We were discussing this a few weeks ago. Here are the team attendance averages for the Austrian Premier League, according to ÖRF teletext: Salzburg: 6,711 Sturm Graz: 5, 942 Rapid Vienna: 5,293 Austria Vienna: 5,283 Graz AK: 4,868 FC Kärnten: 4,254 Bregenz: 2,832 Pasching: 2,328 SV Ried: 1,768 Admira: 1,000 By contrast, second division champion Mattersburg had a higher attendance average than any team in the first division: Mattersburg: 9,798 So there you go. Maybe the Austrian league should start organizing double-headers with the national team or selling Bratwurst for a euro a piece. Or organizing Christian rock concerts after the game. Or having huge fireworks displays each year to celebrate Staatsvertragstag. Or something. Ehh, I give up.
Reasons for that: 1. Pricy tickets 2. Gloryhunters all over Austria 3. Commercial crap makes it difficult to identify yourself through your club 4. Bad organisation 5. Too many clubs from small villages (not including Mattersburg) 6. Boring championship (Austria Vienna Champion with about 15 points ahead) 7. Bad season for Sturm Graz and Rapid Vienna 8. League without Linz and Innsbruck 9. Admira Mödling and SV Pasching
I agree, too many Kaffs in the Bundesliga. It's charming when it happens in Germany and it's Unterhaching, but no so charming in Austria. I was wondering though, did Admira used to have decent attendance back in the day when they were actually a pretty good team?
About 20-25 years ago, I lived within walking distance of Admira's stadium, and no, they never had a good attendance record. The only exceptions were when all the Austria or Rapid fans made the short trip from Vienna to see their team. It was so bad that as a student I was able to get a season ticket for about $10. They've since merged with a lower-division team from Moedling (larger neighboring town), but that hasn't helped the situation. If it weren't for the new stadium in Salzburg, the league average would have been even lower. How can the Bundesliga survive on those attendance figures? And we think MLS has attendance woes...
Good question, how do the clubs survive? I suppose advertising revenue and the TV deal with ÖRF? I'm not privy to the finances, so I don't really know. Next year's figures will definitely look better. Mattersburg should draw even better in the Bundesliga, I would guess (although maybe not, as they presumably won't dominate the Bundesliga the way they did the first division). Salzburg will have a full season in their new home, and have a great team to boot. Rapid was also playing better by the end of the season, so if they carry over their form they should get a bounce too. Rapid's attendance figures would also have been higher this year if they hadn't played so many games in the Prater, where they drew very badly. I'm still a little surprised by Austria's figure though. It seems to me they had a number of games where they had 8 or 9 K - which would conversely mean they must have drawn only 2 or 3 K some games, but I just can't imaging that. And with that star-studded team, they should be selling out their tiny stadium anyway and averaging 10 K. Did Admira ever play in Vienna proper? I know they used to be two different clubs - Admira and Wacker - decades before they ever merged with Mödling. But of course back in the 30s and 40s the likes of Rapid used to draw 40, 50, 60 k for some games. As an interesting aside, there was talk that Austria could have sold 30-40 k for their first "home" game against Rapid if they'd agreed to play in the Prater. This was at the beginning of the season when both teams were at the top of the table.
Lets hope for a better upcoming season. By comparison the Swiss league had an average of right about 11k. That due in part to huge attendences at Basel, the 30k crowd at the opening of the Stade de Geneve and GCZ having a good season.
For the Austrian League's sake I hope so too. It amazes me that clubs like Rapid, Austria and Salzburg don't have a bigger fanbase.
I would say the club with the biggest fanbase in Austria is Sturm Graz... We have supporters all over Austria, two friends of mine travel to Graz for every home game. One lives in Carinthia, the other one is from Niederösterreich, on the height of Vienna... But the supporters who live in Graz are just unwilling...
One thing I've noticed is that you really only get hard-core supporters at the stadiums in Austria. When I lived in Leverkusen, everyone in town went to the games, and it's the same all over Germany. Soccer is really fashionable there. Whereas in Austria, you'll get a lot of people who will identify themselves as Rapid Vienna fans, for example, but the only people who go to the games are the real hard-cores. It's a real working class environment at Hanappi Stadium in Hütteldorf. In Germany you get the hard-cores and also the regular Joes. Soccer is not fashionable in Austria the way it is in Germany or (presumably) England and Spain.
I think you've nailed it, Mattbro. Many Austrians are casual observers of the game, and the ones who attend matches are the hard-core fans. I went to some indoor matches in Vienna during the winter break a couple of years ago, and most of the folks there seemed to be serious supporters. Going to the stadium just isn't the thing to do like it was when Rapid and Austria drew huge crowds decades ago. Given the league's attendance numbers, I can see why they'd want to merge with the Swiss league...
A possible answer is a different group of teams to play. How often can Ried and Strum Graz get excited to play each other. They have been playing each other forever. Playing the Swiss teams would bring a novelty that is lacking at the moment. I am sure that FC Basel, GCZ, or Servette could bring better crowds because it is someone different. The Derby's should bring in large crowd's, but this would be something different. That said, I don't agree with that philisophy, it is a marketing gimmick, one which works in the short run due to the novelty of it, but wears off quick.
Move Austria! But seriously, those numbers are pretty bad. Austrian football is in serious trouble. It is sad that a 1.5m city like Vienna can't draw 10k for Rapid or Austria Wien.
You got a link for that Rob? That seems a little high to me. I expect it more to be in the 8-9k range... From the top of my head (estimating): Basel 28,000 GC 8,500 Servette 7,500 Xamax 6,000 Young Boys 7,500 Zürich 7,000 Wil 3,000 Thun 3,500 I wish they would've released some team to team statistics like the ones Matt posted...
That's why we need to leech off you guys! But seriously, would you pay 25 bucks to see your team play Pasching or Ried for the fourth time in 8 months? Me neither. The derbies still draw very well in Vienna, as do games where a lot is on the line. Austria definitely had some games where they could have drawn higher than capacity (~10k), but they didn't want to give up their homefield advantage by moving to the Prater. And Rapid has sucked for the last couple of years, so there haven't been any really important games for them of late. I actually thing things are looking up for the Austrian league though. Innsbruck is working on the "Durchmarsch" back to the Bundesliga. Rapid will now have a full season in its renovated stadium, plus the team finished last season on a high note with (I think) four consecutive victories. Austria is arming itself for a European run, and will draw quite well on the road next year with its "Startruppe". With a little luck, Salzburg will be UEFA Cup material, and has a beautiful new little stadium to show off its improved team in. Mattersburg will be entering the league with a really loyal fan base. And the closer we get to Euro 2008, the more soccer will boom in Austria.
Yeah, I feel for you guys. What has happened to the Rapid team that played with GC in the 96 Champions League... Things should get better for the Austrian league with Mattersburg and Innsbruck. But I agree with you, 2008 can't be here soon enough...
Here at the results for the LNA Final Round FC Basel 27408 GC 10310 Xamax 6958 Servette FC 11074 FC Thun 4251 FC WIL 3076 YB 8100 FCZ 7515 Average: 9836.5 per game If you throw in the Fall Round you get this: FC Aarau 4387 FC Basel 26532 SR Delemont 3011 GCZ 7379 FC Luzern 6688 Xamax 4919 FC St-Gallen 8973 Servette FC 4882 FC Thun 4462 FC Wil 4019 YB 8337 FCZ 6082 For an average of: 7100.75
Thanks Rob. I've been looking for those numbers all over the place. I knew that the NLA final round drew about 10K, but I didnt see the individual team statistics...
I agree that Rapid Wien probably has the most fans in Austria. Though it's not borne out by recent attendance stats, Austria Wien is second. Those two are by far the most storied clubs in the country, and they pretty much split the allegiance of the large Vienna base.
According to their websites: At Admira Wacker (lowest attendance in 2003/04), it's 8-12 euros in the standing section and 10-18 euros in the sitting section. In Salzburg (newest stadium in the league), it's 6-9 euros in the standing section and 12-18 euros in the sitting section. Probably similar in other Bundesliga locations as well.