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Football League clubs saw a million less through the turnstiles over the past season.
While a FL press release trumpets that it is the seventh straight year that gates have topped 16million, the figure is just over 1million shy of the 50-year record set last season.
The release says League Two gates rose 8% from the previous season, but the increase is largely down to the higher attendances of the six clubs entering the division. Teams like Darlington and Dagenham, who both struggled to register gates of 2,000 through the previous season, were replaced with sides like Oxford and Gillingham.
League One sides saw a 18% drop in attendances, while the Championship shed 3%. The League One figure is especially worrying as a number of clubs offered games for substantially reduced prices. Dagenham sold tickets to one home match for 99p, while Tranmere gave away admission to another match.
