- Kentucky Derby: 2004 event in the United States attracted a total of 140,054.
Motor Racing
- NASCAR: United States 6,700,000 at 36 events (Average 186,000) (2003) *
- Lexmark Indy 300: Surfers Paradise, Queensland 2005 attendance of 316,459*
- Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix: Total attendance for the 2006 Australian Grand Prix held in Melbourne was 301,500 *.
- Canadian Grand Prix: Total attendance for the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix held in Montreal was 332,000 *.
- Adelaide Clipsal 500: Adelaide, Australia 2006 attendance of 270,300 over 4 days*.
Olympics
Summer Olympics- 2004 Athens Olympics: 3.8 million tickets sold.
- 2000 Sydney Olympics: 6.7 million tickets sold
- 1996 Atlanta Olympics: 8.3 million tickets sold
- 1992 Barcelona Olympics: 3.0 million tickets sold
- 1988 Seoul Olympics: 3.3 million tickets sold
- 1984 Los Angeles Olympics: 5.7 million tickets sold
Winter Olympics
- 2006 Turin Olympics: 0.9 million tickets sold *
- 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics: 1.525 million tickets sold
- 1998 Nagano Olympics: 1.275 million tickets sold
- 1994 Lillehammer Olympics: 1.2 million tickets sold
- 1992 Albertville Olympics: 0.9 million tickets sold
- 1988 Calgary Olympics: 1.6 million tickets sold
All figures except Turin 2006 from Olympic.org
Tennis
- In 2004 attendance at the 64 ATP tournaments and four Grand Slam events was 6,004,648. *
- Flushing Meadows, U.S. Open: total attendance at the 2005 event was 659,538. *
- Melbourne Park, Australian Open - total attendance for 2006 Australian Open held in Melbourne was 550,550. *
- Wimbledon Championships: total attendance at the 2005 event was 467,188. *
- Roland Garros, French Open : total attendance at the 2004 event was 413,419. *
Professional wrestling
- WWE RAW average attendance:15-20,000
- WWE Friday Night SmackDown! average attendance:15-19,000
- WWE pay-per-views average attendance:15-21,000
"List of sports attendance figures"