[Football] Why fewer bums on seats at PL games?

[Guinness Boy]

Playing back the highlights of Saturday there are loads of blocks of empty seats at Saints, even more than I noticed on the day. Burnley always looks half empty on the telly. We are certainly seeing far fewer actual fans than our tickets sold. Even Villa where you couldn't see a spare seat for Stevie G's debut against us had a few blocks of noticeable empties on Sunday.

Why do we think this is? If data was collected on actual people at games instead of ticket sales it'd be a noticeable decline I reckon.

 

[Hendrax]

Something to do with a global pandemic, the weather and the usual last minute 'can't comes'.

All this adds up.

 

[dazzer6666]

'All of the above'

 

[A1X]

Got to be honest, I'm not planning on attending either of the next two home games (yes, bad fan) purely because I have no interest in catching Covid and having to self-isolate for 10 days when there will only be about 10 days before Christmas. TBH that's more a concern for the trains than the ground.

 

[Wardy's twin]

Fear of covid - wife has no immune system and not developing any from jabs/booster. We are generally restricting where we go so not just football.

 

[South west gull]

Something to do with a global pandemic, the weather and the usual last minute 'can't comes'.

All this adds up.

And the price of tickets

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[highflyer]

Got to be honest, I'm not planning on attending either of the next two home games (yes, bad fan) purely because I have no interest in catching Covid and having to self-isolate for 10 days when there will only be about 10 days before Christmas. TBH that's more a concern for the trains than the ground.

I'm not to worried for myself, being fully vaccinated (including booster) or for those around me (I work from home and don't mix with anyone that is vulnerable). So I'm happy to go to games, but if I was concerned about catching covid I'd have been pretty uncomfortable at the Southamption match.

The Amex feels less risky overall - if you can get there without using train I feel like you could keep the risk relatively low.

I suspect Covid worry is the main reason for people not going. And entirely fair enough in my view.

 

[BBassic]

Speaking personally it's all of them.

I gave up my season ticket just before COVID hit because it was becoming too expensive.
Since COVID I've had no interest in getting on packed trains, which also means I'm not buying tickets match by match as was my plan when giving up the ST.
I'm definitely out of the habit.

 

[South west gull]

I'm not to worried for myself, being fully vaccinated (including booster) or for those around me (I work from home and don't mix with anyone that is vulnerable). So I'm happy to go to games, but if I was concerned about catching covid I'd have been pretty uncomfortable at the Southamption match.

The Amex feels less risky overall - if you can get there without using train I feel like you could keep the risk relatively low.

I suspect Covid worry is the main reason for people not going. And entirely fair enough in my view.

I agree with covid situation.a lot of factors to consider cost of ticket a lot of games in a short period Christmas and not everybody's life is football football football.a good proportion can take it or leave it regardless of having a season ticket or not.

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[Swansman]

It is similar in most leagues, pretty sure it is 90% covid related in most places so would imagine that being the case for you guys as well.

Dont think too many clubs are keen on talking about it as stating "people are afraid to come because they are afraid to catch covid" is unlikely to improve attendances.

 

[nickbrighton]

whilst the "prettendance" is the figure announced and published I would bet my house that the Clubs and Prem League collectively monitor and analyse the actual Bums on seats figures very closely so they are aware of any trends that are happening

I would expect that there are surveys and focus groups all done to understand why people do not attend, and while the clubs aren't going to necessarily publish results and actual figures I would be amazed if they do not have teams of people studying data every week.

Obvious reasons at the moment are Covid related, Weather, Christmas , Moving games to awkward times etc

I have had several "fan surveys" over the past few seasons, and there is a new one in my inbox today

This is a multi-billion £ industry, you bet they know exactly why people do not attend

 

[SAC]

A season ticket is quite expensive, more so if you feel that you can't share it if you can't attend games. That plus people getting out of the habit of attending games may not have actually missed attending.

Seems very noticeable at all grounds at the moment (some more so than others). Clubs wont care if the tickets have been sold but will do if people don't renew their tickets.

 

[Bozza]

I'd widen it to "Covid concerns" rather than "Fear of Covid", although maybe I'm being unnecessarily pedantic.

The reason I say that is you may not have any personal health "fear" of becoming infected, but there could be other consequences to you that you want to mitigate against, eg...

- Live with someone who has a heightened risk of a bad outcome if they become infected
- Provide support to elderly parents, or similar, and do not want to risk either passing it on, or being unable to assist for a period of time
- Have a holiday booked and don't want to risk a holiday-ruining pre-departure positive test
- Can not afford a period of time off work if infected, ie can not work from home, are self-employed or have unfavourable employment terms.

 

[Bry Nylon]

For me, (non-STH), the match-by-match ticket price of PL football has always represented a bit of a barrier as I like to bring my children and whilst they are enthralled by the 'big game' atmosphere that surrounds PL fixtures, the reality is we can go and watch a League 1 game and it costs £5 for each of them and a tenner for me. In comparison to around £100 for a game at the Amex (for example), the value equation is pretty compelling. Of course, Cambridge United vs Burton Albion is nothing like a PL game - but the children still love it and it still has many of the elements that captivated me when I was their age and watching 3rd division football at the Goldstone with my dad. Not suggesting PL football should be priced at League One levels, but it's a big chunk of money for 90 minutes.

(As an Albion specific point, it would also help if the Exchange opened a little earlier. A few times this season I have been looking at ticket availability for home games in the week leading up to the match, credit card at the ready, but struggling to find 3 suitable seats together, [it's generally 1s or 2s that are showing and I need 3], so I've given up and bought CUFC tickets instead. Then, post-game, I generally read on here about rows of empty seats that I could have chosen from, if the club didn't insist on trying to shift all their unsold tickets before activating the Exchange).

Finally, the constantly moving feast of kick off times in the PL doesn't help. I had planned to get down to Sussex for a Brighton game before Christmas but the kick off times make it a near logistical impossibility for me. 3pm on a Saturday works fine - but as a single parent who shares time with the children at the weekends with their mum, late Saturday kick offs (Leeds, Newcastle) or Sunday afternoons (Spurs) are difficult for me. I accept that this is my issue, rather than the PLs, but it still doesn't make getting to games any easier.

 

[spoonie]

not being able to easily share your season ticket is definitely why crowd are so low at the Amex, was ill last game and meant no one could take my kids so 3 empty seats where as last season I'd have given ticket to my Dad/mate or sister. its terrible what is going on this season ! And with every game being on TV (apart from 1) I can see a lot no renewing next season. Shame PB and the board have got this so wrong.

 

[Wardy's twin]

A season ticket is quite expensive, more so if you feel that you can't share it if you can't attend games. That plus people getting out of the habit of attending games may not have actually missed attending.

Seems very noticeable at all grounds at the moment (some more so than others). Clubs wont care if the tickets have been sold but will do if people don't renew their tickets.

I would hope the club were very worried about those season ticket holders that have not attended any games this season because like me they might not renew next season. I would hope the club is reviewing this - i don't want to not get back to watching live football but paying for a season ticket i won't use , can't give to someone else, can't sell tickets for is not financially viable for me.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I've missed matches due to having covid and would have passed my tickets on if easy to do so.

 

[VAL1850]

Seriously thinking of giving up season ticket next year. Not able to share, cost, ever changing KO times, Games on TV

 

[Insel affe]

It is all of the above, include into that mix a general apathy about everything. nearly two years out of normality brings with it a certain "I can't be bothered". I feel like this about going anywhere, I can't be bothered with the crowds of folks downtown for shopping or going to the pub or a gig, Maybe it is an age thing, but we have just cancelled our flights to America for this Christmas due to the quarantine rules changing and not being able to take time off work and school when we were due back, just feel like giving up. Also is it just me, but we don't know what to get people for this Christmas, you used to see friends and family more before the pandemic and get ideas through normal conversations, now they don't happen, The Pandemic has sucked the fun out of life, football included.

 

[Guinness Boy]

'All of the above'

Which is why I made it multi select and included "other"

I'd widen it to "Covid concerns" rather than "Fear of Covid", although maybe I'm being unnecessarily pedantic.

The reason I say that is you may not have any personal health "fear" of becoming infected, but there could be other consequences to you that you want to mitigate against, eg...

- Live with someone who has a heightened risk of a bad outcome if they become infected
- Provide support to elderly parents, or similar, and do not want to risk either passing it on, or being unable to assist for a period of time
- Have a holiday booked and don't want to risk a holiday-ruining pre-departure positive test
- Can not afford a period of time off work if infected, ie can not work from home, are self-employed or have unfavourable employment terms.

Fair point and I'm about to use my superpowers to change it to exactly that. "Fear" is perhaps both gung-ho and hyperbolic in some ways.

I probably should also have added "kick off time" as right now, for me:

- Spurs - Mrs GB has my daughter at a theatre trip in London that got moved 5 times because of lockdown so I'd have to find someone to look after our puppy and, in any case, it clashes with the most exciting F1 end of season I can remember. Me, the boy and the dog will therefore watch the race

- Wolves - clashes with daughter's carol concert "which you are strongly encouraged to come to as we couldn't do it last year". I would suggest snot nosed 6 year olds are probably as great a covid risk as a train to Falmer

- Brentford - ridiculous kick off time. Not even considering it.

Before those three I'd done every home game including Getafe and Swansea and a couple of aways.