Premier League Attendances In Record Boost

The average attendance for Premier league clubs in 2012/13 increased by 4%, according to Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance, with stadia utilisation up to 95% – the highest level ever recorded in the league’s history and the 16th consecutive season above the 90% mark – but remain some way behind the Bundesliga, whose unmatched stadium attendance added to a UEFA Champions League title this season.

In the Premier League, average crowds rose from 34,646 in 2011/12 to 35,906 last season, largely due to the change in clubs.

Aggregate attendances across all three divisions of the Football League also remained strong, staying above the 15 million mark for the 10th consecutive season. However, the 15.6 million fans that watched games in 2012/13 was 4% down on the previous year. 

This compared to a similar rise in attendances in Germany and Spain, up 5% and 1% respectively, but crowds were decreasing in Italy and France by 7% and 4%.

Meanwhile, the cost for the average fan on a matchday is £34, according to the report, ranging from £66 at Chelsea to £10 at Wigan – with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United accounting for around half of the £547 million of matchday revenue across the top flight. 

Capital investment by English clubs has hit £3.3 billion over the last 20 years, but it is the on-the-field talent that continues to put significant dents in club finances. 

Wages paid out by the 20 top flight clubs rose by 9% on the previous season and further increases are expected, due to an extra £600 million of television revenue.

Unsurprisingly, the club paying out the most was big-spending Manchester City with players such as Carlos Tévez, Yaya Touré and Sergio Agüero on the books adding to a wage bill of £202 million last season.

At the other end of the scale, Swansea City spent £35 million on its wages bill.

The EPL remains the world’s wealthiest domestic competition – paying out the most in wages, but also bringing in the most revenue by a significant margin.

As reported yesterday, Deloitte estimates revenue grew to £2.5 billion in 2012/13, and will continue to rise by a further £600 million next season as a result of the league’s trio of new broadcast deals – worth around £5.5 billion – which would take the projected revenue of Premier League clubs above £3billion for the first time.

Germany’s Bundesliga remains top of the tables in terms of football league profitability, partly due to high match attendance.

In the 2011/2012 season, the Bundesliga had combined revenues of €1.9bn, second in Europe to the English Premier League with revenues of €2.9bn. However, the German league’s 18 clubs made combined operating profits amounting to €190m compared with the Premier League’s €121m (£98m) – the only two of the ‘big five’ leagues to generate an operating profit.

Bundesliga clubs only spent just half of their revenues on salaries while clubs in the Premier League had to pay around 70% for their payrolls. 14 of 18 German clubs reported profits, while 10 of the 20 Premier League clubs reported losses.

In France and Italy, wages accounted for three quarters of revenues.