Historical Elite Level Attendance Figures : Leigh Centurions

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, moving on to the Leigh Centurions club. It's situated in Greater Manchester, historically Lancashire and was particularly known for its cotton industry and coal mining. The population is just over 50,000 in number.

As for the RL club, it is one of the 22 founding clubs that formed in 1895. They have won the Challenge Cup twice (1921 & 1971) and been first division champions the same number of times (1906 & 1982).

	Pre-Super League				Super League
	80-81	4,498	10/16		2005	4,736	12/12
	81-82	5,939	1/16		2017	6,301	11/12
	82-83	4,617	10/16
	83-84	4,434	11/16		SL Average		5,519
	84-85	3,822	14/16		Pre SL Average		4,544
	86-87	4,883	10/16		Combined		4,706
	87-88	4,516	12/14
	89-90	4,634	12/14
	92-93	3,802	11/14
	93-94	4,292	16/16

The 1980-81 to 1984-85 top flight presence (shaded yellow) ended when came 14th out of 16 sides. Another two year stint followed (salmon) but 12th from 14 sides extinguished that return. A 1989-90 return ended abruptly, then another two years at the top also concluded with a 16th placing.

Super League arrived and for only two seasons have Leigh been involved, neither proving successful on the field although the attendance figure in 2017 was well above any in this period under discussion. Crowds in the Championship in non Super league years are set out below from 2012. Today the club plays at a very nice, modern 12,500 capacity stadium (see pic). Attendances in the division two championship are not too far removed form the first division elite level.

Please note the Pre-SL Average above includes only the figures shown above from 1980-81 to 93-94.

Leigh	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Championship	1,772	1,584	?	3,421	3,545	SL	3,539	3,241