Some of London’s biggest venues are rinsing fans at the bar – but the grassroots game shows there’s another way
Back in 2023 during the singer’s Tottenham residency, Beyoncé’s Renaissance t-shirt merch had a message: ‘London has a problem!’ Little did Queen Bey know the slogan would end up perfectly describing the cost of grabbing a drink and something to eat at the capital’s biggest event venues.
This summer, as Bad Bunny and Harry Styles have rocked Wembley and Tottenham, a night out increasingly requires you to suspend your disbelief. Pints at stadiums and venues like the O2 Arena are nudging towards the mythical £10 mark and double spirits and mixers creeping towards £20. It’s a magic trick for your bank balance: blink and it’s gone.
A few football clubs are at least doing something about it. Premier League champions Arsenal offer pints of Guinness and Meantime for under a fiver before kick-off, encouraging fans to get through the turnstiles early. Tottenham’s partnership with Beavertown remains one of the best stadium beer tie-ups around, while Fulham supporters can enjoy a pint by the Thames for under a fiver before the game.
But fans are increasingly fed up. Reddit is full of horror stories: ‘Are you mad?!’ is one reply to someone paying £17 for a pint and nachos. Perhaps the most common advice: eat before the game. A quick visit to the local chicken or kebab shop across the road is a classic London flex that continues to unite fans across the city.
Of course, we know the costs of running these events are through the roof but extracting even more money from hardworking fans is a tough one to swallow. That’s why we previously asked, Are we being priced out of culture?
All is not lost. Football fans are increasingly tired of the greed at the top of the food chain and Donald Trump meddling in footie affairs. On both sides of the Atlantic, many are realising that bigger isn’t necessarily better. This piece was, in part, inspired by the story of a man called Ron Gordon who’s been fighting price gouging at US sports venues since 1978, long before “greedflation” was a headline. Ron, we salute you
Instead, head to one of the capital’s grassroots football clubs and you’ll discover matchdays that are full of community vibes. At the likes of Dulwich Hamlet and Clapton CFC, a pint (around the £6 mark) comes from local breweries Brick or Pretty Decent. The money you spend supports the local economy. Likewise, spending your hard-earned at one of the city’s incredible independent music venues is directly supporting a part of the industry that needs it most.
So if London really does have a problem, is the answer to go back to the (grass)roots?
