Rugby: a 5.6% increase in attendance for the European Cups during the 2018-19 season

"The healthy position of European club tournaments was underlined by a 5.6% increase in combined attendances across the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup during the 2018-19 season," announced European Professional Club Rugby on 18/06/2019. "More than one million fans passed through the turnstiles to watch the Heineken Champions Cup," including 51,930 spectators who filled St Jame's Park (52,400 capacity) in Newcastle (UK) to attend the 2018-19 Leinster Rugby (Guinness Pro14) - Saracens RFC (Gallagher Premiership Rugby) final (10-20) on 11/05/2019.

"For the first time, more than half a million spectators attended matches throughout a thrilling season in the Challenge Cup, surpassing the previous best in the tournament set in 2016-17, with a year-on-year improvement of 17.4%," added EPCR.

"The Heineken Champions Cup final was screened in 170 countries with the live TV audience in the United Kingdom growing by more than 80% over the course of the season. The showpiece match was also shown live on network television in the USA where more than half a million viewers tuned in on…