EuroLeague attendances keep rising and rising
More people than ever are heading to EuroLeague arenas, as interest in the competition is at an all-time high
Nothing beats the atmosphere and the elite-level play seen at a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague basketball game, with record crowds across the league showing just how popular the league has become. Now in its 24th season, the EuroLeague is filled with incredibly talented players and coaches, as well as the best fan bases in the world. All of this together has caused fans – new and old – to flock to arenas in historic numbers.
Attendance numbers continue to skyrocket
The passion of a EuroLeague game is reverberated around the world, and more fans than ever want to be a part of the action. This season alone has seen a 17.4% jump in attendances through the first 17 rounds, with a record-best average crowd of 10,296 fans at each EuroLeague game. Compared to last season, that is a rise of 1,525 spectators per game.
Looking at the overall totals, 1,462,034 fans came to regular-season games between Rounds 1 and 17, which is 128,876 more than the same period last season. This comes despite Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv – a team which averaged 10,460 fans at Menora Mivtachim Arena – playing all bar one of its home games behind closed doors.
There are six teams averaging at least 90% capacity in their arenas, too: Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (99%), Zalgiris Kaunas (97%), Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (95%), FC Bayern Munich (95%), Olympiacos Piraeus (93%), and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (92%). Their fans’ overwhelming support leads to wonderful atmospheres at the clubs’ respective arenas.
The same can be said for the seven clubs who have averaged at least 10,000 fans per game, with these teams being: Partizan (19,801), Crvena Zvezda (18,888), Zalgiris (14,935), Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (14,914), Anadolu Efes Istanbul (12,079), Olympiacos (11,323), and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (10,146).
When looking at the clubs achieving the biggest level of growth this season compared to the previous campaigns, six teams stand out. Crvena Zvezda has an average of 11,678 more fans at its games, as playing at Stark Arena has paid dividends. The Ergin Ataman project at Panathinaikos is also bearing fruit, with an average of 6,395 more fans at OAKA.
Partizan (3,204 more fans on average) has benefitted from playing more of its games at Stark Arena; LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2,345 more fans on average) has been given a boost by its first few games at its brand-new LDLC Arena; Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2,064 more fans on average) have been inspired by the team’s amazing season under first-year head coach Luca Banchi; and Olympiacos (1,593 more fans on average) has continued its impressive growth when it comes to getting supporters through the turnstiles.