Although attendances are published for every match in the subsequent programme, Exeter City have today published the summary of attendances compared to those predicted.
This last winter has been one of the wettest on record. The gate figures show very clearly the adverse effects of moving games, which have been postponed due to a water logged pitch, to Tuesday evenings when the attendance is typically 20 per cent less that for a Saturday or Bank Holiday game.
As soon as the fixtures are published, three members of the Gates Committee independently make a prediction of the potential attendance for each and every match, taking into account the date, day and time of kick-off, the status of the opponents etc. These independent predictions are combined to give a working assessment.
This is important work because the Club is very reliant upon gate income and this prediction information is used to refine the budget assessments. Over many seasons this prediction exercise has proved remarkably accurate, usually being within 5% of actual attendances achieved.
The actual gate figures are monitored against predictions as the season progresses. The predictions for 2013/14 proved to be over-optimistic with gates being affected by games being moved to Tuesdays due to wet weather, the ongoing recession and a falloff in home performances.
Click here to view the table of predictions against outcomes.
Click here to view the table of predictions against outcomes.