Local, working-class football fans are being priced out of enjoying the sport

Sports aren't the same without the stadium experience. Fans flock to stadiums to cheer on their favorite teams, and players are used to not only fighting hard for the win, but playing to the crowd as well. Unfortunately, this relationship has become strained by monetary factors. Ticket prices for football matches have risen to unacceptable heights. This inflation puts a damper on fans overflowing with team spirit but lacking in exorbitant amounts of cash. For example, a ticket to an LAFC game costs fifty dollars. For the whole stadium experience (parking, food, etc.), a family of four would have to drop 340 euros; and these prices are only expected to rise.^[1] An average Premier League season ticket costs around 500 euros; the highest in Europe, for which it has fielded much criticism.^[2] English football - even non-league football - is seeing a particularly bad rise in attendance cost.^[3] In fact, the prices are even driving fans out of the UK into other countries like Germany, just so they can watch football.^[4] Of course fans should pay some money to see their favorite team. But there comes a point when the asking price is too much - and we've long passed that point. Football should be accessible to as many fans as possible, and ticket prices are an essential element of that principle. But with these rising prices, fans may have to give up on an integral, time-honored tradition of attendance.