RUGBY league fans love a good statistic or two and one of the main points of interest is attendance records over the years.
From the creation of Super League in 1996, there have been disappointing crowd numbers but also some incredible statistics that may take people by surprise.
The highest-ever attendance for a Super League match – excluding the Magic Weekend concept and the Super League Grand Final – stands at 31,555.
That came from Catalans Dragons’ clash against the Wigan Warriors that took place at Barcelona’s Camp Nou back in May 2019.
The lowest-ever attendance again involves a French side, but one that hasn’t been heard of in the top flight for two decades – Paris St Germain.
Brought in as a concept team at the beginning of the summer era, PSG didn’t survive long. Having said that, to begin with, the French capital side did bring excitement to Super League in the early days.
By the end of their existence, however, interest waned and just 500 people turned out for PSG’s home clash against the then-named Salford City Reds at Stade Sebastien Charlety in July 1997.
Whilst that project was a failure, the same cannot be said of the Magic Weekend – a concept first brought in in 2007 as a way of getting an entertainment-packed round in one place on the same weekend.
Over the years, Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester and Liverpool have been chosen to host the event with St James’ Park bringing in the biggest crowd back in 2016 when 68,276 people flocked to the north east.
The lowest attendance at the Magic Weekend was back in 2010 when Edinburgh’s Murrayfield hosted as just 52,043 people made the trip.
In terms of the Super League Grand Final, Old Trafford has hosted every showpiece event except in 2020 when Hull FC’s MKM Stadium took the mantle following the Covid-19 pandemic.
That being said, at the beginning of the summer era, the enthusiasm took a while to take hold and just 43,533 fans flocked to Manchester for Leeds Rhinos’ clash against the Wigan Warriors in 1998.
It was those two sides that also broke the record for the greatest attendance at the Grand Final in 2015 when 73,512 filled Old Trafford.