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A fantastic effort by the club and all the fans.

It's great to see.

Whilst I'm a misery and can't stand most of our match night presentation, it's brilliant to see we're in the top 20 supported clubs from a fan base point of view.

Tony and the team have done an amazing job getting people through the door and deservers the relevant plaudits.

We'd need regular sell outs and extra seating to get into the top 10 though .

https://www.eurohockeyclubs.com/attendance?seasonId=24

https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/ice-hoc ... pe-4560671

I saw this earlier on the EIHL website, it really is a fabulous effort by all of those in charge.

I remember back when we averaged just over 8,000 and then depressingly watched as season on season our attendances tumbled and our main rivals (Manchester, Nottingham and Belfast) all sailed past us.

Back then I thought the ultimate goal for Norton Lea was to have an Ice Sheffield based club. With us being based a few miles outside of the city centre I've always thought our games are a harder sell than the likes of Nottingham. To get back to an average of over 7,000 is great to see and for me it all adds to the match night experience.

Maybe 8,000 next season?

Regards

Doom

Just outstanding work when you consider current economic conditions.

I do hope Fox has got a copy of the balcony celebration video. Got to be a great bit to aid in recruitment - come here, win, and you get this. Could honestly make a difference if salary etc not a million miles away and choice is between here and say Norway/DEL2/Slovakia etc

I was just having a quick look at Mick's Steelers stats page. Our highest ever average attendances are:

95/96 - 7,956 (I thought it was slightly over 8,000)
94/95 - 7,597
93/94 - 7,586

Our lowest ever was 2010/11 with 3,042, which was the Ben Simon season. Tony came in the following season when we averaged 3,646.

According to the Elite website this season we're currently averaging 7,700, with just one game to go. That average will increase slightly because we've already sold 8,000 for this Saturday.

It just goes to show what a fabulous job Tony Smith and his team have done. We've gone from a club that was in a bit of turmoil, to having our 2nd best average crowd ever this season.

It would be a big ask to break the record next season.....but there's the challenge for you Tony....No pressure

Regards

Doom

I would suggest the record average attendance had a lot of free tickets as part of that number.

I don't think this is the case now.

The £8 games though have done very well indeed this year and is a great idea.

I hope the arena's new owner's see what value we bring to the arena of the course of a full season and continue the good work that our current owners and Dom Stokes has.

The record average attendance was at a time when there was no web cast. I would guess that the away fan attendance will be significantly down on seasons without webcast and would take todays attendances above the previous record

smbmetal wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 26, 2024 1:58 pm

I would suggest the record average attendance had a lot of free tickets as part of that number.

I don't think this is the case now.

The £8 games though have done very well indeed this year and is a great idea.

I hope the arena's new owner's see what value we bring to the arena of the course of a full season and continue the good work that our current owners and Dom Stokes has.

I suspect the average attendance and average spend numbers on car parking/food etc means it's a no brainer for new owners. Guarantee 30 dates, with 75% plus attendance is a big draw for any venue operator.

Doom wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 26, 2024 1:25 pm

...

Our lowest ever was 2010/11 with 3,042, which was the Ben Simon season. Tony came in the following season when we averaged 3,646
...

Regards

Doom

I'd only just started going to games regularly back then. I remember midweek games at the arena with barely 2,500 there. Very empty and A source of much mirth to the likes of Panthers and Giants fans. A lot of free tickets given out too (some to me, although I've been an ST holder for 10 years now, so the ploy worked).

Tony Smith and co have done a great job. Dave Simms comes in for a lot of stick from some, but he deserves a credit for his relentless very hands on marketing to get money through the club.

It is interest to note that the Steelers regularly now have a higher attendance than is possible at the Playoffs in Nottingham and that is not just at the £8 ticketed games.

kivo1889 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 27, 2024 5:00 pm

Doom wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 26, 2024 1:25 pm

...

Our lowest ever was 2010/11 with 3,042, which was the Ben Simon season. Tony came in the following season when we averaged 3,646
...

Regards

Doom

I'd only just started going to games regularly back then. I remember midweek games at the arena with barely 2,500 there. Very empty and A source of much mirth to the likes of Panthers and Giants fans. A lot of free tickets given out too (some to me, although I've been an ST holder for 10 years now, so the ploy worked).

Tony Smith and co have done a great job. Dave Simms comes in for a lot of stick from some, but he deserves a credit for his relentless very hands on marketing to get money through the club.

Simms might not be everyone's cup of tea but he's put the hours in, you can't fault the guy for his relentless effort & work he's put in over the years.