West Ham have established an extraordinary attendance record that has never previously been seen anywhere in English league football. Even relegation to the Championship has failed to dent the Hammers’ massive support.
According to statistics published by The Times, the Irons are averaging 60,882 supporters for Championship matches at the London Stadium. That is an astonishing 30,647 more than nearest divisional rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, whose average is 30,235.
No English league club had previously averaged even 20,000 more than every other team in its division. West Ham have therefore smashed the old record by more than 10,000, which is quite remarkable considering we’re playing in the second tier.
West Ham’s Incredible Transformation
I have never been anything but amazed that West Ham could go from a 34,000-capacity Upton Park to regularly attracting around 60,000 at the London Stadium.
Clubs move grounds, of course, but adding almost 30,000 to the matchday attendance and then maintaining those extraordinary numbers following relegation feels pretty unique. It is difficult to think of another English club whose recorded gates have grown so dramatically following a stadium move.
We previously highlighted how the move has almost doubled West Ham’s average attendance, but this latest statistic places that growth into a remarkable historical context.
West Ham have already recorded the highest Championship attendance of the season, with 62,264 watching the home game against Charlton. The Carabao Cup victory over Portsmouth also attracted a competition-record first-round crowd of 53,369.
West Ham fans were under the impression David Sullivan was on his way out
Two Reasons Supporters Renewed
I believe the excellent season-ticket renewal figures can be explained by two significant factors.
Firstly, interim chief executive Karim Virani made the shrewd decision to reduce Championship season-ticket prices by up to 30 per cent. At a time when supporters could easily have walked away following relegation, the club recognised the need to offer better value.
Secondly, many fans renewed while believing a major ownership change was approaching. David Sullivan appeared close to departing at the time, with West Ham entering a period of considerable boardroom upheaval.
Unfortunately, whilst Sullivan did relinquish executive control, he’s since increased his stakeholding, something which wasn’t exactly in the brochure.
Anyway, irrespective of Sully hanging on for dear life, West Ham supporters have responded to relegation by setting a record that no other English club has ever managed.
That is a quite remarkable endorsement of the size and loyalty of this fanbase.
I noticed last week that West Ham have got the highest average attendance bar Man Utd in all leagues, Spurs might have nicked in front over the weekend, but we might go back 2nd with a big crowd on Saturday.
our attendance figures are always a bit misleading we count it by tickets sold not tickets scanned in. so its often significantly less people at the games than westham announce it to be. that being said our attendance especially in the championship is fantastic juts lost of empty seats up the top