How does being at the top level of a sport affect attendance figures compared to when relegated to a lower division? I thought I'd look at that with data I have, starting with the Halifax club. It's situated in West Yorkshire and was known a woollen manufacturing town dating back the the 15th century. It is also known for MacKintosh confectionery, the Halifax Bank and Rugby league. The population is approximately 90,000 in number.
As for the RL club, it is one of the 22 founding clubs that formed in 1895. Regarding on field success for the club, they have both won the Challenge and Yorkshire Cups five times, the league title on four occasions and Regal trophy once. Their top flight attendance results are as below since 1980-81. The crowd numbers are for regular league games, excluding finals, cup and tour matches.
| Pre-Super League | Super League | ||||||
| 80-81 | 4,090 | 13/16 | 1996 | 5,083 | 6/12 | ||
| 82-83 | 2,270 | 15/16 | 1997 | 5,408 | 7/12 | ||
| 84-85 | 3,497 | 10/16 | 1998 | 5,670 | 3/12 | ||
| 85-86 | 4,878 | 1/16 | 1999 | 4,483 | 9/12 | ||
| 86-87 | 4,891 | 5/16 | 2000 | 5,714 | 8/12 | ||
| 87-88 | 6,506 | 8/16 | 2001 | 4,824 | 9/12 | ||
| 88-89 | 8,025 | 13/16 | 2002 | 4,080 | 9/12 | ||
| 91-92 | 7,194 | 7/14 | 2003 | 2,977 | 12/12 | ||
| 92-93 | 6,452 | 7/14 | |||||
| 93-94 | 6,608 | 5/16 | SL Average | 4,759 | |||
| 94-95 | 5,600 | 5/16 | Pre SL Average | 5,513 | |||
| 95-96 | 4,657 | 3/10 | Combined | 5,211 | |||
The 1980-81 top flight existence (shaded yellow) ended when Halifax came 13th out of 16 sides. Another one year stint followed (green) and 15th from 16 extinguished that return. From 1984-85, five consecutive seasons in the elite division (salmon) brought crowd numbers over the 8,000 average.
Two seasons out of the first tier and they were back for the next 13 campaigns (pale blue). The best years were a third placing in both 1995-96 and 1998. After that, the team struggled to remain in the top flight and Halifax came last in 2003, its final season in the first division. The average attendance that year was a paltry 2,977 as the clubs financial woes finally took their toll.
Please note the Pre-SL Average above includes only the figures shown above from 1980-81 to 95-96.
The relegation meant the end of a full-time team but it did mean that the club - with some help - was able to get back on a more stable financial footing. It doesn't look like Halifax RLFC will be back in Super League anytime soon. It's recent second division (Championship) attendance figures are below. Clearly they are some way below the elite era as one would expect.
| Halifax | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Championship | 2,222 | 1,670 | ? | 1,970 | 1,968 | 1,695 | 1,752 | 1,761 |
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