Club news
Written by: Joe
Keeping in line with our fan analysis introduced last season, Lewes FC have crunched the numbers around ticketing and attendances from our 2023/24 campaign.
We wanted to share some top findings and takeaways from last season and highlight the difference our fans make every day!
You might now know this but you smashed into our record attendance list three times in 2023/24.
We’d like to thank everyone who came to games at the Dripping Pan last season and made it such a special place to enjoy football.
From competing in Europe to battling relegation, 2023/24 certainly had its ups and downs. One constant was your amazing support, come rain, shine, or bitter cold, that kept both teams going to the end.
Takeaway 1 | We love all 34,430 attendees this season
The combined total club attendance rose by 5.46% this season, hitting 34,430 – up from 32,648 last season.
The combined attendance increased even though we played three fewer competitive games at the Dripping Pan.
That is a testament to our amazing supporters, as well as the volunteers, security staff, grounds people and matchday staff that make games possible.
Lewes FC Men saw an increase of 17% in their total attendance as compared to last season. The team played 25 competitive games in both seasons.
Lewes FC Women saw a reduction in total attendance by 13.85%. This directly results from the fact that the Women played three fewer home games as compared to last season (which included the sellout FA Cup game against Manchester United!).
So, although the total attendance went down, the average attendance per match was higher than previous seasons.
Takeaway 2 | Highest average attendance figures for both teams!
This season the club hit our highest league average attendance for both the Women’s and Men’s teams.
The average attendance per league game across both teams rose by 21.3% to 940 attendees.
The Women’s average league attendance grew by 30% to 934. The Men’s games saw the average league attendance increase by 17.5% to 943.
What does this mean?
Our loyal Rooks are growing in numbers and there are a lot of new fans coming to games. Again, this is testament to the staff and volunteers who ensure matchdays are the best experience they can be. We love having you at the Pan every week.
Takeaway 3 | Bank holiday Sussex derbies are pretty good!
The club’s average attendance for a bank holiday derby grew by 27.88% – from 1,347 to a whopping 1,723 this season. This follows the 28% growth we experienced last season.
A bank holiday fixture is usually when new fans come to watch a game, and regulars get together to enjoy the action.
The growth in derby-day attendances shows a steady increase in new and occasional Lewes FC fans.
Takeaway 4 | You’re enjoying matchdays… aren’t you!
The overall matchday spend per person went up by 15% in the 2023/24 season, to £6.72 per person.
The heftiest slice is on the bar (you’re averaging £6 on your kombuchas, colas and pints) and the rest is split across our pies, loaded fries and merch stand.
Attending a Lewes FC Men’s game is proving to be a thirsty work – bar spend on Men’s games is about three times what it is for Women’s games on Sundays, even though bar spend at Women’s games increased by 16% this season.
However, fans at Women’s games spend more on average at the club shop and food outlets than those at Men’s games.
Next season we’ll have an even better food and drink offering to our supporters, in an effort to keep queues down to a minimum and widen the choice available.
We’ll also be opening the new club shop that means our volunteers can be a little bit warmer through those winter games.
Takeaway 5: Buying tickets online is becoming more popular
The club and our amazing volunteers have worked hard to reduce the wait times for fans queuing at the entrances on match days, and we’re delighted to say more of you are buying tickets online than ever before.
Online tickets are quicker to process and reduce our costs. That’s why fans get a £1 discount for buying online compared to paying at the gate.
We’ve also looked at what types of tickets fans buy. The demographic splits have become pretty even across both Men’s and Women’s matchdays.
Concessions ticket holders make up 15% of the total attendees at our games. Concessions include +65s, full-time students and people with disabilities.
We’re delighted to see more fans from these demographics find a place to enjoy football at the Pan!
The split of ticket types has stayed at a similar level to last season. Half of all tickets at Men’s games are adult tickets. This split for adults is 42% for Women’s games with more children attending (19% as compared to 14% on Men’s games).
Takeaway 6 | We fell in love with Tuesday nights again
The club hosted nine games on Tuesday nights in the 2022/23 season. We only hosted four league games in 2023/24.
Only one fixture was called during the season due to poor weather. Considering it rained for much of the autumn, winter and, well, the spring too, we owe our groundskeeper Simon a huge thanks for his incredible work throughout the season.
The magic of European football loved us as much we loved it. We had an average of 1,027 fans across the two Fenix Trophy games played on Tuesdays.
In total, we played six Tuesday evening league fixtures with an average attendance of 735, which is a 38.47% increase from the average of 530 in 2022/23.
Takeaway 7 | You shattered numerous attendance records
Lewes FC supporters set the bar higher than most other clubs and you smashed multiple records once again.
1. 2,614: Lewes FC Women v Crystal Palace – Highest league attendance for the club
2. 934: Highest average league attendance for Lewes FC Women
3. 943: Highest average league attendance for Lewes FC Men
These records don’t smash themselves. It takes a huge amount of work from our staff and volunteers to create matchdays worth coming to. It takes a monumental effort from the players and coaching staff to put on a show and play football fans want to see. And it takes everyone – from the Lewes FC Supporters Club to our community teams, sponsors, owners, suppliers, and fan groups – to make the Dripping Pan the special place it is on matchdays.
Oh, and just for context, three of our games in 2023/24 made it into Lewes FC’s highest ever attendances:
Highest attendances of all time at the Dripping Pan
- 2,801: Lewes FC v Manchester United (Women’s FA Cup – 19/03/2023)
- 2,614: Lewes FC v Crystal Palace (Women’s Championship – 21/04/2024)
- 2,500: Lewes FC v Newhaven Town (Sussex County League – 26/12/1947)
- 2,347: Lewes FC v Worthing (Isthmian Premier League – 05/03/2022)
- 2,347: Lewes FC v Liverpool (Women’s Championship – 01/05/2022)
- 1,975: Lewes FC v Whitehawk (Isthmian Premier League – 01/04/2024)
- 1,958: Lewes FC v Manchester United (Women’s Championship – 02/12/2018)
- 1,702: Lewes FC v Hashtag United (Isthmian Premier League – 20/04/2024)
Meanwhile, the weekend of 20-21 April was the highest attended weekend at the Dripping Pan of all time, with a combined attendance of 4,316!
Looking to next season
We have some exciting initiatives and fan experiences planned for the 2024/25 season, and our Men’s and Women’s teams are steadily coming together.
As the new grass grows on the pitch, we’re busy planning our pre-season games and working on creating a better hospitality experience for all supporters.
Last season was tough. Relegation always is. But together, you helped create amazing memories that continually shape our incredible club. We’ll need you more than ever in 2024/25.
Keep an eye out for season ticket and matchday ticket news coming soon.
Records are meant to be broken, so let’s make next season bigger than ever before… TOGETHER!