Essay --

Taking a Stand Not since the start of the 1994/95 football season have we seen standing areas in the top two divisions of the English football league. But yet much like the movie ‘Jurassic Park’ these stands are coming back, without the death and dinosaurs this time however. The cost of ticket prices are now ridiculously high especially considering the economic problems we are in. Average ticket prices in the Premier League are the highest within the four major European leagues, the others being La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A. The average ticket price of a Premier League game is  £28.30, this is a huge price to pay to see a game of football. This compared to the average price of a ticket to a Bundesliga football match which is only  £10, clearly shows the just how shocking the gulf in prices are. However many clubs can claim that this influx of cash each week is needed to support the ever growing maintenance costs of all seated stadiums and to support the club financially at the s ame time. So if only there was a way to lower the prices yet allow the club to make more money from match attendances. Well my friends I think I have found the cure to this disease. The solution lies in the return of standing areas to football grounds. Now these standing areas would not be the same dangerous, hooliganism plagued standing areas of old; no they would be cheap, safe standing areas. Introducing safe standing areas would lower ticket prices and season tickets dramatically; this can be proven by looking at one of the largest football clubs in the world, Bayern Munich. You would expect a club of such magnitude to have season ticket prices as high as the moon, but you’d be wrong. The lowest costing season ticket for the standing area is only  £150... ...s a credit not only German football but standing areas as well. The premier league should be looking over its shoulder, for everyday they waste squabbling over what to do the Bundesliga gets stronger and will soon be challenging to take over the title of ‘Best League in the World’. Even the lousy, misery filled stadiums of the horrific Scottish Premier League (SPL) have followed Germanys lead, by dropping its ban against standing areas. This shows just how far behind the apparently almighty Premier League is, that essentially an amateur league is further ahead than it is. Fortunately the situation is looking brighter as supporters groups from 12 Premier League clubs have confirmed they are backing a trial for standing areas and despite the fact that progress is slow, the wheels are in motion and it is only a matter of time before the momentum begins to build.