Gates up to smash through 400,000!

According to the final attendance figures compiled by the EVO-STIK League’s official historian and statistician Dominic McKenzie, a total of 418,758 supporters attended fixtures over the course of the 2017-18 campaign, up from 382,376 in 2016-17.

Despite the top flight’s figures being 11 per cent down on last term, gates comfortably broke through the 400,000 mark thanks to a season of record-busting gates in EVO-STIK League North.

While champions Altrincham were the best supported club in the top flight with a total gate of 18,440 and an average of 802 at Moss Lane, South Shields and Scarborough Athletic sent attendances shooting up by nearly 52 per cent on the previous season as the clubs attracted massive crowds taking the championship and runners-up spot respectively.

A total of 158,206 fans followed their clubs in EVO-STIK League North, a rise of more than 50,000 on the 2016-17 tally of 104,188. The Mariners topped the attendances with 31,322, an average of 1,492 per match, the Seadogs posting figures of 23,224 and an average of 1,106 respectively as they returned from from a decade in exile to play at their new Flamingo Land Stadium.

The action in EVO-STIK League South was watched by a total of 82,615 over the season, down two percent on 2016-17 figures of 84,538. Corby Town were the best supported club with 7,600 coming through the turnstiles at Steel Park at an average of 362 per game. Their biggest gate of the season came on Boxing Day when 622 turned out to see their festive clash with Stamford.

Despite being beaten on the overall gate stats, the top flight still recorded the best crowd of the season, a whopping 2,306 turning out on Saturday 7 October to see the derby between Midlands rivals Stourbridge and Halesowen.

Image courtesy of the @WorkingtonAFC/twitter

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