The general consensus among football fans, journalists, pundits and players is that the atmosphere inside Premier League stadiums has been on a steady decline over the past 10-15 years.
The increase in ticket prices, combined with extended areas of hospitality within stadiums have pushed working-class supporters out the door, and the impact is there for all to see.
There is arguably no better set of supporters to discuss the change in Premier League atmospheres than Sunderland's. The Black Cats were relegated from the top flight in 2017 and only returned this year.
Online, their fans have been left largely unimpressed with the atmospheres across the Premier League, and these thoughts have now been echoed by one of their players.
Luke O'Nien gives Premier League atmosphere verdict
Luke O'Nien, who has become a cult hero at Sunderland over the past eight years, was interviewed by TalkSport earlier this week following his first Premier League start at Elland Road against Leeds. In the interview, the 31-year-old offered his thoughts on the best atmospheres in the division. He said:
“The Leeds atmosphere the other day was special because, I think that the Premier League's been incredible, but the atmosphere hasn't quite matched the level, I'd like to say.
“When you go to a place like Leeds – the game, what it is, it's special. And our fans have been like that since League One.”
To any young kid reading this…
— Luke O'Nien (@LukeONien) March 4, 2026
I’ve doubted myself in every league I’ve ever played in.
Ryman Prem.
Conference South.
League Two.
League One.
Championship…
And even right before my first Premier League start last night.
That’s not weakness.
That’s being human.
That’s being… pic.twitter.com/x1JFCJVAlp
O'Nien also took the opportunity to wax lyrical about Sunderland fans and the Stadium of Light. The midfielder said:
“The Stadium of Light is packed out every weekend, even every away end. We had 35,000 fans in League One, and we're a sell-out in the Premier League. It's special that the fans have always believed in us. They've kept supporting us, and I think we're returning that.”
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The Stadium of Light has certainly been a breath of fresh air this season and a much-needed addition to the Premier League. However, it's important that we don't rewrite history. Despite what O'Nien claimed in his interview with TalkSport, Sunderland's attendance figures during their League One stint weren't overly impressive.
In fact, during the club's last season in the third tier of English football, they were barely averaging 30,000 fans per match.