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English Premier League probes disappearing crowds [Thu Sep 22nd, 2005]
London (Reuters) - An English Premier League meeting next month will discuss falling crowd numbers at the start of the new season.
An attendance working group, headed by the League's chief executive Richard Scudamore, will examine whether high ticket prices and saturation television coverage are to blame.
Media reports have also cited the dominance of champions Chelsea, funded by Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, and the huge interest generated by cricket's Ashes series which did not finish until last week.
The Premier League, however, is confident that the numbers will quickly pick up and do not represent a significant downward trend.
"We are confident that by next month, and indeed by the end of the season, the figures will match or even surpass those of 2004-o5," a spokesman said on Tuesday.
The Times reported that average crowd numbers had fallen by 4.5 percent since last year.
British sports minister Richard Caborn has also joined the debate.
He was also quoted as saying: "I'm pleased the Premier League have taken this initiative and the working party are going to have to look at whether clubs are pricing fans out of going matches.
"One also has to question how much football there is on television and whether it's undermining attendances."
The Premier League spokesman, however, argued that exact comparisons were difficult.
"Last October, average attendances at matches were 33,000 and went up, as is normal, to 33,900 by the end of the season," he said. "Our September figures this season are 32,500 but we believe they will be up to 33,000 next month.
"There can be many reasons for a dip. For example, four top teams, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton have played one home game less than they had at this same stage last season, which dampens the numbers."
HIGHER FIGURES
He also pointed out that not all clubs were losing out compared to last season, with eight recording higher figures and four staying about the same.
"When the Premier League started, average attendances were under 22,000," he said. "We have to keep working hard but we have come a long way."
Chelsea have won their first six matches of the season without conceding a goal.
Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters' Federation, welcomed the Premier League meeting but with reservations.
"There is plenty they could do, if they had the will, but I'm not holding my breath," said Clarke, whose organisation represents more than 130,000 individual and affiliated members.
"They could do something about competitiveness in the League with a better distribution of income. They could have rules which restricted what percentage of club turnover could be spent on players," he added.
"Television monies are spent on players rather than being invested in the game," he said. "How much could clubs trim ticket prices by cutting their salary bills? How much does Rio Ferdinand earn at Manchester United -- it's something like 120,000 pounds a week."
Clarke said that as far back as 1998, the league had been discussing the idea of increasing the price of the most expensive seats to subsidise cheaper ones.
"There is precious little evidence that that has occurred," he said. "We are at the beginning of the downward slope on the graph. The danger is that the next generation will be TV-watching, replica shirt-wearers who don't actually go to games."
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