Population vs stadium capacity

Just had a simple question to ask....

...does the population of the town have any bearing on stadium capacity?

For example, I am managing Ascoli and am on the verge of promotion to Serie A.

The town of Ascoli only has a population of 50,000. So does that mean that my stadium attendance will never be more than 50,00 as that is the total population of the town it is in, or can it still be 70,000+ over time?

Thanks

I point you to Hoffheim.

That means nothing to me at the moment.... care to explain please?

I'm pretty sure that the population of Ascoli will not hold back your attendances in the future. In fact Lens in France has a population of 36k yet a stadium capacity of 41k, so there is also the people from surrounding areas to consider in your attendances.

I point you to Hoffheim.

Hoffenheim is a town of about 3000 people. Their stadium is a 30,000 seater and they spent half the season on top of the Bundesliga.

I think population affects merchandising and youth academies, but im no expert.

I was managing Hammerfest in Norway on FM2007. The population of the town is around 6-10,000 I think, but I was getting attendances around 11,000 after a few years of success.

I see. Here's hoping I get a new 80,000+ seater stadium

Villarreal is another good example.

To see it clearly if you get promoted the surrounding towns people will flow to your games it's better to see a Seria A game then a low league ...no?

We have regular flights from South East Asia to watch games at Old Trafford!

Yes that is correct but there is a limit if the population of the surrounding areas is also not great

Burnley is also a small town with great attendances.

(OK, maybe not 30,000+, but it's still the same logic)

Local population has no effect on FM at all. I've played in N.I. with teams from villages with a population of 500 and still ended up with a 20k stadium packed to the rafters.

Burnley is also a small town with great attendances.

(OK, maybe not 30,000+, but it's still the same logic)

I think you are stretching the definition of the word 'Great'. They had the 5th lowest attendance in the Championship. I think they are a Great example of a small town club being successful, but I'm sure there are much better examples of high attendance of a small town.

Good Luck to Burnley though, they play some good football.

PLF gives a good example.

there comes a point where its about club reputation

Vila-real is a town of a bit over 50,000 people; the stadium is 20,000 and more than half the town has a season pass.

Castel di Sangro's population is 5000 and their stadium holds 10,000.

thats because Castel di Sangro were in serie B in the '90s for two years. great book about it -- the miracle of castel di sangro. they probably had to increase size for the serie b regulations or something.

I actually have always wondered about this.

And actually i read an article on Hoffenheim so it does make some sense that you would be able to get higher attendance than the population of your town. As people have already pointed out, people from the surrounding area are very likely to visit, especially if there isn't a huge team close by. And if your reputation increases a lot, you are more likely to start to pull in fans from other cities as well.

I reckon if you're in a relatively small country (say, Northern Ireland) it doesn't really matter as well, as fans wouldn't need to travel vast distances to watch games. So your fanbase can come from all over the country as well.

I think you are stretching the definition of the word 'Great'. They had the 5th lowest attendance in the Championship. I think they are a Great example of a small town club being successful, but I'm sure there are much better examples of high attendance of a small town.

Good Luck to Burnley though, they play some good football.

you will find that burnleys attendance to town population ratio is the best in the country.

I think you are stretching the definition of the word 'Great'. They had the 5th lowest attendance in the Championship. I think they are a Great example of a small town club being successful, but I'm sure there are much better examples of high attendance of a small town.

Good Luck to Burnley though, they play some good football.

They are #1 for per capita support, though.

They are #1 for per capita support, though.

Surely this is the village of Aston, at a population of 26,972, with a football team averaging nearly 40,000 is #1.

Okay, maybe I'm clutching at straws, but I'd like to see a stats table to backup your claim. (And for my own curiousity to see who else is near the top).