Andy Burnham’s plan to allow drinking in football stands would hurt pubs, not help fans

A football drinking debate that misses the point

Andy Burnham’s remarks about allowing supporters to drink alcohol in football stands have been treated as a significant intervention, but Barney Ronay argues that they amount to little more than the mayor’s long-held personal view during a period of political positioning.

Alcohol has been prohibited within sight of the pitch in English football since the late 1980s. Ronay accepts that Burnham was not announcing a policy, but contends that the idea is still misguided: there is already extensive access to alcohol around most urban football grounds, and supporters do not need to be more intoxicated once inside stadiums.

Pubs are the real match-day community

The central argument is economic and social. Local pubs surrounding football grounds rely on match days for their busiest trading periods, with supporters gathering before and after games. Moving even a small share of that spending into stadiums would strengthen clubs and their corporate owners while weakening independent pubs that operate on narrow margins.

Ronay points to the concentration of pubs around major grounds as evidence of the existing match-day culture: there are said to be 174 active pubs within a mile of St James’ Park, alongside dozens near Molineux, Portman Road and Arsenal’s stadium. Around Everton, he notes, supporters are still within a short walk of numerous pubs.

He also warns that a more alcohol-heavy stadium environment could make football feel less comfortable for newer supporters and women, many of whom may already feel excluded by the behaviour associated with drunken crowds. Re-legalising alcohol in the stands, he suggests, would inevitably bring more flying pints and disorder without solving any substantial problem.

A symbolic issue, not a national priority

Ronay rejects the comparison with drinking at the opera, arguing that different venues have different rules and cultures. He sees Burnham’s framing of the issue as a question of “discrimination” as an attempt to turn a niche preference into a tribal political cause.

The article presents the proposal as an example of Burnham’s broader political style: approachable public messaging wrapped around familiar cultural signals. But on this issue, the conclusion is blunt. The police oppose the change, it is unlikely to happen, and the current ban helps preserve one of football’s remaining links with the wider social life of the communities around its grounds.