I had a perfect seat at the World Cup. Then someone a few rows ahead of me stood up. Then the next row. Then the next. By the time it reached me, I had no choice but to stand, too. Here's the economics of why that happens everywhere.
But ushers don't have to ask people to pay'. This is 2026 -- the stadium owners know who paid for every seat. There is AI to do facial recognition of every person standing in the stadium to check that they are the person who paid for the ticket, and they have IDs for everyone who entered, to discover those who came in and changed seats. The owner hands a little sheet to everyone who enters, stating that there will be a small charge for standing. They offer, say, five minutes overall exemption for "excitement" when there is a score. Those who stand for more than five minutes get a minor charge after the game. Economics doesn't rule -- incentives do.
But ushers don't have to ask people to pay'. This is 2026 -- the stadium owners know who paid for every seat. There is AI to do facial recognition of every person standing in the stadium to check that they are the person who paid for the ticket, and they have IDs for everyone who entered, to discover those who came in and changed seats. The owner hands a little sheet to everyone who enters, stating that there will be a small charge for standing. They offer, say, five minutes overall exemption for "excitement" when there is a score. Those who stand for more than five minutes get a minor charge after the game. Economics doesn't rule -- incentives do.