The sponge
When our own club was at Step 5, we bought a Bowdry, a large roller that soaks standing water off a pitch. It cost £990.
Within two months the games it got on had returned five times the cost, £4,950. In a typical season it saves two or three games.
One saved game in a season pays for it.
A £990 roller got the games on.
The gap
These are our own club’s numbers, from 17 weekend and 7 midweek league games in 2025/26.
A weekend game averaged 1,019 people and £14,682 in matchday revenue. A midweek game averaged 473 people and £5,880.
The same fixture brings in £8,802 less, a 60% fall. The gate drops from 1,019 to 473. Spend per head drops from £14.41 to £12.44.
Midweek takes 60% less than a Saturday.
Lost each time a Saturday moves to a Tuesday.
What a £990 roller earned back in two months.
- Through the gate
- 1,019
- Spend per head
- £14.41
£14,682the matchday
- Through the gate
- 473
- Spend per head
- £12.44
£5,880the matchday
Tuesday
On a Saturday, people arrive around one o’clock. They have a few drinks, eat at the ground and stay after the final whistle.
On a Tuesday they come from work, just before kick-off. Many have eaten. They drink less. By ten o’clock most have left.
The bar has fewer minutes. Those minutes are either side of the game.
The away end
Take a visiting club that brings 250 on a Saturday. At £14.41 a head that is about £3,600. On a Tuesday, 75 make it. At £12.44 a head that is about £930.
Paying twice
The first booking is already spent. Pitch, stewards, security, perishable food, staff and suppliers. The Tuesday is organised again, and it takes less. Wages carry on through both.
- Pitch.
- Stewards and security.
- Perishable food.
- Staff and suppliers.
Cash flow
Budget for two Saturday home games in January. On the numbers above, that’s £29,364. Both postponed to March. January’s wages, utilities and insurance still go out on time. When the games are finally played midweek, they bring in less.
The money arrives late, and there is less of it.
Protecting the fixture
Drainage and maintenance get more games played. A £990 roller can be enough. 3G and 4G cut waterlogged postponements and earn from community bookings. They cost real money to install and replace. When a game does move, plan the Tuesday for the crowd you will get, and sell it before the day.
The pitch can earn on the days there is no game.
Your Saturday against your Tuesday
Start from our own club. Change the gate or the takings and the gap updates.
1,019 through the gate
£14.41 a head
£14,682
473 through the gate
£12.43 a head
£5,880
2 Saturdays moved to a Tuesday brings in £17,604 less across those games. £8,802 a game.
Know your Tuesday before it happens
The matchday revenue dashboard puts every ticket, till and sale in one place. It forecasts the crowd, the staff and the pints for Saturday or Tuesday, so a moved game is planned. The club owns it, and it is privately hosted. Scoped to what you need, typically from around £2,500. A simple one costs less.
What a wet Saturday takes from non-league football →
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