Championship Attendances : 2023 (Rounds 1-18)

The second division of UK Rugby League is doing well as far as attendances go. After eighteen rounds, they are up 12.7% compared to the complete 2022 season. Numbers do drop gradually during the season so that percentage should be lower when all 2023 games are completed. That said, it can be taken that it will be up by a reasonable margin. 

Sheffield leads the way with a nice stand for fans to enjoy the game from. Newcastle have pulled their attendance average around into positive territory. Three clubs weren't here last year, the two that moved up have done well as expected and the one that moved down (Toulouse) suffered, again as expected. 

Batley has the distinction of most of its matches estimated so I've given them 1,500 for each. If anyone feels that should be different, leave a comment. Featherstone, Keighley and York have taken the same route for their last few home games. They have been estimated as 3,000, 2,400 and 2,000 respectively. Again, comments are welcome. 

London shares a ground with Wimbledon soccer club, a ground capacity of 9,000. The 1,160 average is well below that but slightly better than the 2022 figure of 1,000 per match. Featherstone does very well considering the size of the town but generous increases just aren't feasible.

Those not choosing to report attendance have lessened the accuracy of the list, depending on how accurate the estimates are. Some rounds look more like Swiss cheese than cheddar. It's not as if the clubs concerned have something to be embarrassed about. It's just shoddy administration and a lack of accountability to anyone for that. 

As a reference, rounds 1 to 8 result are shown below:

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