For the first time, Ligue 1 "has exceeded the bar of 300,000 spectators in 10 matches," an average of "more than 30,000 per match -- 30,151 exactly --" per figures from the French Football League, which welcomed “an all-time record," according to L'EQUIPE. The previous record "went back to the beginning of the 1998 World Cup" with 278,139 spectators by the 33rd day of the ’97-98 season. At the beginning of the current season, the average crowd per day stood at 21,035 spectators. It is "still far from Germany (42,000), England (36,000) and Spain (27,000)," and just behind Italy (22,500). French sports economist Bastien Drut said, “The relocation of the Stade de France explains a good part of the record crowds. With the exception of the matches at SDF and at the Velodrome, the average attendance by the 10th day settles at 21,100, in line with previous days.” Along with University of Michigan sport economist Stefan Szymanski, Drut "found evidence of a booster effect" of large competitions on the ticket office of clubs in the year preceding the competition. Drut: “There will be a ‘Euro 2016’ effect but likely only at the start of next season. For example, Lyon-Montpellier has attracted ‘only’ 35,688 spectators, versus 35,865 last year.” Ticketing specialist company eForSports founder Thomas Held said, “No one is fooled by the favorable context of the day, but it’s a figure that confirms a good trend and it feels good” (L’EQUIPE, 10/20).
