There was a time when working-class men in cloth caps would stand shoulder to shoulder on the terraces in all weathers and amid a haze of cigarette smoke to watch their favourite team play.
A matchday consisted of a meat pie or cup of Bovril, perhaps a pint of bitter, and two hours' escapism from the drudgery of everyday life.
But today's football fans are able to enjoy just a little more from their afternoon or evening out. Just ask Tottenham supporters, whose incredible new stadium is the most technologically advanced in the Premier League and boasts all manner of luxuries to experience.
The changing demographic of those who fill football stadiums - more families, more corporate clients, more tourists - means that football has to be precisely that, an 'experience.'
It makes the task of designing the perfect modern football stadium, of offering all things to all comers, incredibly difficult to get right.
'In UK football there has been a long-standing experience of bad beer and bad pies,' says Christopher Lee, architect and managing director at Populous, who designed Tottenham's new stadium among many others.
It's no longer acceptable to simply build a soulless, functional concrete bowl and call it a football stadium. Supporters demand more.
It's why pretty much each and every new sports stadium unveiled today takes the breath away, not only in terms of its architecture and design but also the unique selling points that are contained within.
Real Madrid's £500million redesign of the Santiago Bernabeu, expected to be completed by 2022, features a chrome finish to the exterior and a retractable roof.
Inside, a 360-degree screen just below the roof structure will allow each of the 81,044 spectators views of replays and other information while the match is in progress.
Not wanting to be outdone by their bitter rivals, Barcelona are planning a £320m project to remodel their gigantic Nou Camp, adding a roof, underground parking and adjacent arenas for their other sports teams.
The designs naturally look stunning, with open-air concourses offering supporters a panoramic view of the city.
With advances in stadium technology, emboldened architects are drawing inspiration not only from existing stadiums but historic and symbolic buildings in that particular city or region.
Roma's new £268m stadium development takes inspiration from the city's Roman Colosseum, while Herzog & de Meuron's spectacular designs for Chelsea's Stamford Bridge rebuild - assuming owner Roman Abramovich proceeds with it - are influenced by Westminster Abbey and its soaring buttresses.
But it's the quirky little things that fans also notice - Tottenham's new home at White Hart Lane will have a Beavertown microbrewery on site capable of serving up to 10,000 pints per minute, Michelin Star-level fine dining and a Tunnel Club similar to Manchester City's where only a glass screen splits corporate-level fans from the players.
As well as offering something original, it's important that they properly represent and reflect the proud history and heritage of a football club.
There is a balance to be struck. When a club uproots from one ground to another, it is a seismic and disconcerting shift from a home that is often idiosyncratic but much-loved and brimming with memories, to a modern place that takes some getting used to.
Littering that new home with a few statues and some old pictures as a reluctant nod to a century or more of history can often look pretty naff and ill-conceived.
The march of technology means modern stadiums increasingly play host to more than one sport, with playing surfaces, stands and other facilities seamlessly adaptable to the needs of the day.
Tottenham's new stadium boasts a retractable pitch, with the grass surface for football matches mounted on three steel trays - each of which weighs 3,000 tonnes - that slot away under the South Stand to reveal an artificial NFL surface underneath. Incredibly, the transition takes just 25 minutes.
The concept of multi-functional stadia comes from America, where baseball, American Football and soccer have long shared the same patch of grass.
One excellent modern example is the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which opened last year, and is home to the Atlanta Falcons NFL team and Atlanta United of Major League Soccer.
It boasts an eight-panel retractable roof that resembles a pinwheel and when it opens is meant to resemble a bird spreading its wings.
The Atlanta venue is at the vanguard of some other exciting designs in the United States, including the glass-roofed, $5billion Los Angeles Stadium that will be home to the LA Rams and LA Chargers NFL teams from 2020.
In what has become a must-have accessory, it has a 360 degree video screen mounted high above the action with 60,000 linear feet of digital display space.
In Las Vegas, the new home of the Raiders will have another remarkable feature - a jail and a courtroom to detain and process any supporters who get too rowdy.
So what does the future hold? As stadium designs become more and more ambitious, they must keep up with the whims of spectators.
Some American stadium plans have considered the idea of installing vibrating seats, while Japan's unsuccessful bid for the 2022 football World Cup audaciously included plans to broadcast matches around the world in the form of 3D holograms.
While that is all very Star Trek, technology such as electronic signs that inform those seeking a half-time pie or pint where the shortest queue is and gender-neutral toilets that are adaptable based on ticket sales data are imminent.
In the future, we may see at-seat catering via a mobile app or fans accessing replays and stats through Virtual Reality headsets.
Will technology's relentless march in our lives lead to an existential crisis for the football stadium as we know it?
What makes up the perfect stadium? These are some of favourite features from grounds around the world
Allianz Arena (Bayern Munich)
Over 300,000 LED lights over a surface area of 26,000 square metres are capable of producing some 16million different colour combinations behind the diamond-shaped panels that form the stadium’s membrane shell.
Signal Iduna Park (Borussia Dortmund)
The stadium’s southern terrace, more commonly known as ‘The Yellow Wall’, is the largest free-standing grandstand in Europe and can hold some 25,000 standing spectators who create a formidable atmosphere.
New White Hart Lane (Tottenham)
In a world first, Tottenham’s new stadium will boast a retractable pitch. The grass football pitch sits in three steel trays (each weighing 3,000 tonnes) that slot away under the South Stand in 25 minutes to reveal an artificial NFL surface beneath.
Spurs have joined forces with local beer company Beavertown to install a microbrewery inside the south-east corner of their new stadium. Beavertown brews will be on sale around the stadium with an exclusive collaboration beer in the pipeline.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta Falcons)
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta features a stunning eight-panel retractable roof that resembles a pinwheel. Each of the panels is translucent to allow light in anyway and when opening it is meant to resemble a bird extending its wings.
Los Angeles NFL stadium (LA Rams and Chargers)
360 degree video screens positioned high above the stands have become popular in the States. The one in LA has over 60,000 linear feet of digital display to offer fans replays and scores.
Etihad Stadium (Manchester City)
Tunnel club offers unprecedented access to the players. City’s £15,000-a-season hospitality area is separated from the players in the tunnel by just a glass screen. As well as five-course fine dining, fans receive a tactical briefing pre-match from one of Pep Guardiola’s staff.
Located right next to the main stadium is City’s £200m training complex and headquarters - the Etihad Campus. It boasts 16 football pitches and a mini 7,000-capacity stadium for the Under-23 and women’s teams plus state-of-the-art training and medical facilities.
Baku Crystal Hall
You’d have no problem finding your way to this venue with 38 colour searchlights beaming out 7,000 watts into the sky. What’s more the facade is covered in 9,500 LED lights.
