EuroLeague: Panathinaikos first in attendance, Bamberg with five sold outs

By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net Which team is at the top of the list and by what kind of margin from the second? How many teams have a 5-digit attendance number? How many have used more than one arena? Which team is selling out one game after another and where? Scroll down for the answers… #16 Barcelona 5.356 average attendance and 70,6% fullness at the Palau Blaugrana Barcelona is the team with the most home games (6) in the first 9 rounds. Their record is 4-2 and in the last game, the win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, the turnout was the highest this season with 5.934 fans, which might have improved their average though it’s still the worst among all teams. Despite this, the 5.356 fans in every game give the team a decent attendance rate, of the order of 70,6%. #15 Khimki 5.634 average attendance and 70,4% fullness in the Mytishchi Arena Khimki move to the Mytishchi Arena for every home game in the EuroLeague and they don’t look like they have a problem adjusting every time (4-1). The same goes for their fans, who, only in the opening game against Valencia, had flocked in great numbers, 6.579 to be exact, which was their highest turnout this season, before continuing with an average of 5.634 fans and a 70,4% of their full capacity. #14 Anadolu Efes 5.671 average attendance and 35,4% fullness in the Sinan Erdem Dome The return to the Sinan Erdem Dome from the Abdi Ipekci hasn’t benefited Anadolu Efes as much as they would’ve liked and their 0-4 record is not the only proof for this. The highest turnout this season, in the opening game against Real Madrid, didn’t attract more than 6.788 fans and, following this, the average hasn’t been more than 5.671 fans, with just 35,4% of full capacity. #13 Valencia 6.056 average attendance and 71,2% fullness in the La Fonteta Valencia are participating in the EuroLeague for the first time after December 2014 and it seems that their fans had missed those nights. This was evident from the first game in the La Fonteta against Anadolu Efes, which was also their highest turnout this season. The 6.267 fans that night helped the team’s average to be over 6.000 (6.056) and to reach 71,2% of full capacity. #12 Bamberg 6.474 average attendance and 100% fullness in the brose ARENA and 100% in the Arena Nurnberger Versicherung If “Devotion”, the anthem of the EuroLeague, had a face, it would be each one of Bamberg’s fans. How else to explain the 1, 2, 3, 4 sold out games in the brose ARENA (2-2) and another one in the neighboring Arena Nurnberger Versicherung? The comebacks from deficits of even 26 points, like the one against Barcelona in the last round, are the best reward for the 6.474 fans – on average – in both arenas. #11 Olympiacos 7.454 average attendance and 70,1% fullness at the Peace and Friendship Stadium and the Heraklion Indoor Sports Arena The opening game found Olympiacos serving a one-game sentence away from the Peace and Friendship Stadium and the choice of the Heraklion Indoor Sports Arena, despite reaching 88,5% of full capacity, didn’t attract more than 4.621 fans. In this way, the overall average of attendance does not exceed 7.454 fans, even though other turnouts, especially the one in the derby between the “eternal rivals” against Panathinaikos (11.039), which was also the highest this season, have helped to cover the difference. #10 CSKA Moscow 7.494 average attendance and 61% fullness in the Megasport Arena and 89,2% in the Universal Sports Hall The two home courts have been a frequent occurrence in recent years for CSKA Moscow, who were already back in the USH by Round 3. That didn’t turn out bad for them but only on the court (81-63 win over Panathinaikos), because the number of 4.906 fans in the stands was a season low. Incidentally, their highest turnout this season (11.213) was combined with their first loss (93-95 in overtime to Fenerbahce) in 4 games in the Megasport Arena, where attendance does not exceed 61% of its full capacity. #9 Unicaja 7.505 average attendance and 66,4% fullness in the Martin Carpena The win of the opening night is still a reference point in Unicaja’s course so far in their return to the EuroLeague, both because it was over Fenerbahce and because the turnout of 8.267 was the highest this season. Since then, the team’s fans haven’t been visiting the Martin Carpena as often (2 wins and 3 losses), but the average of 7.505 fans is anything but low. Unless one puts it side by side to the attendance rate of 66,4%. #8 Armani Milan 7.747 average attendance and 61% fullness in the Mediolanum Forum After Armani Milan’s disheartening course last season, they had no difficulty aiming higher, but so far they are in the top eight only in terms of attendance. The 3 defeats in 5 games in the Mediolanum Forum haven’t helped much and in different circumstances they could have been in better shape no matter the venue. The average of 7.747 fans might not be small, but the attendance rate of 61% is. #7 Crvena Zvezda 7.828 average attendance and 44,9% fullness in the Kombank Arena and 74,7% in the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall The move to the Kombank Arena is not permanent for Crvena Zvezda, since once in a while they are forced to return to their natural home court for a while, the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall. But either in one or the other, the results are not that different this season. In contrast to the 1+1 wins in 5 games, their only wins in 9 games in the competition, they’re doing somewhat better in terms of attendance (7.828 on average), even though the rate of 44,9% is rather small for their standards. #6 Real Madrid 9.222 average attendance and 61,5% fullness in the WinZink Center Real Madrid are frequently visited by misfortune but the fans are not daunted and they visit the stands of the WinZink Center as often, against what one can deduce from the attendance rate of 61,5%. The 11.077 fans in the game against CSKA Moscow is still the highest turnout in four games and one of the reasons that the average attendance is almost a 5-digit number (9.222). #5 Maccabi Tel Aviv 10.764 average attendance and 97,3% fullness in the Menora Mivtachim Arena No matter how many times its name changes, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s home court will remain historic and… bright yellow. With two sold out shows – in the win over Real Madrid and the loss to Anadolu Efes – in a total of 5 games, the average turnout is 10.764 fans and the attendance rate is an impressive – from every aspect, like the arena’s capacity and the comparison to other home courts – 97,3%. #4 Baskonia 10.981 average attendance and 70,8% fullness in the Fernando Buesa Arena Baskonia had to wait until Round 5 to celebrate their first win, but it was worth the wait and it was worth the price of admission too. The turnout of 13.108 fans in the game against Panathinaikos remains the highest this season in the Fernando Buesa Arena, where the average is 10.981 fans and the attendance rate is 70,8%. #3 Fenerbahce 11.382 average attendance and 87,2% fullness in the Ulker Sports and Event Hall A new team name, new home court name, the same habits for title-holders Fenerbahce, except for the time they hosted Olympiacos. That was their only defeat in the Ulker Sports and Event Hall as well as their highest turnout (12.828) in 5 games (4-1), in which the average is 11.382 fans and the attendance rate is 87,2%. #2 Zalgiris Kaunas 11.516 average attendance and 74% fullness in the Zalgirio Arena It’s only a handful of places where basketball is as popular as it is in Lithuania and the fans of Zalgiris Kaunas make sure to remind everyone of this in every game in the Zalgirio Arena, where they have a 2-2 record. In one of these defeats, at the hands of Real Madrid, they had the highest turnout this season with 13.148 fans, for the comfortable 5-digit average of 11.516 and attendance rate of 74%. #1 Panathinaikos 12.029 average attendance and 63,4% fullness at the Olympic Sports Center Athens The Olympic Sports Center Athens was always Panathinaikos’s fort and their first four games there fully confirm this, with the same number of wins over Bamberg, Fenerbahce, Khimki and Real Madrid. The turnout in the last game (18.310) was the highest this season, both for the Greens as well as among the other 15 teams, and it was enough to put them at the top of this list (12.029 fans on average). With an attendance rate of just 63,4%, there is a lot of room for improvement.