"Sport, Space and the City" highlights the changing nature of "football space", the growing rationalization and modernization of British football landscape and the impact of football on the urban environment. Initially played in open spaces, football now takes place in highly enclosed, confined spaces. Employing both the literature of the terraces and the ideas of cultural theorists and geographers, the author explores the gradual territorialization of football. Traditional landscapes have helped to create a sense of place-pride for many fans; for many local citizens the stadium and the game remains a source of annoyance or fear. New economic demands are increasing the pressure on many clubs to relocate and to envision the stadium within the more lucrative structure of leisure complexes on the edge of cities. Fans are markedly less keen than developers on such a move. With the prospect of the loss of a sense of place, the simple enjoyment of the game has been transformed into political activism. The British case is set within the context of football and landscapes in both Europe and North America to explore international responses to both place-pride and "pollution".
- ISBN10 0415080983
- ISBN13 9780415080989
- Publish Date 29 October 1992
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 8 November 2009
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Imprint Routledge
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 256
- Language English