The postcard is repeated every time one of the so-called big five plays at home: the
Monumental
, the
Bombonera
, the
Cilindro
, the
Libertadores de América
and the
Gasómetro
look packed.
It is known: there is a boom in audiences in football stadiums since the pandemic until now, the same thing that happens with recitals, festivals and even movie theaters.
Also, it should be said, the non-presence of visiting public has brought families closer to the fields.
In recent times, a figure that is increasingly common among members has expanded: the subscriber.
River
,
Boca
,
Racing
,
Independiente
and
San Lorenzo
present record numbers regarding these people who, in addition to paying the social fee month after month, disburse large sums of money to secure a seat for 6 or 12 months, according to the policy of each institution .
One question remains: is football on its way to being an unpopular sport?
River fans at the Monumental stadium.
Photo Maxi Failla - CLARIN
At the end of last year, River announced that it exceeded 350 thousand members (195,649 direct and 155,004 members of the Somos River community) and that with that figure it positioned itself as the club with the most members in the country, on the continent and second in the world behind from Real Madrid.
“The digitalization of the link between the Club and its fans through RiverID - without intermediaries - has made it possible to identify all people and establish a set of clear and transparent rules that optimize the relationship of supply and demand with respect to access to the ticket for official matches, giving all Members and Somos River the possibility of going to a certain number of matches -despite the immense number-, with a high level of fan rotation every Sunday. All this is just 10 clicks away and without physical ticket withdrawal or in-person procedures,”
River's secretary,
Stéfano Di Carlo,
told
Clarín months ago.
With the renovations, the Monumental has the capacity to accommodate almost 85,000 people.
And there are nearly
45,000 members who have Your Place at the Monumental
;
That is, the 6-month subscription that allows you to attend all the League Cup matches, in addition to giving priority in the Copa Libertadores duels.
Some prices?
Belgrano Baja, $202,000;
Plateas Altas Belgrano and San Martín, $58,000;
Sívori Alta, $28,000.
Photo: ALEJANDRO PAGNI / AFP
La Bombonera (with capacity for 57,000 spectators) is usually too small for the immense number of members and fans that Boca has.
Currently, Xeneize has 327,644 members (direct and adherents), according to the latest AFA report from December 2023. Something particular is happening: the 19,000
available
subscriptions
are sold out and the waiting list is in the thousands.
The same thing happens with garages.
The preferential seats, those above the substitute benches, have annual values ranging from $508,000 to $969,700.
An average stall in the sector in front of the banks can cost between $372,000 and 472,000, depending on the location.
The most economic?
The end of the Platea Alta costs $200,000.
Independiente's numbers are historic
: 140,000 members and
13,800 subscribers
.
The Ricardo Bochini has capacity for 45,000 seats and the 22,000 popular seats are exchanged for free by members.
Then, the subscribers appear (which they estimate will be 15,000 in a few weeks) and the rest are sold by ticket.
A Platea Baja Bochini has a semiannual value of $207,000, while the Alta costs $129,000.
An official box?
$368,000.
The fans of Independiente.Photo Juano Tesone - CLARIN
"When we arrived at the club there were 99,000 members and we took it to 140,000. In one year we made 40,000 new ones, almost a full field. Something similar happens with season tickets: the average number was 6,000 (except in 2018, when the Copa Libertadores was played , which there were 8,200) and today we are reaching 15,000. In addition, we recovered 8,000 defaulters. Over time I think we will reach a fully paid stadium,"
Martín Muscio
, member of the Board of Directors and marketing secretary of the club, tells
Clarín
.
And he adds: “Income from membership fees generates regularity and predictability in the treasury, and represents 55 percent of the club's recurring income.
People contribute, according to official values, close to 15 million dollars annually.”
Others who celebrate these days are the leaders of
San Lorenzo
, an institution that also achieves record numbers in history.
Boedo has more than 80,000 members and more than
20,000 subscribers
.
The plan is semiannual, includes the League Cup and the first phase of the Copa Libertadores, and the club warns that there are no more places in the Cabecera Este (local), the Platea Sur Baja ($80,000) and the Platea Norte Baja (between $110,000 and $140,000).
In
Racing,
the severe economic crisis that the country is going through was felt a little more and the number of annual subscribers decreased: from 13,742 in 2023 it went to
11,676
.
Of course: the number of members does not stop increasing and currently there are 91,784.
A no small fact: by Conmebol regulations, for this season the number of protocol seats was expanded.
Prices?
Plate A, sold out, had a value of $360,000 with the possibility of paying it in 6 interest-free installments.
Meanwhile, Platea E, the cheapest, costs $108,864.
In Huracán there is no subscription system
, but the Tomás Adolfo Ducó has an average attendance of 22,000 spectators.
The number of members, meanwhile, grows and grows: 37,000, according to the latest record.
The Interior also beats
Full stadiums are not a peculiarity that occurs in the Federal Capital or Greater Buenos Aires: in Córdoba, La Plata and Rosario they also play with bursting fields.
Córdoba has 3 teams in the highest category and that competition feeds them.
Talleres
does not offer membership status, but there are four different categories of members;
With 3 of them, fans have the possibility of securing a ticket at the Mario Kempes.
Thus, of the 96,000 members, 62,100 are authorized to go to the field.
This year, it is clarified, the T will play the Copa Libertadores.
The Alberdi Giant - which is undergoing constant and important renovations - looks furious blue every time Belgrano appears: it has nearly 62,000 members of which 34,000 are subscribers.
Institute?
37,000 members and 12,000 season tickets.
The grass on the Rosario Central field was in a bad state, but the passion in the stands remains.
Photo: Twitter.
The passion in Rosario is as high as anyone.
Rosario Central
will compete in the Libertadores and has already sold 13,600 season tickets for the 84,728 members.
Newell's
, whose star is Ever Banega, has just surpassed 10,000 locations (80,000 members) and surpassed its historical record.
"With the usual enthusiasm for each championship that begins, thousands of lepers renewed or acquired a new season ticket and we achieved a historic number of seats sold at the beginning of a season
," he published this week on his official social networks.
Historical record of season tickets 💪🏼
With the same enthusiasm for each championship that begins, thousands of lepers renewed or acquired a new season ticket and we achieved a historic number of seats sold at the beginning of a season.
🏟️ Don't run out of your place before… pic.twitter.com/6sNsrcpquk
— Newell's Old Boys (@Newells) February 3, 2024
In La Plata, both Estudiantes and Gimnasia had to hang the sold out sign regarding the season tickets.
At UNO, 12,500 seats were sold out, and at Juan Carmelo Zerillo, 4,500 were sold out.