The unbelievable amount of money Leicester spent on clap banners

Leicester City’s official website last night announced that fans would see some changes to their matchday experience. So the first 2022/23 Premier League fixture at King Power Stadium against Brentford will be a slightly different occasion.

These alterations include the return of match day mascots after the pandemic and a new singing section, but the alteration that has Foxes followers really talking is the removal of the clappers, over six years after their introduction. This is a topic that has divided match going fans, with some adamant that the increased noise adds to the match day experience, with others suggesting that artificial atmosphere is embarrassing, with environmental and cost concerns also raised as a discussion point. In a statement, LCFC said:

"Fans attending games will also notice that there will be no clap banners, as the Club works with the feedback given to it by supporters during consultations to shape a move towards alternative and more sustainable ways of improving the matchday atmosphere."

On social media, while not reflective of the views of the entire fan base, the reception this announcement has attracted has been broadly positive. There will of course be match going fans that bring their clappers from previous fixtures, but going forward, they will no longer be mass-produced at high cost.

According to Jordan Blackwell of the Leicester Mercury, the cost of providing these folded sheets of paper with multiple different coloured ink to over 32,000 seats was roughly £12,000 per match, and with nearly 150 home fixtures since their introduction in April 2015, this amounted to an outgoing of approximately £1.75million from the club’s accounts.

That number might sound relatively small in transfer terms, but in terms of wages, that’s the equivalent of over half a year’s pay for a player on over £65,000 per week. It’s not just the financial implications that clap banners had, the sheer amount of cardboard wasted was astronomical, especially for a gimmick, with which the general overview from fans was negative.

The introduction of the clappers coincided with the 2014/15 great escape and carried through to the incredible title win the following season, but whether this newfound success was a coincidence will never be proven. One thing that is for certain, is that an authentic Premier League atmosphere might have a chance of returning to the King Power and fans will no longer be met with accusations of a synthetic stadium sound.

This, along with the new home shirt, is not the only change fans will notice as the new campaign commences, as the club claims that the magazine programme will have a new look, with more interviews than ever before. Handheld flags will be trialled as a replacement for the clappers, adding another visual element on top of the banners that the supporters’ group in the Kop tend to display.

Another change to the operation at King Power Stadium has been met with a backlash, as the club moves to a mobile approach for single match tickets, with season ticket holders being offered a choice between a physical card and a contactless entry. Concerns have been raised about older supporters, and those who might not be familiar with modern technologies nor have access to a smartphone, with many suggesting that the club risks alienating a proportion of its fan base.

Finally, there will once more be water and beer stations dotted around the arena ahead of kick-off this Sunday, as Khun Top reintroduces the ‘Free Beer and Water’ tradition for this fixture. Supporters will be able to claim their free beverage from all corners of the ground between 11am and 1.30pm, and the gesture from the ownership is to say thank you to the fans for their continued support.