Latest news with #EmiratesStadium
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
What is the secret to Arsenal's WSL crowd success?
Arsenal's attendances are the envy of women's football – not just in England, or Europe, but around the successful have they been at building their fanbase over the last four years, they have now announced that all their Women's Super League games will be held at the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium from next put their attendances into context, their average last season of nearly 29,000 is more than three times the team with the second highest average – Chelsea, who are the dominant force in the what is Arsenal's secret? 'Adopting horse racing techniques' England captain and Arsenal defender Leah Williamson, minutes after leading the Lionesses to Euro 2022 success, made a rallying call live on the BBC: "The legacy of this tournament is a change in society. We have brought people together, brought people to games. We want people at WSL games."And Arsenal fans club had already planned to trial games at the Emirates Stadium and eight weeks after that final at Wembley they hosted Tottenham, setting a new WSL record with 47,367 fans in it was not just capitalising on momentum from the Euros that helped Arsenal achieve that feat – and then do it again and again. Other WSL clubs have not seen the sustained growth that Arsenal have December 2021, Arsenal appointed Julie Slot as their new chief commercial officer to oversee marketing, among other highlights three main factors as contributing to the club's success:Having 38 years of building a women's team and already having a core group of loyal supportersCapitalising on the success of the Euros, with key Lionesses such as Williamson part of the Arsenal teamIdentifying the different audiences interested in coming to watch women's football and really focusing their digital, radio and outdoor marketing on those key areasPremier League football clubs are not used to having to work hard to try and market tickets – Arsenal's men's team have long been selling out the Emirates brought her experience from working in horse racing and applied it to football."We've used a lot of test and learn marketing techniques around things I brought from racing," she says."With horse racing you work hard to sell every ticket, and it's more of an entertainment experience rather than a pure sports experience."One of those adopted from horse racing was tiered pricing - early-bird, general sale, and last chance – which rewards loyal encourage fans to come back, rather than just attend a one-off game, they also introduced packages allowing fans to buy tickets for all the games being held at the Emirates at a discounted advertising was something else they tested out which Arsenal had never done before, but Slot says it has been unexpectedly fruitful, targeting parents who have it on in the background while they are looking after their kids and thinking about what they are going to do over the next few weeks. Attracting new fans and more females "It's such fun marketing women's football," she adds. "I'm a woman and I love sport, but women's football allows you to be really creative and really ambitious."Because we've got a stadium to sell, and we're not ultimately selling out for every game, we're thinking about who are all the communities we can reach and what are the campaigns that we can do with them, because we've got a lot of tickets to sell."So that goes back to that real ability to test and learn. As a marketer, there's nothing better than testing something and seeing what works, and what doesn't work."And key to everything has been the data they have gathered about the different people who come to their women's games:New fans: In 2022-23, 61% of purchasers had never attended the Emirates Stadium beforeYounger fans: In 2023-24, 49% of purchasers were under 35 – up from 46% in 22-23More female fans: Arsenal had a higher proportion of female purchasers than males for the first season since hosting regular games at the Emirates in 2023-24 – increasing to 57% from 48% in 2022-23 & 47% in 2021-22. By comparison, a men's game would be around 15% female purchasersSupporters of both the men's and women's teams: Around 25% of the audience attending women's matches at the Emirates purchase tickets for men's gamesChildren: The % of under 18s at games in 2024-25 is around 5%, up from 2% in 2022-23, and 3% in 2023-24 (although Arsenal have limited data)More girls: Around three-quarters of under 18s attending are female Another major aspect of their strategy is around pricing. Traditionally women's football clubs would sometimes give away tickets to boost attendances – but then some of the recipients wouldn't bother turning was adamant from the moment she joined that Arsenal would not be giving away tickets."It's a really important positioning for the club because this is a professional football game and they are professional athletes and it's a product we're putting on," she affordability is key to attracting new fans, and can partly explain why such a large proportion of supporters going to WSL games are experiencing the Emirates Stadium for the first time. Next season, early bird tickets will range from £13.50 to £18 for a standard adult ticket – significantly cheaper than to watch their male counterparts."Lots of people want an entertainment experience and, in London, finding that for a group of you is quite hard at an affordable price so when we were really pushing the tickets from a price [perspective] people think 'oh, that's actually something I can afford to do'," explains gone from averaging nearly 3,500 in Women's Super League the season before England hosted Euro 2022, Arsenal grew that more than eight times to almost 30,000 in the space of two 2023-24 league season included two complete sell-outs as some 60,000 fans packed out the Emirates, which hosted six WSL matches and saw three league attendance records set in the to Slot, there are two key factors to getting a sell-out - holding matches at weekends at suitable times for families, and the many people attending a women's football match for the first time, Slot says their context is the men's game. So although a team like Tottenham are not one of the WSL's big names, Arsenal built on their traditional rivalry, specifically targeting communities in north London."Their perception is that Arsenal-Spurs is a really big game and we built on that," she says. The result – a record WSL attendance of 47,367 in 2022-23, a sell-out of 60,050 in 2023-24 and their highest attendance of the season of 56,784 in season they increased the number of matches to nine at the Emirates but saw their average gate fall slightly to some 29, Slot is not perturbed. "I think we did really well last season," she says. "The thing for me, is to maintain sustainable growth. So I would rather regularly have 29,000 than have one sell-out and then lots of 10,000s."We are building this sustainable audience." 'WSL clubs support each other' Success off the pitch has not been dependent on success on it, with Arsenal having gone six years without winning the WSL title, although they did end this campaign in spectacular style by becoming European like of WSL giants Chelsea, who have been the dominant force in the WSL for the last six years must cast their eye enviously across London at the Gunners' off-pitch growth. The Blues held just three of their matches at Stamford Bridge last season compared to four the previous year."We haven't been successful just through luck, I would say this has been a clear, strategic objective by the club," says Slot."We used a moment (Euro 2022), but we've also been very agile in our approach."However, she is keen to share as much as she can with other WSL clubs, adding "there's a real openness in the WSL"."We all have an ambition to build the women's game and promote it and to support each other," she adds."That's why I'm very excited about the future of women's football in this country because I see the WSL clubs as being very focused on growing women's football." Head here to get involved
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Emirates Stadium to host Arsenal's WSL fixtures next season
Arsenal plans to host all 11 Women's Super League (WSL) home matches at the Emirates Stadium next season. The decision follows a season where Arsenal's WSL matches at the Emirates drew an average crowd of 34,110. The newly crowned Women's Champions League winners will continue to play some games at Meadow Park, including Women's Champions League group games, Women's FA Cup, and Women's League Cup ties. Arsenal aims to balance the schedules of both men's and women's teams to ensure all Premier League and WSL matches are played at the Emirates, with requests for alternate weekend home games. Arsenal's managing director, Richard Garlick, said the move is a bold step forward, creating a special home for the team and providing more opportunities for supporters to watch the European champions.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
European women's champion Arsenal to use 60,000-seat stadium for all domestic league home games
LONDON (AP) — Women's Champions League winner Arsenal pledged on Tuesday to use the club's 60,000-seat main stadium for all home games in the domestic league next season. Arsenal played nine of 11 home games in the Women's Super League at Emirates Stadium this season, with almost 57,000 fans watching a 5-0 win over Tottenham. The other two games were at nearby Borehamwood which can hold about 4,000 fans. 'Found a place where we belong,' Arsenal said in a social media post. The two extra domestic league games at the Emirates will be balanced by fewer games there in the opening stages of the Champions League, which have attracted fewer than 10,000 fans. Arsenal finished runner-up to Chelsea in the English league before beating heavily favored Barcelona to become champion of Europe. The home game against Chelsea drew more than 45,000 fans, and more than 46,000 came to the season-ending game against Manchester United. Arsenal said in a statement it will use Borehamwood in the opening phase of the Champions League, which switches to an 18-team single standings league next season, then return to north London for the knockout rounds. Domestic cup games also will stay at the smaller venue. ___ AP soccer:
CNA
2 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
Arsenal to play all WSL home games at Emirates Stadium
Arsenal will play all 11 of next season's Women's Super League home matches at Emirates Stadium, and the club will offer season tickets for the first time, they said on Tuesday. The newly crowned Champions League winners, who have recorded some of the largest crowds in women's football, made the Emirates their main stadium last season, averaging 34,110 fans in the nine WSL games they played there. "For us, this is just the beginning, and bringing every WSL match to the Emirates is another step for more supporters to be part of this special journey," Arsenal coach Renee Slegers said. Arsenal, who defeated Barcelona 1-0 last month to win their first Champions League title in 18 years, still plan to play at Meadow Park, Borehamwood in the Women's Champions League league phase, as well as FA Cup and League Cup games. If they qualify for the Champions League knockout stages, those matches would take place at the 60,704-capacity Emirates. Arsenal recorded a 20 per cent increase in ticket sales for the 2024-25 season over the previous year, selling more than 415,000 tickets.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Arsenal to play all their WSL fixtures at the Emirates Stadium next season
Scarves with faces of Arsenal Women players being sold outside the Emirates Stadium before the visit of Tottenham in February. Scarves with faces of Arsenal Women players being sold outside the Emirates Stadium before the visit of Tottenham in February. Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PA Arsenal have announced that all of the club's Women's Super League matches will be played at the Emirates Stadium next season. The Champions League winners embarked on a long-term strategy that has seen them steadily increase their league presence at the main stadium with three games played at the Emirates in the 2022-23 season, six played there in the 2023-24 season and nine taking place at the ground last season. The campaign ended with 13 games being played at the Emirates in total, with two Champions League group games and two knockout games also hosted there. Advertisement Related: Women's Super League club revenues soar to record-breaking £65m in 2023-24 'I'm so proud of the journey we've been on with our supporters this season,' said manager Renée Slegers. 'For us this is just the beginning, and bringing every WSL match to the Emirates is another step for more supporters to be part of this special journey. We'll come back next season with fire in our hearts, more determined, more ambitious, and more together than ever'. Despite their European success, Arsenal fell short in the league, finishing 12 points behind champions Chelsea. The Arsenal Women Supporters' Club said in statement: 'We are delighted to hear that all WSL home games will be played at Emirates Stadium next season. This allows more people than ever to experience a WSL matchday and help Arsenal to build on the success we achieved in Lisbon.' Arsenal hold the top-four record attendances in the WSL, with the record most recently broken last February when 60,160 people attended a league game against Manchester United. Advertisement Alongside the announcement of the move to host all WSL games at the Emirates comes the introduction of a new season ticket for the women's team to allow fans to have a reserved seat in the ground for the first time. They, alongside six-game bundles, go on sale on 4 July. 'It's the start of another chapter in the story of our women's team just two weeks on from us lifting the Champions League trophy with our community here in Islington,' said Arsenal's managing director, Richard Garlick. 'We keep moving forward together, and we'll continue to fuel and inspire each other.' Director of women's football, Clare Wheatley, added: 'Our players and staff know what it means to walk out in front of a packed Emirates Stadium. It brings a sense of pride and belonging to all of us. It fuels a relentless drive to win and is a crucial part of how we create the best conditions for our women's team to succeed.' Having struggled to fill the Emirates for midweek Champions League group games, and following consultation with fans, Arsenal will play their Champions League group matches next season at Meadow Park, with knockout fixtures to be played at the Emirates should the holders progress. Meadow Park will also still host FA Cup and League Cup fixtures.
