Over 1.6m fans help smash overall URC season attendance record

The United Rugby Championship will set a new record for season-long attendance with over 1.6 million fans attending games by the time the final whistle is blown at Saturday’s grand final.

A sold-out crowd of 55,000 will watch defending champions Stormers take on Munster this Saturday in Cape Town where a new record attendance for the URC grand final will be set.

With fans responding to the appeal of the URC, average attendances have grown to just shy of 10,000 (9,893) per match for the regular season, which is the highest average the league has ever recorded. All 16 teams in the URC experienced an increase in average attendance from the 2021-22 season with overall match attendance up 36 per cent.

Overall season record

A total of 1,424,520 attended the regular season games in rounds 1 to 18 with a further 152,954 coming to the six quarter-final and semi-final matches. The 55,000 tickets sold for the final this weekend will see that figure for the playoff games top over 200,000 and set a new overall season record of 1,632,114.

Additionally, Leinster’s semi-final against Munster set a record attendance (26,795) for a playoff game in the UK and Ireland that wasn’t a final.

The Stormers also continued to break their own records that held the title of overall highest attendances for non-final games in the playoffs with their crowds of 44,109 for their quarter-final win over the Bulls and 47,261 coming through the gate for their semi-final victory over Connacht.

‘Blown away’

This also comes off a season where the league recorded its highest-ever attendance figure for a single round when 123,307 fans turned out across all eight games in Round 11.

“We are blown away by the attendance records set across the league this season,” said URC chief executive Martin Anayi. “Our teams put tremendous work into improving their match-day experiences for fans and promoting their games and this should give everyone in rugby great encouragement for next season.

“We are early days still for the URC but it is clear that fans are responding to the draw of the South African sides and the 18-round format which has increased jeopardy and competition across the board.

“The sell-out crowd in Cape Town this weekend is a fantastic sign of interest in URC, however, we are just as pleased with setting a new record for regular season attendances and there should be great pride across all 16 teams in that collective achievement.”

Record-breaking figures for URC attendances in 2022-23

Total cumulative attendance for R1-18 was 1,424,520, the highest in the competition history (including previous iterations)

Average match attendance for R1-18 was 9,893 – the highest in competition history (including previous iterations)

Total cumulative attendance for the full season (excluding final) is 1,577,114 – the highest in competition history (including previous iterations)

Final attendance of 55,000 will bring total attendance for the season to 1,632,114

Total cumulative attendance for playoffs so far (QF and SF) is 152,954 – the highest in competition history (including previous iterations)

Average match attendance for playoffs so far (QF and SF) is 25,432 – the highest in competition history (including previous iterations)

Leinster v Munster set a new record for highest attendance in northern hemisphere for a non-playoff game at 26,795

Stormers set overall record for a non-final playoff game with 47,261 attending their semi-final against Connacht

All 16 URC teams have a higher average match attendance versus last season, with overall average match attendance increasing by 36%

123,307 record attendance for a single round recorded in round 11

This story first appeared on sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission. For the original click here.