This year's attendances in the hurling championships are on course to be the lowest since the new championship format came into operation three years ago. Although the last two years have featured additional figures generated by replays, the average is also down as is the comparison with 1997, the last season when there were no draws during the championship.

The redevelopment at Croke Park has not had any impact as none of the fixtures have reached even the curtailed capacity. In fact, the attendance at the quarter-finals double bill two weeks ago was a record for that stage. But that hasn't been reflected in the provincial figures which are down.

Munster has taken the biggest drop with over 40,000 fewer attending championship matches in the province. This reflects the fact that the Clare-Tipperary replay last year drew a large crowd but the difference isn't solely explained by that.

Leinster has also recorded a significant drop with nearly 20,000 fewer turning out for matches. The average comparisons make even worse reading but that's because the preliminary pool has created six more fixtures but with small spectator appeal.

Similarly the loss of the Connacht final after the withdrawal of Roscommon hasn't made an enormous difference to the figures except to improve the average attendance for this year.

As the quarter-final figures for last month are a record, there won't be much concern at the drop in the overall numbers brought about by Clare's draw with Galway last year.

The one thing the statistics do indicate is the extent to which the championship is at the mercy of the competing counties. Clare's early exit this year underlined the influence their supporters have had on recent championships, particularly when taken in conjunction with the team's propensity to draw big matches.

In Leinster the ill-health of Wexford has hit at the province's finances. It is no secret that a successful Wexford is good news for Leinster coffers and the figures show that this year's crowds have been only two thirds of those which flocked in the last year Wexford did well (1997 when they won Leinster).

The comparisons are made just before the All-Ireland semi-final stage but it is unlikely that the overall picture will be improved by the matches to come. Last year's Cork-Offaly semi-final attracted 37,629 and Sunday's re-run of the same fixture is unlikely to reach even that figure as Cork are now All-Ireland champions and widely perceived to be strong favourites.

In a week's time Galway and Kilkenny meet but again the attendance won't exceed last year's Clare-Kilkenny semi-final. Even allowing for the rebuilding and the consequently revised capacity, Galway have not in recent years drawn the same crowds as Clare.

There is also likely to be a drop in the final attendance because of the redevelopment although that will be purely a temporary phenomenon.