By Stelios Toromanidis / info@eurohoops.net
But what is the average monthly income in the cities that host the 16 teams of the top club competition on our continent? What is the cheapest ticket for the games of each one of the 16 “gladiators” and which of them is more attuned to the financial situation of their fans? Eurohoops did the relevant research and has the answers.
The renewed EuroLeague is more unpredictable and competitive than ever, as the top 16 teams in Europe take part in 30 thrilling rounds, before the final stretch. Hence, people’s interest is maximized and the demand for the “magic slips” for the clashes grows.
But when we’re talking about tickets and, by extension, money, the financial situation of the fans is a serious criterion as to whether an arena of the competition will be full or not. Of course, the love and the well-meaning “madness” of the fans for their team and the sport are crucial factors, however, like the song says, “money makes the world go round.”
For this reason, Eurohoops searched and found the monthly income of citizens – as well as the average cheapest ticket for EuroLeague games – for each one of the 16 teams in the competition. The outcome of the survey looks at which club is more “interested” in the financial situation of its fans and has the cheapest ticket. Not with the amount of the ticket being the only criterion, but also its relation to the average monthly salary in each city.
Results
– If you’re a citizen of Tel Aviv and a fan of Maccabi you’ll have to have at least 51,5 euros in… your pocket in order to watch a EuroLeague game, an amount that is higher than for any other arena in the competition, at first glance. Why do we say this?
Because in reality, the most “expensive” ticket is sold in Belgrade and Crvena Zvezda’s arena. It might be only 10,5 euros, but in relation to the average monthly salary of the city’s citizens, which is only 358 euros (the lowest among the cities with a team in the EuroLeague), the average fan has to hand over 2,9% (!) of their salary in order to watch a game of Europe’s top club competition. The corresponding figure for Menora Mivtachim in Tel Aviv is 2%, since the average income in the Israeli capital is 2.624 euros (the highest among the cities with a team in the EuroLeague).
– On the other side, if you’re in Kazan, you need only 1,6 euros to enjoy a EuroLeague game from the top tiers. This is the cheapest ticket, both in terms of its price as well the actual value based on the salary (only 0,3% of the average monthly earnings in the Russian city).
– It’s worth mentioning that the really expensive prices are seen in the arenas with the most fanatic fans (Crvena Zvezda, Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce, Maccabi, Real, Olympiacos), while, respectively, the cheapest “magic slips” are sold in arenas that host… calmer fans (Unics, Efes, Darussafaka). Bamberg are an exception, as they have a quite cheap ticket (12 euros) in relation to the average income of the city (2.200 euros).
What is the case for Olympiacos (Peace & Friendship Stadium) and Panathinaikos (Olympic Sports Center Athens)
With regards to Greek arenas, they are not the… cheapest. To be precise, Olympiacos – with the cheapest ticket costing 10 euros – are in 11th place, as the average fan will have to cough up 1,4% of their salary in order to be in the Peace & Friendship Stadium.
The Nikos Galis of the Olympic Sports Center in Athens, which functions as Panathinaikos’s home court, is a bit… more expensive, since one needs at least 2,1% of the average salary in order to see up close some of the best basketball players on the Old Continent.
| Team | Town | Average monthly income (in euros) |
Lowest price of tickets (in euros) |
Monthly income % |
|
| 1 | Unics | Kazan | 482 | 1,6 |
0,3% |
| 2 | Anadolu Efes | Istanbul | 631 | 2,6 | 0,4% |
| 3 | Brose Bamberg | Bamberg | 2,200 | 12 | 0,5% |
| 4 | Darussafaka | Istanbul | 631 | 4 | 0,6% |
| 5 | Olimpia Milan | Milano | 1,653 | 12 | 0,7% |
| 6 | CSKA | Moscow | 909 | 7,3 | 0,8% |
| 7 | Barcelona | Barcelona | 1,404 | 14 | 1% |
| 8 | Zalgiris | Kaunas | 562 | 6,2 | 1,1% |
| 9 | Baskonia | Vitoria | 1,400 | 16,5 | 1,2% |
| 10 | Galatasaray | Istanbul | 631 | 8 | 1,3% |
| 11 | Olympiacos | Piraeus | 698 | 10 | 1,4% |
| 12 | Real | Madrid | 1,439 | 25 | 1,7% |
| 13 | Maccabi | Tel Aviv | 2,624 |
51,5 |
2% |
| 14 | Fenerbahce | Istanbul | 631 | 12,9 | 2% |
| 15 | Panathinaikos | Athens | 698 | 15 | 2,1% |
| 16 | Crvena Zvezda | Belgrade | 358 |
10,5 | 2,9% |