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The club is well
supported. Our enthusiastic supporters are faithful and
have followed the club throughout its journey up the non-league
pyramid. However, even this hard-core support is now becoming
frustrated with following a club which has no home ground.
The club are
aware that many 'old' supporters will return and new supporters
will support the club, if it returned to Maidstone, which
after all, has a population of 140,000. This view is underpinned
by the statistics for the old Maidstone United team, which
attracted crowds in excess of 1,500 people regularly in
the old Southern League.
Maidstone United
Football Club expects attendances to rise dramatically upon
its return to Kent's county town.
Despite playing
14 miles from home, attendances have risen every season
for the last four years and particularly, in the last two
because of back-to-back promotions.
Average attendances
- 2004/2005:
246
- 2005/2006:
336
- 2006/2007:
432
- 2007/2008:
444
Highest attendances
- 2004/2005:
346 (vs. Ramsgate)
- 2005/2006:
538 (vs. Beckenham Town)
- 2006/2007:
814 (vs. Dartford)
- 2007/2008:
1,224 (vs. AFC Wimbledon)
The level of
support is proven during major matches. With the exception
of the AFC Wimbledon crowd, all above average attendances
are the result of additional Maidstone United support.
An example of
this was the final game of 2007/2008 season against Folkestone
Invicta. Of the 1,334 crowd, at least 800 were estimated
to be Maidstone United supporters (Folkestone Invicta's
average home crowd for 2007/2008 was 402).
The population
of the borough of Maidstone is estimated at 140,000. The
club only needs to attract 0.5% of residents to increase
attendances to more than 1,000.
The borough's
population does not include Malling, which despite being
in a different local authority area, has a great affiliation
to Maidstone United through its proximity to the borough
boundary.
The stadium's
town centre location will help it attract people shopping
in the town. Maidstone's main shopping centre attracts 222,000
visitors per week. Averaged equally, although Saturdays
will be higher, it comes out as 31,714. The club could promote
a 'Sport and Shop Saturday' to encourage families to the
new stadium.
Dartford Football
Club returned home in 2006 after a similar time away from
its town as Maidstone. Its average attendance in 2005/2006
was 291. At the end of the 2006/2007 season, the average
was 1,171, an increase of 303%! The 2007/2008 season's average
was 1,135, showing that the rise was sustainable. Dartford's
population is approximately 86,000.
As well as an
existing loyal support and known dormant support, the club
also boasts 29 teams. An average of 16 players per team,
plus one parent equates to more than 850 people.
Despite the difficulties
of not having a home ground, the supporters have shown their
commitment to the cause by raising funds for The club to
help it develop its new facilities. The supporters have
undertaken several fund-raising events including sponsored
walks. Evidence from the supporters' group web-site and
fanzine, shows how desperate they are for the stadium to
be built in Maidstone.
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