Basketball’s EuroLeague club competition has posted a 17.4% jump in attendances for the first 17 rounds of its 2023-24 season, with a record high average crowd of 10,296 fans.
Compared to the 2022-23 season, there has been a rise of 1,525 spectators per game. According to Euroleague Basketball, which organises the EuroLeague, a total of 1,462,034 fans have attended regular-season games so far this season – an increase of 128,876 on the same period last season.
The increase comes despite Israeli team Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv playing all but one of its home games behind closed doors. The team previously averaged 10,460 fans at Menora Mivtachim Arena.
Six teams have filled at least 90% of their arenas on average so far this season: Partizan Belgrade, Zalgiris Kaunas, Crvena Zvezda, Bayern Munich, Olympiacos, and LDLC ASVEL.
Lyon-based LDLC ASVEL moved to the new LDLC Arena (pictured) in November, welcoming a crowd of 11,354 for its first game at the venue against Bayern Munich. The Populous-designed venue is France’s largest indoor arena outside of Paris.
Seven clubs have also averaged at least 10,000 fans per game this season: Partizan (19,801), Crvena Zvezda (18,888), Zalgiris (14,935), Panathinaikos (14,914), Anadolu Efes Istanbul (12,079), Olympiacos (11,323), and Fenerbahce (10,146).
The figures of Partizan and Crvena Zvezda have been boosted by playing more games at the larger Stark Arena.
