Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Drops K-League Attendance Nearly 40%

Fears over Middle East Respiratory Syndrome "hit the K-League Classic last weekend, with a drop in attendance" of almost 40% in the six stadiums that hosted the round 15 games, according to Nam Hyun-woo of the KOREA TIMES. The crowd attendances over the past weekend "showed a significant decrease -- an obvious response to the MERS crisis that is shaking the country this month." A total of 32,098 people "visited six stadiums for the fixtures." This represented an average of 5,350 per stadium, down 39.7% from the average of 8,872 up to the 14th round. In the "highly anticipated clash" between Jeonbuk and Seoul, 13,286 people attended, but the number was some 5,000 smaller than Jeonbuk's average home game attendance of 18,541. The game between Daejeon and Busan "saw only 1,092 supporters" (KOREA TIMES, 6/8).