By Nikola Miloradovic/ info@eurohoops.net
With the EuroLeague having reached the halfway point of the 2025-26 regular season, attendance figures underline just how strong the competition’s connection with fans remains across Europe.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade tops the league in average attendance, drawing 18,762 spectators per game at Belgrade Arena. City rivals Partizan are a close second with 18,739, further confirming Belgrade as the EuroLeague’s most passionate basketball city.
Panathinaikos rounds out the top three with 18,578 fans per game, as OAKA Arena continues to stand among the competition’s most imposing venues.
At this stage of the season, seven teams are averaging more than 11,000 spectators per game, a clear sign that packed arenas are no longer a rarity in Europe’s top competition.
Zalgiris Kaunas remains among the league’s most reliable crowd-pullers with 14,815 fans per game at Zalgirio Arena. Valencia Basket’s first season at Roig Arena has delivered immediate results with an average attendance of 12,288, while Olympiacos Piraeus (11,855) and FC Bayern Munich (11,500) also sit comfortably above the 11,000 mark.
Attendance figures also show that fan support is not always directly tied to on-court success. While Partizan have seen a slight dip in recent weeks amid inconsistent results, its overall numbers still rank among the very highest in the EuroLeague. Bayern, meanwhile, continues to average a sold-out 11,500, despite a difficult campaign so far.
Belgrade’s impact is further highlighted by single-game peaks. Partizan and Crvena Zvezda consistently fill Belgrade Arena, with the city’s iconic derby producing the season’s highest number of 21,854 spectators, recorded by Partizan.
Similarly, the historic rivalry between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos regularly draws massive crowds at OAKA, with Panathinaikos’s season-high of 18,999 coming against its fierce Greek rivals.
FC Barcelona’s top attendance so far, 7,294, came against Real Madrid, and Virtus Bologna’s peak of 10,102 was recorded versus EA7 Emporio Armani Milan.
These showdowns are more than just games – they energize arenas and cities alike, proving that rivalries remain at the heart of the EuroLeague experience.
Panathinaikos stands out for its remarkable consistency, with a relatively narrow gap between its highest (18,999) and lowest (17,010) attendances, underlining the stability of crowds at OAKA. Zalgiris shows a similar pattern, remaining one of the league’s most reliable home draws despite a slight season-on-season decline of 0.4 percent.
Looking at year-on-year change, Panathinaikos (+6.4%) and Bayern (+5.5%) are among the biggest risers, reflecting renewed momentum both on and off the court. Crvena Zvezda (+2.9%) and Olympiacos (+1.9%) have also strengthened their already strong attendance bases.
Overall, the EuroLeague has averaged 9,751 spectators per game, with nearly 1.77 million fans attending games in the first half of the regular season.
While “sold out” signs were once headline news, in cities such as Belgrade, Athens, Kaunas and Valencia, they have increasingly become part of the weekly routine.