In the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, football clubs were forced to tear down the standing-only terraces so beloved by generations of hardcore fans. A powerful flood of new revenue from merchandising and ticket sales poured into the game. Initially the clubs fretted that too much TV exposure might keep the fans away from the stadiums, but the contrary proved to be the case. The more the fans saw of top-notch football artistry and excitement on television, the more they wanted to see the game in person. Of the 36,610 seats at Newcastle's St. James' Park, some 33,500 are held by season ticket holders.
Families fight over who gets to go to the match.
Tickets are increasingly hard to come by in other popular clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea. Many matches are sold out weeks ahead and higher ticket prices have meant squeezing out the casual fan, the younger fan and people without the several hundred dollars needed to pay for a season ticket. Liverpool and Newcastle sold 600,000 shirts each. Yet while the clubs are collecting barrels of cash at a furious rate, they are also spending it nearly as fast. It goes straight through the clubs' bank accounts to pay players' salaries and transfer fees.