List of sports attendance figures
This article lists the attendances of many sports competitions around the world with the exception of those for Domestic Professional Leagues such as the NFL or Major League Baseball.
Domestic professional leagues
Domestic knock-out cup competitions
This section list attendances at domestic knock-out cup competitions in order of average attendance. It is very incomplete. In particular, there is a professional football (soccer) cup competition in most countries, and some countries have two.
Cup | Sport | Country | Season | Games | Total attendance | Average attendance | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NAB Cup | Australian rules football (pre-premiership season competition) | Australia | 2007 | 15 | 246,321 | 16,421 | |
FA Cup | Football (soccer) | England/Wales | 2006-07 | 157 | 2,205,633 | 13,960 | The Football Association |
League Cup | Football (soccer) | England/Wales | 2005-06 | 91 | 1,072,402 | 11,785 | ESPN Soccernet |
Brazilian Cup | Football (soccer) | Brazil | 2006 | 111 | 938,550 | 8,455 | CBF.com.br |
Malaysia Cup | Football (soccer) | Malaysia | 2005 | 61 | 387,048 | 6,345 | msl.com.my |
Russian Cup | Football (soccer) | Russia | 2005-06 | 142 | 692,060 | 4,874 | www.pfl.ru Russian Premier League |
Malaysian FA Cup | Football (soccer) | Malaysia | 2005 | 55 | 186,832 | 3,397 | msl.com.my |
College, semi-professional and amateur leagues
This section lists college and amateur leagues by total attendance. Most remaining amateurism requirements in top level sport were dropped in the late 20th century, and there are now few if any amateur leagues which are of interest to a wide public outside of the United States, where college sports are very popular and at least one significant ice hockey league retains an amateur requirement.
The NCAA championships listed here are all comprised of several separate conferences with varying attendance levels. For example, in American football, 2006 per-game home attendances for the highest level of competition, Division I FBS, ranged from 17,097 for Sun Belt Conference teams to 75,706 for Southeastern Conference teams.[1]
1 The three component leagues of the Canadian Hockey League (the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL) are amateur leagues that draft players from minor hockey, and whose players are in turn drafted by the NHL. Players are allowed to move back and forth between the NHL and the CHL, as well as to European professional leagues and US and Canadian college leagues. The minimum age to play in the NHL is 18 while the age range in the CHL is 15 – 21. This prevents older professionals from invading the CHL. Players are paid a stipend but not a regular salary in the mold of the Collective Bargaining Agreements of other leagues. Teams are for-profit companies.
International club competitions
This section lists the attendances at international competitions between sports clubs. These are usually organised on a continental basis. The teams which compete in these tournaments also compete in the domestic competitions in their home countries.
This table is incomplete.
Tournament | Sport | Continent | Year | Games | Total attendance | Average attendance | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FIFA Club World Championship | Football (soccer) | Worldwide | 2006 | 6 | 302,142 | 43,163 | [1]FIFA |
UEFA Champions League | Football (soccer) | Europe | 2004-05 | 125 | 4,955,612 | 39,645 | UEFA |
Super 14 | Rugby union | Australia, New Zealand, South Africa | 2006 | 26 | 624,443 | 24,017 | [2] |
Asia Series | Baseball | Asia | 2005 | 7 | 120,877 | 17,268 | asia.npb.org.jp |
Heineken Cup | Rugby union | Europe | 2005-06 | 79 | 964,653 | 12,211 | [3] |
AFC Champions League | Football (soccer) | Asia/Australia | 2007 | 84 | 921,000 | 11,231 (Group Stages Only) | [4] |
Euroleague | Basketball | Europe | 2005-06 | 225 (note) | 1,348,607 | 5,941 | Euroleague |
Note: all stages except Final Four.
Competitions between national teams
- This section lists attendances at competitions between national representative teams sorted by average attendance. Please help Wikipedia by adding more competitions.
- 1The Ashes is Test Cricket, which, unlike all other sports listed here (including the Cricket World Cup), is contested over more than one day (a maximum of 5 days for each match). Therefore it should be noted that these average attendance figures are not indicative of a single day's attendance. The five matches of the 2006-07 Ashes were contested over a total of 22 days, therefore the average attendance for a single day would be 36,969.
- 2Although 32 games were played in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, tickets were sold only for 20 matchdays. A total of 24 matches were scheduled as doubleheaders—18 during pool play, all four quarterfinals, and both semifinals. However, FIFA took attendance separately for each individual match, and the calculation here reflects this practice.
- 3World Baseball Classic and World Cup of Hockey are hosted in different regions of the world to boost attendance; as opposed to being hosted in one region like other international tournaments.
- 4The number of games and the average attendance excludes the two cancelled matches during the tournament (Zimbabwe vs England and Kenya vs New Zealand).
Domestic club championship events
This section lists the most recent attendances at annual championship events (single decider matches) by total attendance, and includes domestic leagues and competitions. It has to be noted that the listed crowd figures are not always a reflection of a championship's popularity, rather the capacity of its venue.
International club championship events
Tournament | Sport | Continent | Crowd | Source | Year | Venue | City |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heineken Cup final | Rugby union | Europe | 81,076 | [15] | 2006-07 | Twickenham | London |
UEFA Champions League final | Football (soccer) | Europe | 79,610 | UEFA | 2005-06 | Stade de France | Paris |
FIFA Club World Championship final | Football (soccer) | Worldwide | 67,128 | FIFA Club World Cup 2006 | 2006 | International Stadium Yokohama | Yokohama, Japan |
Super 14 Final | Rugby union | Australia, New Zealand, South Africa |
54,000 | New Zealand Herald | 2007 | ABSA Stadium | Durban |
UEFA Cup final | Football (soccer) | Europe | 50,670 | BBC Sport | 2006-07 | Hampden Park | Glasgow |
CONCACAF Champions' Cup final | Football (soccer) | North America | 35,920 | CONCACAF | 2006 | Estadio Azteca | Mexico City |
Euroleague Final | Basketball | Europe | 18,363 | CSKA Moscow | 2007 | Olympic Indoor Hall | Athens |
European Champions Cup Gold Medal Game | Ice Hockey | Europe | 12,000 | IIHF | 2006 | St. Petersburg Ice Palace | St. Petersburg |
Domestic club competition final (two decider matches)
Competition | Sport | Country | Source | Year | Crowd | Venue | City | Crowd | Venue | City | Total Crowd |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brazilian Cup | Football (Soccer) | Brazil | [23] | 2006 | 43,955 | Maracanã | Rio de Janeiro | 45,459 | Maracanã | Rio de Janeiro | 89,414 |
International club competition final (two decider matches)
Competition | Sport | Continent | Source | Year | Crowd | Venue | City | Crowd | Venue | City | Total Crowd |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Copa Libertadores | Football (Soccer) | South America | [24] | 2006 | 71,456 | Morumbi | São Paulo, Brazil | 55,000 | Beira-Rio | Porto Alegre, Brazil | 126,456 |
Competitions between domestic representative sides
This section lists major domestic representative competitions sorted by total attendance. Please help Wikipedia by adding more competitions.
Tournament | Sport | Region | Year | Games | Total attendance | Average attendance | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rugby League State of Origin | Rugby league | New South Wales & Queensland Australia | 2006 | 3 | 180,074 | 60,025 | [25] [26] [27] |
City vs Country | Rugby league | New South Wales Australia | 2006 | 1 | 11,423 | 11,423 | [28] |
All-Star exhibition games
This section lists major All-star games sorted by total attendance. Please help Wikipedia by adding more matches.
Event | Sport | Year | Venue | City, Country | Attendance | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pro Bowl (NFL) | American football | 2006 | Aloha Stadium | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | 51,190 | NFL |
MLB All-Star Game | Baseball | 2006 | PNC Park | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | 38,904 | ESPN |
MLS All-Star Game | Football (soccer) | 2006 | Toyota Park | Bridgeview, Illinois, United States | 21,210 | MLS |
NHL All-Star Game | Ice hockey | 2007 | American Airlines Center | Dallas, Texas, United States | 18,532 | Mercury News |
NBA All-Star Game | Basketball | 2007 | Thomas & Mack Center | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | 15,694 | NBA |
E. J. Whitten Legends Game | Australian rules football | 2006 | Telstra Dome | Melbourne, Australia | 13,000 | AU Stadiums |
Miscellaneous
This section lists attendances which do not fit into any of the sections above.
Baseball
- NCAA Division I College World Series: The 2005 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska had a total attendance of 263,475 in 11 sessions, for an average of 23,952.[29]
- NB: The NCAA sells tickets for "sessions" rather than individual games. Some sessions are single games, even when two games are scheduled for the same day, while others are doubleheaders allowing one ticket holder to view both games that day.
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship: The 2007 tournament had a total attendance of 696,992 in 35 sessions, for an average of 19,914.[2]
- NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship: The 2007 tournament had a total attendance of 199,932 in 34 sessions, for an average of 5,880.[4]
- NB: For both basketball tournaments, the NCAA sells tickets for "sessions" rather than individual games. The "play-in" game of the men's tournament, the four regional finals of both tournaments, and both national championship games are single-game sessions; all other games in both tournaments are part of a doubleheader at a specific site.
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball: The University of Kentucky has won 9 of the past 10 Men's Basketball Attendance titles. The most recent in 2006, saw Kentucky pull in an average of 22,763 fans per contest. Second place went to Syracuse University with an average of 21,587. [30]
Boxing
- The WBC Heavyweight match of Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney, held on June 11 1982 at Caesars Palace, took in 29,214 spectators, making it the highest in any boxing matches held in Nevada.[16]
Commonwealth Games
- 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia: Total ticket sales 1.6 million. [31]
Cricket
- 2006-07 Commonwealth Bank Series - 425,622 (average 30,401)
Cycling
- Tour de France (France and neighbouring countries) the organisers claim 15 million spectators every year [32], with the Guinness Book of Records claiming a more modest 10 million [33]. This is the highest total for any single sporting event; it should be pointed out, however, that attendance is entirely free and not closely monitored.
Gaelic Games
- Gaelic Athletic Association: attendance at GAA championship events in Ireland in 2003 (including both Gaelic football and hurling) was 1,962,769. [34]
Golf
- PGA Tour: 2004 attendance was over 10 million. [35]
- PGA Tour's FBR Open: drew 536,767 spectators in 2006, [36] more than any other golf tournament in the world. [37]. This is a routine PGA Tour event which is played on a course which can accommodate exceptionally large crowds. Attendances at most events, including the major championships, are capped well below this level.
- U.S. Women's Open attendance in 2005 was 131,298. [38]
- The 2006 Open Championship attracted 230,000 spectators.[17]
Horseracing
- Japan Racing Association: in 2004 8,099,985 racegoers attended meetings in Japan. [39] Attendances at JRA meetings have fallen every year since 1996, when they were 14,116,684. These numbers do not include the many "local racing" meetings in Japan.
- British horse racing: in 2005 5,896,922 racegoers attended the 1,300 meetings held in the United Kingdom, an average of 4,536. [40].
- Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival: a total of 730,110 in 2005 includes the major events e.g., Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup (93,825 in 2005) and Cox Plate (44,189 in 2005) [41] held in Melbourne, Australia
- Kentucky Derby: 2006 event in the United States attracted a total of 157,536. The second largest attendance figure in the history of the race.[18]
- Hong Kong Jockey Club: During the 2005/06 race year ending on June 30, of the 78 race meetings held over two courses in Hong Kong, 1,890,000 racegoers attended races meetings.[19][20]
- Horse racing in Ireland: 1,447,245 racegoers attended over 319 meetings in 2006, with the largest single meeting is the Festival in Punchestown, achieving a record 85,000 racegoers, up 10% on 2005.[21]
Mixed Martial Arts
- The record for any professional fight event is the PRIDE and K-1 co-hosted Shockwave/Dynamite match held on 28 August 2002, taking in 91,107 paid spectators held in the Tokyo National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan.[22]
- PRIDE Fighting Championship: Although the Shockwave/Dymanite event mentioned above is the highest of all time, the highest spectator attendance for an individually hosted PRIDE event is the PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 with an attendance figure of 67,450 on 9 November 2003 at Tokyo National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan.
- K-1: Although the Shockwave/Dymanite event mentioned above is the highest of all time, the highest spectator attendance for an individually hosted K-1 event is the World Grand Prix Final 1998, held on 13 December 1998 in Tokyo Dome with 63,800 spectators.[23]
- Ultimate Fighting Championship: The UFC 68: The Uprising event held on 3 March 2007, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio took in 19,049 spectators (the largest verifiable attendance for an event in North America).[24]
Motor racing
Four wheeled sport
- Indianapolis 500, Speedway, Indiana is the largest single-day sporting event in the world, drawing 270,000 spectators annually.[25]
- NASCAR: United States 6,700,000 at 36 events (Average 186,000) (2003)[26]
- Daytona 500: 200,000 racegoers attended the sold out event for the 2005 race day.[27]
- Champ Car: 1,961,917 fans. with an average of 150,000 per event.
- Lexmark Indy 300: Surfers Paradise, Queensland 2005 attendance of 316,459.[28]
- Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix: Total attendance for the 2007 Australian Grand Prix held in Melbourne was 301,000 (a drop from the 2006 total.[29]
- Canadian Grand Prix: Total attendance for the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix held in Montreal was 332,000.[30]
- Adelaide Clipsal 500: The V8 Supercar event held in Adelaide, Australia 2006 attendance of 270,300 over 4 days[42].
- 24 Hours of Le Mans: Arnage, Sarthe, France The 2006 event has an attendance figure of 235,000 over the race day, setting a new official event record.[43]
- A1GP: 72,000 spectators attended the maiden round held in Brands Hatch in September 2005.[31]
- DTM: 769,000 visitors attended the ten rounds of 2005 with an average of 76,900 visitors per race representing a 21% increase over the 2003 season. In that same year, 133,000 spectators attended the season finale held in Hockenheimring.[32]
- D1 Grand Prix: The 2005 two-day event held at the Odaiba car park in Tokyo Bay, Japan attracted 34,152 altogether, 18,546 for the Allstar event and for the point-scoring 2nd round, 15,606. The record one-day attendance is 21,000 for its Allstar event held at the previous year, making it the biggest drifting event of them all even for an event which usually requires a small portion of racetrack.[33]
- Monster truck: For the 2004 season, with five events held in different places over one weekend being the norm, more than 3.5 million people attended USHRA monster truck events including its own Monster Jam and Thunder Nationals series.[34]
Motorcycle sport
- Suzuka 8 Hours: The motorcycle endurance race held in Suzuka attracted 70,000 spectators, this is considered to be less then the record in 1990, when 160,000 spectators attended on race day. As with modern seating facilities demanded on F1 circuits, Suzuka can no longer be able to break this record.[35]
- Bol d'Or,: The motorcycle endurance race held in Paul Ricard until 1999, now currently held in Magny Cours attracted 53,000 spectators in 2005, less than the previous year's figure.[36]
- Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix: 241,975 attended the 2006 race held in Jerez over 3 days, with a raceday total of 131,162, setting a new record for a Moto GP event.[37]
- Assen TT: 80,000 spectators attended the Dutch World Superbike event over the entire weekend.[38]
- Supercross: The 2002 AMA World Finals at Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada sold out taking in a claimed 65,000 spectators, despite its capacity of 40,000.[39]
Historical event
- Goodwood Festival of Speed: Total attendance record for the event is 158,000 in 2003, making it the biggest motorsport event in Britain, with revised ticket sale policies, recent attendance figure has been 150,000.[40]
- Rolex Monterey Historic: Total attendance for the prestigious historical event held in Laguna Seca is 65,000 in 2004.[41]
Olympics
Summer Olympics
- 2004 Athens Olympics: 3.8 million tickets sold.
- 2000 Sydney Olympics: 6.7 million tickets sold
- 1996 Atlanta Olympics: 8.3 million tickets sold
- 1992 Barcelona Olympics: 3.0 million tickets sold
- 1988 Seoul Olympics: 3.3 million tickets sold
- 1984 Los Angeles Olympics: 5.7 million tickets sold
Winter Olympics
- 2006 Turin Olympics: 0.9 million tickets sold [44]
- 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics: 1.525 million tickets sold
- 1998 Nagano Olympics: 1.275 million tickets sold
- 1994 Lillehammer Olympics: 1.21 million tickets sold
- 1992 Albertville Olympics: 0.9 million tickets sold
- 1988 Calgary Olympics: 1.6 million tickets sold
All figures except Turin 2006 from Olympic.org
Tennis
- In 2004 attendance at the 64 ATP tournaments and four Grand Slam events was 6,004,648. [45]
- U.S. Open (Flushing Meadows): total attendance at the 2005 event was 659,538. [46]
- Australian Open (Melbourne Park) - total attendance for 2007 Australian Open held in Melbourne was 554,858. [47]
- Wimbledon Championships: total attendance at the 2005 event was 467,188. [48]
- French Open (Tournoi de Roland-Garros) : total attendance at the 2004 event was 413,419. [49]
Wrestling
- World Wrestling Entertainment: The 1987 WrestleMania III held at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan was reported to have had an attendance figure of 93,173, which is considered to be a North American indoor attendance record. This figure has been subject to dispute; the Silverdome is not capable of accommodating so many people for such an event and the WWF (as the company was known until 2002) is likely to have exaggerated the figure for marketing purposes. The actual attendance is reported to be approximately 75,000. [42]
- The 1992 Summerslam, held at the old Wembley Stadium in London, England, took in an attendance figure of 80,355, making it the other attendance record for a WWF event.[43]
- Wrestlemania 23, which was held at Ford Field in Detroit had a record breaking . WM 23 had more fans in attendance than Superbowl XL which was also held at Ford Field.
See also
- Average attendances of European football clubs
- 2007 Australian football code crowds
- World football (soccer) attendances
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e f "2006 National College Football Attendance (For All NCAA Men's Varsity Teams)" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 2007-05-29. This includes all regular-season games, bowl games for FBS teams, and playoff games and other postseason games in FCS and lower divisions. It does not include postseason all-star games.
- ^ a b "2007 National College Basketball Attendance (For All NCAA Men's Varsity Teams)" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- ^ This figure includes all games except for the NCAA tournament itself.
- ^ a b "2006-07 Women's Basketball Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- ^ This figure includes all games except for the NCAA tournament itself.
- ^ The NCAA has not supplied attendance figures for men's ice hockey since 2003-04, even though it has women's attendances available through 2005-06.
- ^ "FA Cup final – Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
- ^ "Top 14. Historique & Palmares - De finales en finales, Stade de France, Saint Denis, 9 juin 2007" (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
- ^ "Derby 1-0 West Brom". BBC Sport. 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
- ^ "National Football League Game Summary: Super Bowl XLI". National Football League. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help); Text "2007-02-04" ignored (help) - ^ "DFB-Cup 2006/07: VfB Stuttgart - 1. FC Nürnberg". German Football Association. 2007-05-26. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
- ^ "Varndell roars in for Tigers hat-trick in Twickenham win". EDF Energy Cup. 2007-04-15. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
- ^ "Leicester Tigers lift Guinness Premiership title". Guinness Premiership. 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
- ^ Despite its name, this is the national championship for the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, the lower of two subdivisions of NCAA Division I football. The NCAA does not organize a tournament for the higher-level Football Bowl Subdivision. The BCS National Championship is intended to be a de facto national championship game for FBS football.
- ^ "Heineken Cup final: Leicester 9-25 Wasps". BBC Sport. 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
- ^ http://boxing.nv.gov/gates.htm
- ^ Record crowds enjoy Hoylake Open, BBC Sport, 23 July 2006.
- ^ http://www.online-horse-betting.net/index.php
- ^ http://www.hkjc.com/english/corporate/corp_operation_05-06_results.asp
- ^ http://www.horseracingintfed.com/newsDisplay.asp?story=345
- ^ http://www.horseracingintfed.com/newsDisplay.asp?story=417
- ^ http://www.pridefc.com/pride2005/whats_about01.htm
- ^ http://www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp/a002_01.htm
- ^ http://www.thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=3365
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/irl/indy500/2004-05-27-attendance-count_x.htm
- ^ http://www.motherjones.com/news/dailymojo/2004/02/02_722.html
- ^ http://www.grandprixcities.com/raceattendances.html
- ^ http://www.indy.com.au/event/pastevents/index.htm
- ^ http://www.austadiums.com/sport/event.php?eventid=4223
- ^ http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=9e05d4b0-6014-44e5-adf8-9253250e9f54
- ^ http://www.grandprixcities.com/raceattendances.html
- ^ http://www.jamiegreenracing.co.uk/dtm.htm
- ^ http://www.d1gp.co.jp/
- ^ http://www.monsterjamonline.com/pressBox/Article.2003-10-21.5745
- ^ http://www.suzukacircuit.com/race/cocacola8/
- ^ http://www.racecorporation.co.uk/Bol%20d'Or%202005.htm
- ^ http://www.grandprixcities.com/raceattendances.html
- ^ http://www.grandprixcities.com/raceattendances.html
- ^ http://www.thomasandmack.com/arenainfo/history.php
- ^ http://www.burkes-peerage.net/sites/common/news/news160703.asp
- ^ http://media.montereyinfo.org/?p=8464
- ^ http://prowrestling.about.com/od/wrestlemania/p/wm3.htm
- ^ http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/Wembley_Stadium