Football has a unique place in many hearts, with a dedicated fandom that is unparalleled anywhere across sport, at least in Europe and South America. That unique relationship it has turned many community and city standard bearers into businesses though, and many fans into consumers.
Globalisation can be seen as clearly in football as it can anywhere else, with clubs pursuing a global fanbase rather than catering exclusively to those on their doorstep. Whenever a new stadium is built, the VIP facilities are near the top of the list of priorities. The conversion of going to a stadium from a football game into an experience means that those who intend on going regularly are forcing to make larger sacrifices, expecially given wages are not rising at the same rate as prices during a global economic crisis.
This is not just limited to football. According to ExpressVPN, who say that the cost of events across entertainment is rising sharply, particularly for those buying tickets that have been resold. Some music concerts are seeing tickets resold at over 2000% face value, while similar can be said of Wimbledon. Many of the worst offenders, including the Women’s FA Cup final in England are looking at a 200-500% price rise if they are unable to get tickets when they are first released.
In Spain, price hikes are also becoming a theme. Diario AS note that Sevilla, Girona, Espanyol and Cadiz all faced the ire of fans ahead of the 2022-23 season for hiking the price of their season tickets. Indeed Cadiz, one of the sides who invest the least into their squad and have had La Liga stability for several seasons are now selling of the three most expensive season tickets in Spain on average.
Barcelona are likely to experience similar ire themselves next season, as they move to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, which houses a little over half of their capacity at Camp Nou. It will see many fans simply lose their season tickets while work is ongoing to renovate Camp Nou, while those that do get a ticket are likely to face significantly higher prices. Institutional Vice-President Elena Fort claimed they were selling a different experience, and thus the price would differ too. Many would point out that the Lluis Companys is likely to offer a worse experience.
Ultimately, this will end up having an impact on the experience too. As local fans are forced out of stadiums and tickets are catered to tourists, the atmosphere will suffer and below the very elite level, those visiting may feel less inclined to sit in a half-empty stadium.
