Gate receipts, or simply "gate", is the sum of money taken at a sporting venue for the sale of tickets.
Traditionally, gate receipts were largely or entirely taken in cash. Today, many sporting venues will operate a
season ticket
A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time.
History
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 182 ...
scheme, which will mean they allocate a proportion of season ticket monies when announcing gate receipts for a particular event.
"Gate" is also sometimes used in reference to the number of people in attendance.
Association football
In the
English Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
, gate receipts usually go to the home team, however, for cup matches, the gate is split with the other club, after deduction of expenses. Prior to 1983, a percentage of league game gate receipts were given to the away club. The league also charged a levy on the gate receipts. Home clubs receive gate compensation money from a pool if a game is postponed due to the away team being involved in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
or
EFL Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...
match.
In the Scottish Football League the entire gate receipts of all league matches and play off matches (including abandoned or replayed matches) are retained by the home club.
Boyle's Thirty Acres
Boyle's Thirty Acres was a large wooden bowl arena in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was built specifically for the world heavyweight championship bout between Jack Dempsey of the United States and Georges Carpentier of France on July 2, 1921. ...
in Jersey City, New Jersey was the first ever boxing fight to produce a "million dollar gate", doubling the previous record, with receipts of $1,789,238 from an official attendance of 80,183, the largest gate and attendance for a sporting event in the United States at the time.
On September 23, 1926, Gene Tunney beat Dempsey to lift the world heavyweight title, at Sesquicentennial Stadium in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
setting a record gate in terms of attendance (126,084) and receipts ($1,895,733). The rematch (known as The Long Count Fight) was held on September 22, 1927, at Soldier Field in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and would draw gate receipts of $2,658,660. It was the first $2 million gate in entertainment history.
Ticket sales of $4,806,675 for the second Leon Spinks vs. Muhammad Ali fight at the Superdome in
Larry Holmes vs. Muhammad Ali
Larry Holmes vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as "The Last Hurrah!", was a professional boxing bout contested on October 2, 1980 in Las Vegas for the WBC and vacant ''The Ring'' heavyweight championships.
Background
Larry Holmes was Ali's sparring pa ...
at
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks.
Caesar ...
in
Paradise, Nevada
Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the f ...
Thomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference.
History
The facility wa ...
in Paradise, Nevada, drew record gate receipts for a boxing match of $16.9 million from 17,078 spectators in 1999.Floyd Mayweather's 2007 fight against
Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championsh ...
beat the record boxing gate receipts with $18.4 million from 15,432 spectators at MGM Grand Arena in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
and a Mayweather fight set the record again in his 2013 fight against Canelo Álvarez, also at MGM Grand Arena, with gate receipts of $20 million from 16,146 spectators.
The Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao boxing match on May 2, 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, had record boxing gate receipts for Nevada of $72,198,500 from 16,219 spectators.