GAA not alone as global downturn hits sporting attendances
However, hurling and football weren’t the only sports suffering poor attendance figures in the last few days.
The South Africa v British and Irish Lions match-up at the Absa Stadium featured the World Cup champion Springboks against some of the biggest names of world rugby in Brian O’Driscoll et al, but there were an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 empty seats.
Against the Golden Lions earlier in the tour, the figures were even worse – just 22,218 spectators in 60,000-capacity Ellis Park.
In Australia the figures were equally depressing. Sydney Swans took on Collingwood in the ANZ Stadium at the weekend, a fixture which attracted 59,202 fans last year, and as many as 72,393 spectators just six years ago.
Last Saturday evening, however, there were just 41,042 in attendance and Swans chairman Richard Colless has been sounding the alarm bell.
“It hasn’t been blown hopelessly off track, but you can’t lose 30-odd thousand people over six years, which is 40% of the crowd, and not be concerned about it,” he said afterwards. “I think because we’ve raised the bar so high, alarm bells are ringing. In one sense we don’t want to panic, but in another sense I think there’s a very clear message being sent.”
One wonders if Colless’ thoughts on the implications of the drop in attendance for Aussie Rules have ramifications for other sports as well.
“It (the AFL) hasn’t got quite the same novelty or sex appeal that it had some years ago,” said the chairman. “It’s a massive problem for us, it considerably impacts on to us financially and I think it sends a potentially chilling message about the road ahead.
“I think it’s kind of a metaphor for the AFL and the Swans in general. We’re not in crisis, but we’re going through a plateauing out period.”
Another summer sport is suffering the effects of the downturn in America. Overall baseball attendance is down about 5% among the major league clubs this season, which continues the downward trend of recent years. Major League attendance was down in 2008 compared to 2007, from 78,614,880 tickets sold to 79,503,175.
However, some teams are suffering hugely if their figures are looked at over a longer period; since 2000 the Baltimore Orioles average attendance has dropped by 39%, and the Cleveland Indians’ by 36%.
The global recession is widely blamed for the fall-off in attendance at sports events, and some sports bodies have offered incentives to fans.
For instance, the San Francisco Giants baseball team is drawing larger crowds due to a pricing strategy used by hotels and airlines. The Giants this season sell about 2,000 of their stadium’s 42,000 seats through dynamic pricing, meaning the face value of the ticket rises or falls based on demand, and the team claims to be selling 20% more tickets in the dynamic-pricing sections than it did a year ago.
For instance, a bleacher seat usually priced at $17 sold for $33 during a prized pitching match up between Randy Johnson and New York Met Johan Santana, while a weeknight game versus the lowly Washington Nationals can be seen for just $5.
No-one has matched the San Diego Padres baseball team, which is showing new movies on its giant stadium screen to boost attendances, starting with the new Star Trek movie on May 19.
The Padres drew 20,000, their biggest crowd of the season. Padres fan Sam Fletcher said: “The movie was so awesome, I almost wet my pants during the seventh inning. And I heard the next day that the Padres beat the Reds, which is also kinda cool.”
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