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> were the first to remove "prison camp" like fences between the pitch and public

Google "Hillsborough disaster".

I suspect that had more to do with "removing prison camp fences" than a desire to give "fantastic atmostphere".

The “gentrification” of football arguably hurt the atmosphere, at least for the bigger premier league teams. There were far more working class local fans singing non stop during the bad old days. If you see older videos the atmosphere was off the wall compared to today (if you want to see truly bonkers atmosphere just look up Boca-River derby or Greek or Turkish football). It was an unfortunate side effect of cleaning up the game and turning it into a tourist magnet.

I have to disagree, the atmosphere in English stadiums is absolute trash. They've been gentrified to the point of death. I can't think of a league in Europe that doesn't have a better atmosphere that the PL. As an on-site spectator, the lower English leagues are much better.