Shrewsbury Town’s blue and amber supporters are bucking the trend after new figures show attendances have rocketed by almost 23 per cent in the past five years.
Statistics released by the Football League, where Shrewsbury Town ply their trade in League 2, reveal the club’s home crowd has continued to rise since the 2006/07 season, despite a slight fall last year.
Football League bosses say the club is leading the way after Shrewsbury’s attendance increase of 22.7 per cent was only bettered by two other lower league Midlands clubs – Port Vale and Notts County.
The figures cover the period when the Shrews moved to their new Greenhous Meadow ground for the start of the 2007/08 season as the turnout immediately jumped by 929 to an average gate of 5,658.
This season’s attendance has peaked with an average of 5,801 so far with the biggest gates coming against Crewe Alexandra and Bradford City on the opening day of the season when the crowd was 6,993.
The encouraging trend at Shrewsbury comes despite other Midlands clubs reporting big declines in attendance such as Coventry’s which is down 20 per cent and Walsall who have seen their home crowds fall by 33 per cent at the Banks’ Stadium.
John Nagle, Football League head of communications, said: “The effects of the recession are being seen on attendances in all the major sports, so it is very encouraging to see Shrewsbury Town bucking that trend by growing their fan base so significantly.
“Like many other clubs they have attracted new fans with the move to a new stadium but they are also benefitting significantly from the work they have done to engage with their local community.”
By David Seadon