A million spectators reached with 73% increase in 14 years

Photo: Dean Woolley

Over a million fans have attended games across the Elite Ice Hockey League season for the second successive season, and third time in the league's history.

A sold-out Friday night crowd at Braehead Arena took total attendance for the 2023/24 to 1,000,432 - surpassing the million mark with 22 games still left to play this season. Last year, the million-fans mark was hit on the final weekend of the regular season. The only other time the EIHL saw more than a million spectators in total over a season was in 2018/19 with 11 teams. While Sheffield Steelers boast the league's highest average crowd at an impressive 7,700 per game this season, nine of this season's teams have increased their average attendance compared to 2022/23.

Since 2010, crowds in the Elite League have increased some 73%, the biggest growth of any league in Europe over the same time period by some margin. Average attendance in 2023/24 sits at just under 3,500 for the season so far, an increase of some 9% on the previous season. 

This season's Playoff Finals Weekend ticket sale has already exceeded both of the previous post-pandemic years, and is on track to be sold out for the first time since 2019.