Welcome to the first in a new series where we estimate the matchday gate receipts taken at all premier league games each week. We will compare the revenue generated between teams and compare their strategy for maximising matchday revenue.
The revenue is calculated based on an average of the highest and lowest prices offered to club members for each match. This amount is then multiplied by the number of tickets available for sale which for home teams is attendance less away ticket allocation and season tickets sold. Away teams is simply the away ticket allocation multiplied by the away ticket price. A separate article will analyse the season ticket revenue taken by each club.
The away allocation differs from game to game with it up to negotiation between the clubs. The lower of 10% of stadium capacity or 3,000 seats must be offered to away teams on each matchday, however this is not always taken up as clubs analyse the demand for the game among their fans and choose accordingly.
Here are the matchday results for gameweek 20:
Bournemouth 3 – 3 West Ham
Chelsea 2 – 0 Brighton
Crystal Palace 2 – 3 Arsenal
Huddersfield 1 – 1 Stoke
Liverpool 5 – 0 Swansea
Manchester United 2 – 2 Burnley
Newcastle 0 – 1 Manchester City
Tottenham 5 – 2 Southampton
Watford 2 – 1 Leicester
West Brom 0 – 0 Everton
Gameweek 20 Analysis
Chelsea led the way in stadium capacity percentage with 99.8% of the stadium filled as 41,568 fans flocked to their boxing day fixture, closely followed by Newcastle fans who watched their team play league leaders Manchester City. Unsurprisingly, Manchester United’s attendance of 75,046 was the highest by a distance with Tottenham second nearly 20,000 behind despite a stadium capacity percentage of 61.6% in their temporary 90,000 seater home.
Despite their lowly stadium capacity %, Tottenham led the way with gate receipts with takings of over £1.3m, in part due to their high ticket prices of £55 and the fact they only sold 28,000 season tickets for Wembley, meaning a more matchday tickets on sale equating to a higher taking each matchday.
Liverpool’s season ticket sales of 25,000 also allow them to benefit from more expensive matchday tickets. Manchester United and Chelsea complete the top 4 this week with Manchester United’s lower due to the 55,000 season tickets sold. These amounts are more secure, so there is always a trade off between the guaranteed selling of season tickets and the potential for empty seats on matchday.
Bournemouth’s 11,360 seat stadium, combined with season ticket sales of 7,000 mean their takings from games are low, something they will be hoping to rectify after stabilising in the Premier League.
For away teams the revenue is usually fairly balanced, with the away allocation always fairly similar. All premier league teams agreed to cap away ticket prices to £30, with Arsenal even taking it a step further at £26. Southampton playing away to spurs were allocated the full 3,000 meaning they lead the way in away matchday revenue, followed closely by Brighton, Burnley Manchester City and Swansea – who all played teams with stadium capita of over 45,000. West Ham lag the rest by far, playing at the smallest stadium in the top flight by far, Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium which boasts 11,360 seats. West Ham were only given an allocation of 2,000 seats.
Thats it for the first week of this matchday money series – any feedback would be greatly appreciated as we continue to refine the formula to get as accurate a read on matchday takings.
