Thursday night Super League attendances may not be as poor as some supporters drastically believe.
There is plenty of debate around Sky Sports’ Thursday night fixtures, with supporters fearing the schedule is having its impact on attendances.
There is of course plenty of factors that can impact sporting attendances – form, clubs, travel, time. But there is an interesting twist from the early stages of the season so far.
Thursday night Super League not as bad as some believe?
The opening fixture of the year will always expect to attract a big crowd. And this year, 11,082 attended the clash between Warrington and Leeds at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, more than 2,500 more than the fixture held in 2022.
Last year’s fixture was played on a Friday, with 8,278 in attendance as the Rhinos claimed a dominant 40-4 scoreline.
The statistics arguably get more interesting into some of the further rounds of action. During the second week, Salford hosted Hull KR, with the 200-mile round-trip enough to deter most away fans on a Thursday night.
However, the 2023 fixture at the AJ Bell Stadium did record a figure of 5,536 – even beating Salford’s average attendance of 2022 of 4,529. And that was with football giants Manchester United playing Barcelona at home in the Europa League on the same night at Old Trafford.
In the same fixture last year – played on a Friday – only 3,950 fans were in attendance. It was also the lowest of the action during that round in 2022.
Of course, the trend doesn’t fit every time. Huddersfield hosted St Helens while Leeds travelled to Castleford last year on Easter Monday, posting higher attendances than this year’s Thursday night games.
But the crowds posted aren’t as bad as some supporters may have you believe.
Granted only a short journey for away supporters, but Leigh broke their record Super League attendance last Thursday in their Battle of the Borough clash with Wigan at the Leigh Sports Village, announcing an attendance of 9,189 – beating their previous record of 9,012.
Derek Beaumont has delivered with every home fixture so far off the pitch, providing entertainment that has so far included Scouting for Girls, T’Pau and The Lottery Winners.
There is of course the argument that Super League should look more to weekends – and this isn’t a case being put forward against that.
In fact, Love Rugby League editor James Gordon delved deeper into that topic.
But the only argument here is that Thursday night Super League attendances aren’t as poor as some believe in 2023 – and also allow the sport a free window on our television screens on an elsewhere quiet weekday in sport.
Comparing attendances from Thursdays 2023 to 2022 fixtures
Warrington v Leeds – Thursday, Round one: 11,082 vs Friday Round 14: 8,278
Salford v Hull KR – Thursday, Round two: 5,536 vs Friday Round 5 3,950
Warrington v Salford – Thursday, Round three: 9,616 vs Sunday Round 17 8,559
Wigan v Catalans – Thursday, Round four: 11,451 vs Friday Round 27 13,275
Castleford v Leeds – Thursday, Round five: 7,458 v Easter Monday, 9,327
Huddersfield v St Helens, Round six: 4,684 v Easter Monday 6,519
PAPER TALK: Super League to go to ‘another level’ as it targets record & what IMG changes might be
Article courtesy of
Source link
