Wigan Athletic are often criticised for their “poor crowds” but these comments usually come from uneducated fans of other clubs or lazy journalists who fail to look up the facts before they make such comments.
Therefore I thought it wise to write about the meteoric rise of Wigan Athletic, both on and off the pitch in the last 15 years or so. Just to point out some facts, you understand. Below is a table of just how much crowds have risen in that period. The 1994-95 season was my first as a fan of Wigan Athletic and I have seen first hand just how much crowds have risen over the years.
In that first season in 1994/95 the average crowd was just 1,841, which is a touch over 2% of the population of the town. Three promotions and 15 years later the average crowd is around 18,000, a staggering increase and when you consider that means almost a quarter of the population of the town inside the stadium on a Saturday afternoon I’m sure you’ll agree it’s an incredible rise over a relatively short period of time.
What’s even more remarkable about Wigan’s crowds is that for years the club has been competing for new supporters with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City , Everton, Liverpool, Bolton and Blackburn , all of whom are in the same division and within a 25-mile radius of the town.
For a working class town like ours to have increases in prices from around £5 per adult (94/95) to today’s prices where you can pay up to £30 per adult, to have so many bodies coming through the turnstiles each week is an incredible feat and one which should be celebrated both inside and outside of the town.
Unfortunately though, too many people comment on the negative side, such as “Wigan ’s ground is only 2/3 full every week” and “aren’t their crowds low” If only everyone had access to some of these statistics because it really is an astonishing rise.
The peak was at the end of the 2005/06 season, when an average crowd of 20,610 meant an increase of over 1,000% in a little over ten years! For a town of just over 80,000 people I’m sure you’ll agree that’s quite remarkable!
Well done, little Wigan Athletic!!!
Season | Average Attendance | Percentage difference | Percentage increase on 94-95 | Percentage of | |
1994-95 | 1,841 | - | - | 85,819 | 2.15% |
1995-96 | 2,856 | +55.13% | +55.13% | 85,819 | 3.33% |
1996-97 | 3,899 | +36.52% | +111.79% | 85,819 | 4.54% |
1997-98 | 3,968 | +1.77% | +115.54% | 85,819 | 4.62% |
1998-99 | 4,252 | +7.16% | +130.96% | 85,819 | 4.95% |
1999-00 | 6,989 | +64.37% | +279.63% | 85,819 | 8.14% |
2000-01 | 6,861 | -1.83% | +272.68% | 85,819 | 7.99% |
2001-02 | 7,783 | +13.44% | +322.76% | 81,203 | 9.58% |
2002-03 | 7,288 | -6.36% | +295.87% | 81,203 | 8.98% |
2003-04 | 9,526 | +30.71% | +417.44% | 81,203 | 11.73% |
2004-05 | 11,155 | +17.10% | +505.92% | 81,203 | 13.74% |
2005-06 | 20,610 | +84.76% | +1019.50% | 81,203 | 25.38% |
2006-07 | 18,159 | -13.50% | +886.37% | 81,203 | 22.36% |
2007-08 | 19,046 | +4.88% | +934.54% | 81,203 | 23.45% |
2008-09 | 18,413 | -3.23% | +900.16% | 81,203 | 22.68% |
2009-10 | 17,884 | -2.87% | +871.43% | 81,203 | 22.02% |
Great work Stuart and I am just reading the book by Daniel Gee about his time as a Wigan fan from the old days.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Wigan is still considered a rugby league town and they tend to get favoured over football, when it comes to the town council. They should be happy that they have teams competing in the highest divisions in both sports, there is room for both of them.
The geographical factor is important as well, as you stated with all those teams within a short radius of the town.
Whelan should reduce the ticket prices, that would help as well. That would get an increase through the gate, but when it's explained that being the smallest town in the EPL, it's going to be difficult to have massive attendances.