10,000 Athletic fans waiting to become members as San Mamés capacity reviewed | OneFootball

Athletic have 10,000 supporters on the membership waiting list and are exploring minor capacity gains at San Mamés, according to as.com.

Nine months ago the club said it was studying small increases after the list hit 8,000. President Jon Uriarte said they had worked for years, squeezing a few dozen seats during dugout works and tweaking some VIP allocations.

They cautioned that space is tight and adding seats is difficult. The 53,331 capacity looks limited given the enlarged waiting list.

The figure features in the January to June 2026 update of the AC Aurrera 2023-26 action plan. Gazte Abono has 4,555 people aged 14 to 28, down 25% on 2024-25.

Average attendance fell to 47,617 from 48,459, a 1.7% drop, 842 fewer than 2024-25. Even so, Athletic rank second in La Liga for occupancy at 89.4% and fourth for total spectators.

Ticketing revenue fell by €2.2m, with €0.4m more from La Liga and €0.1m from the Cup offset by a €3.2m decline as this period had four Champions League games versus seven Europa League last year. The club says the squad’s estimated market value slid from €375m to €238m. Commercial income reached €49.6m in 2025-26, up from €17.8m in 2021-22, with 151 events and over 260,000 attendees at San Mamés, though a preliminary €1.4m dip year on year is mainly linked to European ticketing.

Source: as.com