Met him at our cup game v UCD , a gentleman and a credit to Harps.
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258,000 was the population of County Galway (including the city) at last census. You could make the argument that parts of the county eg Clifden, Woodford, Portumna, are so far away from Eamonn Deacy Park that they are outside the catchment area of Galway United. Conversely, areas of North Clare and South Mayo are not as far from Galway city, 250,000 could be estimated as the population of the catchment area of the club.
1,673,000 overseas visitors came to Galway in 2017; a further target market for potential supporters. Even getting 1% of these people to attend a football game would result an increase of over 1,000 supporters per home match for the club. Galway United are seriously underachieving when it comes to a support base; should be attracting an average 2,000 people per match regardless of division or form.
Learn to read you don't understand the English language quite as well as you think you do, punctuation is significant to meaning, I said the Donegal/Lahey area was GAA country and I offer as proof of this that Donegal has its victory parades there despite the money grubbing attentions of Letterkenny COC, where as you are pullings opinions out of your asre just to contradict mine it seems.
The football tourists (or tourists taking in a football match) should be a market worth chasing given the tourist numbers in Galway. we regularly have groups at games at Dalymount and it is something that has been encouraged by advertising matches around the city (temple bar etc). they also tend to spend a few bob in the shop/bars.
I understand shams have also seen decent numbers of tourists visiting games in the SDCC stadium. Not sure if its as big a thing with other clubs.
Definately something we will be developing if we ever get to Dalymount Nua, as there would be great potential (especially with a football museum included in the proposal) to attract tourists.
We get quite a lot of Tourists as well, i think people come to Dublin and decide to go to a match (much like i would when abroad).
Depends where they are staying after that and who is at home.
4 Dublin teams in the premier next year so visitors should have plenty of choice.
Will be interesting when Bohs move to Tolka does it impact on tourist numbers , my guess would be no as it will still be convenient for people staying in town.
i honestly doubt many tourists to Ireland know anything about "the home of Irish football" or those coming to Tallaght know we are "Ireland's most successful football club" id say most just go to see a game while they are in town.
If the number drops off while you are in Tolka i guess you will be shown to be right.
The museum assuming it happens will increase the attraction big time and may deliver more in the long run who decide to visit the museum and stay for a match.
As ever its promoting it, whether that be 'most successful club' or 'Home of Irish football', to be fair both clubs have put flyers up around town etc and there is no doubt have gained some visitors for it. there is undoubtedly a market for it and letting tourists know there is a match on is generally a good place to start !
The idea of a museum in the new Dalymount is a good one and hopefully will attract people to the stadium hat otherwise might not visit.With decent facilities, bar, restaurant etc and LUAS stopping close by we should hopefully be able to keep them there to enjoy the match (on derby nights they can have their picture taken with the POU ;)).
If it is and if there is any promotion activity for the league at all, it led to a whole increase of 1 additional person on average that went to premier games - its a nice low base for any new league admin to start from!
Brays attendance in their last year in the premier was lower then ucd this year.
I was at 22 or 23 of Limericks league games this season gone (God telpus) as well as four or five league games Limerick weren't involved in and those attendance figures are as usual laughable.
I'm not knocking nigel fairplay to him doing it and it generates traffic for the forum as well as pages and pages and pages of deluded lunacy.
But as a guide to how many people are attending league of Ireland games it's about as useful as the rte guide.
If we have established one thing on here its that supporters cant count :)
Its a list of official figures (mostly) perhaps Nigel could put an * against Limerick? :)
In my experience those first division crowds are grossly exaggerated even the teeny tiny ones (cobh haven't had 280 at a league game in years never mind averaging it.) Athlone and Longford are gas as well. Shels averaging four figures in the first division? 900 people going to games in Drogheda? Laughable.
It was ever thus though. Fans who give crowds always always overestimate their own crowds. The FAI encourages (at least used to encourage anyway) clubs to massage the figures upwards as well.
In fairness to Limerick (God telpus) anytime I counted the crowd (it was that kind of a year) and it was announced we were both fairly close. But then some days there'd be no crowd announced. There wasn't the colour of 200 people at our last two home games for example.
I think Nigel as much as possible got the officially announced figures, massaged or not, rather than fans own estimates.
It's true though and a strange one as try as ye might to guesstimate the crowds in Oriel, for example, few ever seem to be the same as the official attendance. Some have been estimated as below 3000 yet on the basics of stand, shed, and away section full that would be 3k and not counting home terrace or behind town goal. Another night and 1800 would be a guess and 2300 is called out. So who knows! The policy of counting tickets sold including season tickets rather than people actually in the ground will skew any guage for guessing.
Mostly i think they are accurate within reason but in fairness what figures can be used to have a discussion or comparisons other than official figures.
At least from a making comparisons YOY the inaccuracies youd hope would be consistant...(probably , maybe , possibly)
I felt the Galway crowds were bigger than the number actually there this year. This may be due to including season tickets.
180 for an adult season ticket at rovers next season. Think its been 230 previous years, some value, hopefully lowering the price works and more people buy them. 100 for 2nd/3rd lvl students and oaps, 20 for under 14s.
It's all seated.
Great deal tbf
Strong if risky initiative from Rovers to reduce from €210 last season to €180. Although it should help to attract new buyers it is of little use if it only transfers revenue from match day sales into season tickets. Some €300 reserved seat ST holders could also decide to trade down. It will need to attract over 15% extra or new customers to be revenue neutral. No doubt it represents cracking value to watch a decent footballing side in an excellent stadium and will be warmly received among the existing support
The €20 offer for children is practically risk free and is a brilliant intiative to build the supporter base and make use of the spare capacity in Tallaght Stadium
Kudos to those involved
Every club in the league should copy the €20 for kids ST imo.
We did it this season, u14s were free but for 20e kids could joined the drogster club which gave them merchandise and a land yard season ticket with their name etc for games which made them feel more part of the club. As a parent I thought it was a fab initiative.
Final update I suppose.
These are the only games, beside Derry fixtures, that I have estimated figures for. Everything else is official figures.
Dundalk v Waterford - 1st July
Dundalk v St Pats - 25th Oct
Limerick v Cobh - 26th July
Generally have had no issue getting Dundalk attendances, so I've no idea why these weren't made available.
PREMIER DIVISION
Bohs - 2,878 (2,148; 2,006; 1,627; 1,724; 1,395; 1,597; 1,496; 1,488)
Cork - 2,505 (4,245; 4,559; 2,533; 3,263; 3,777; 1,965; 2,786; 2,128 FD)
Derry - 2,878 (2,297; 1,517; 1,563; 1,124; 1,106; 1,446; 1,460; 2,135)
Dundalk - 2,775 (2,738; 2,674; 2,738; 3,158; 2,534; 1,997; 949; 1,355)
Harps - 1,153 (708 FD; 1,202; 1,216; 784 FD; 449 FD; 479 FD; 429 FD; 433 FD; 644 FD)
Pat's - 1,887 (1,621; 1,504; 1,088; 1,321; 1,386; 1,687; 1,474; 1,346)
Rovers - 3,445 (2,749; 2,809; 2,041; 2,890; 2,269; 2,763; 3,127; 3,779)
Sligo - 1,995 (1,853; 1,717; 1,750; 1,750; 1,959; 2,342; 3,007; 2,103)
Waterford - 1,597 (2,329; 1,550 FD; 314 FD; 460 FD; 470 FD; 478 FD; 453 FD; 466 FD)
UCD - 735 (365 FD; 236 FD; 297 FD; 216 FD; 397; 487; 506; 558; 610)
FIRST DIVISION
Athlone - 369 (130; 154; 156; 314; 653 PD; 754; 271; 200)
Bray - 798 (643 PD; 966 PD; 957 PD; 769 PD; 718 PD; 891 PD; 965 PD; 1,121 PD)
Cabinteely - 370 (261; 346; 352; 610)
Cobh - 280 (236; 358; 403; 366; 223; 439; 2008 - 1,122 PD; 681)
Drogheda - 928 (377; 850 PD; 583; 813 PD; 1,064 PD; 817 PD; 977 PD; 811 PD)
Galway - 795 (746; 1,376 PD; 1,169 PD; 1,290 PD; 975)
Limerick - 451 (931 PD; 1,610 PD; 1,131; 1,206 PD; 757 PD; 1,649 PD; 734; 569)
Longford - 611 (449; 342; 488 PD; 803 PD; 567; 379; 365; 315)
Shels - 1,075 (654; 496; 554; 596; 713; 1,114 PD; 1,187 PD; 781)
Wexford - 235 (181; 338; 585 PD; 553; 331; 227; 302; 216)
PREMIER AVERAGE: 2,185 (2,170; 1,902; 1,476; 1,681; 1,502; 1,566; 1,630; 1,547)
FIRST DIVISION AVERAGE: 586 (413; 477; 476; 486; 495; 391; 372; 578)
OVERALL AVERAGE: 1,500 (1,249; 1,387; 1,117; 1,249; 1,160; 1,140; 1,125; 1,110)
OVERALL PREMIER ATTENDANCE: 393,238 (316,515; 376,627; 292,204; 332,805; 297,334)
OVERALL FIRST ATTENDANCE: 79,115 (55,756; 53,461; 52,807; 54,474; 55,408)
OVERALL COMBINED ATTENDANCE: 472,353 (372,271; 430,088; 345,011; 387,279; 352,742)
Couple of notes:
Encouraging to see 17 of the 20 teams mark an increase on their average attendance figure this season.
Less than 7,000 attendees away from breaking 400,000 through Premier Division gates this season.
Highest total number of attendees since I started collecting figures in 2012 season.
Shamrock Rovers accounted for the top 6 attendance figures themselves, 7,021 being their highest. St Pat's (4,389) and Cork City (4,382) make up the next two highest.
Worth noting that Bohemians had several 'sell out' fixtures this season though, four of their fixtures broke 3,500 attendees, and they're the only club in the League of Ireland who didn't mark down an attendance of less than 2,000 this season.
Drogheda Uniteds final home game in the regulation season was listed as a sell out in United Park. 2,596 people went through the gates for the highest First Division attendance of the season.
Despite their poor season, Galway United had the second highest attendance figure in the First Division at 2,174 in their opening game in Deacy Park.
Shelbourne posted 1,655 and 1,647 in their final two games for the next two highest figures. Top five is rounded off by Bray Wanderers with 1,428.
In total, there were 17 games in the First Division above 1,000 attendees, which is the highest in quite a few years. Shels with 7 and Bray with 5 accounted for the majority.
But that is literally the whole idea behind season tickets. Get people committed up front and their money in the bank early. Rather than risk them making fewer fixtures if results are bad, they get busy at work, have weddings etc to go to etc etc. Season Tickets also enable better financial planning than just waiting to see how many pay in for each fixture.