Champions League final and Anthony Joshua's US debut to help pubs sell an extra 2m pints
The blockbuster day of sport begins at 10.30am with New Zealand taking on Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup before winding down in the early hours of Sunday morning with Anthony Joshua’s latest defence of his world heavyweight titles against Andy Ruiz Jr at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The sporting schedule also boasts Australia’s first game in the Cricket World Cup against Afghanistan at 1.30pm, as well as the Epsom Derby from 4.30pm.
What’s more, kicking off at 3pm on BT Sport 1, Exeter take on Saracens at Twickenham in the Gallagher Premiership final with many of the sport’s biggest names looking to impress selectors ahead of the Rugby World Cup in Japan this autumn.
The estimated 2m extra pints sold throughout the day could also see HMRC net a £1.1m windfall from beer drinkers and pub goers thanks to beer duty, according to the BBPA.
An all-English affair
It’s been more than a decade since Manchester United and Chelsea squared off in the 2008 Moscow Champions League final, the last all-English climax of the world’s foremost club competition. Yet despite facing massive semi-final second leg odds against Ajax and Barcelona respectively, Tottenham and Liverpool will contest an all-Premier League final in Madrid.
This, according to figures from sport pub finding app MatchPint, offers publicans a unique opportunity to boost their bottom line.
According to latest figures, 37% of publicans recorded a profit when English teams were playing in Champions League games and almost three quarters (73%) of fans said they would watch English teams in the Champions League versus 49% that would watch non-English teams.
AJ’s American debut
While Andy Ruiz Jr isn’t the opponent boxing purists were hoping to see face off against Anthony Joshua in the small hours of Sunday morning, nor the one AJ was expecting to see after original opponent Jarrell Miller tested positive for banned substances, the fight yields a huge opportunity for pub operators.
The Joshua Effect has been key in dragging heavyweight boxing back into the mainstream, with pubs showing pay-per-view bouts earning, on average, an extra £900 in revenue on fight night.
More than 1m fans flocked to their local to watch Joshua’s 11th round knockout over former heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 according to Ipsos MORI, with the bout yielding a 100% increase in sales from 7pm until midnight and 280 additional pints sold per venue showing the bout.
MatchPint also revealed that the fight received 753% more unique searches than the Manchester football derby that same season – with 80,000 uniques coming on the day.
Great day of sport
“Major sporting events provide a great opportunity for pubs to get people through the door and can contribute as much as £5m extra revenue to the pub trade,” BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds explained.
“Publicans actively promoting the sports they are showing can help increase these benefits too.
“On June 1, pubs will be able to take advantage of the Premiership Rugby final, Derby Day at Epsom, the Cricket World Cup, Antony Joshua’s boxing match and of course, an all-English Champions League final.
“When it comes to watching live sport, only being at a fixture itself can compare with being in the pub.
“We fully expect Brits to pack out their local on June 1 for a great day of sport.”
Popular pub sports
According to figures from CGA Insight, sports fans spend on average £16.48 during a drink-led occasion in the on-trade – 10% more than the average British consumer.
CGA data also reveals that football is by far the most popular sport to watch in the on-trade, with 73% of sport-watching consumers identifying it as something they head to their local for.
What’s more, rugby union and boxing are second and third respectively on CGA’s list of popular pub sports – watched by 20% and 18% respectively – with cricket watched by more than one in ten (11%) sports fans and horse racing followed by 8% of pub going sport fans.
