Here is your Matchday Money article for gameweek 23, where we will estimate the matchday gate receipts taken at all premier league games this 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 23:
Chelsea 0 – 0 Leicester
Crystal Palace 1 – 0 Burnley
Huddersfield 1 – 4 West Ham
Newcastle 1 – 1 Swansea
Watford 2 – 2 Southampton
West Brom 2 – 0 Brighton
Tottenham 4 – 0 Everton
Bournemouth 2 – 1 Arsenal
Liverpool 4 – 3 Manchester City
Manchester United 3 – 0 Stoke
Gameweek 23 Analysis
Surprisingly Huddersfield led the way in stadium capacity percentage with an unmatched 99.9% of the stadium full as 24,105 fans flocked to see their side play West Ham and regrettably for them, a game that ended in a 4-1 defeat. Huddersfield pipped Chelsea who had a 99.8% stadium utilisation for their game against Leicester. Surprisingly, despite living up to its blockbuster status, the match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield was only good enough for 4th place in stadium utilisation this week.
Tottenham had the lowest stadium utilisation, being the only club to have a % below 92% at 84.7%, however this was one of their higher attendances of the year.
This relatively high percentage given their stadium size led to Tottenham edging out Manchester United for the highest attendance this week for their game against Everton with a huge 76,251 turnout to Manchester United’s 74,726. Both Liverpool and Newcastle finish the top 4 with attendances of over 50,000.
Bournemouth were bottom with 10,836 happy fans witnessing their surprise win over Arsenal. Watford, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield all recorded attendances of under 25,000.
Tottenham leading attendance led to huge gate receipts continue to take huge gate receipts and as such vindicating their pricing system supposedly. However one may wonder whether they could take even more with a more reasonable pricing system while achieving high turnouts on matchday. Tottenham benefitted by having two games this gameweek, helping take their gate receipts to over £1.1m. North London rivals Arsenal were a close second, taking around £900k form their game against Chelsea.
West Brom languish at the bottom this week, with takings of around £38k due to taking a modest away allocation of only 1,272 for their game against West Ham.
Just ahead of them was Watford with £45k takings from an allocation of 1,500 tickets against Manchester City, potentially not wanting to expose too many of their fans to the frightening attack of their opponents.
Tottenham’s season ticket sales of only 28,000 also allow them to benefit from more expensive matchday tickets, taking over £2.4m this week due to their higher than usual attendance this week. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United complete the top 4 this week, all taking estimated gate receipts of £750k. Manchester United are a lot lower than Tottenham due to selling 27,000 more season tickets. 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, something Tottenham are familiar with this season in less attractive games.
Chelsea recorded the highest ticket prices this week an average of £55 for their game against Leicester, with Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United all charging over £40, living up to their top end of the table status.
Bournemouth as usual have lowly takings due to their small stadium and modest pricing. On the matter of matchday pricing, West Brom offered the lowest average ticket price of £25 as they try and entice their fans to continue supporting the troubled club, it was successful this week as they recorded their first win under new boss Alan Pardew.
Away revenue was fairly similar this week with away allocations not differing a great deal with an average allocation of around 2,300 seats.
You will immediately notice Arsenal lagging the pack to conclude a frustrating week. Playing away to Bournemouth always results in a poor taking due to their stadium size, and coupled with Arsenal policy of charging only £26 for away days, results in this week’s modest takings.
Everton lead the way after securing 3,102 tickets for their trip to Tottenham, although their fans will probably wish they had not made the trip after a poor performance lead to a 4 – 0 defeat.
Burnley, Leicester and Manchester City all closely follow, taking at least £75,000 each. Interestingly these four teams gained a combined measly point this weekend with only Leicester avoiding defeat away from home in a weekend where only one away team (West Ham) came away with the full 3 points.
Thats it for this week’s matchday money article – any feedback would be greatly appreciated as we continue to refine the formula to get as accurate a read on matchday takings.