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Have you ever packed your swimming costume to go and watch live football?

Season tickets in Fulham’s Riverside Stand can already cost up to £3,000 – the highest in the league – and a new eight-tier hospitality section opened this weekend offering Michelin-star menus, rooftop pool access on the three-floor ‘Sky Deck’, sweeping views across the River Thames and London, plus the best halfway-line seats.

Fulham is owned by US billionaire Shahid Khan and there is no doubt this an American sport-inspired hospitality experience – but it’s actually more akin to a five-star hotel or a cruise ship, than other elite stadium hospitality like Tottenham or Everton’s new ground.

BBC Sport was invited to take a look around on Saturday, as Fulham lost 3-1 to Everton.

The rooftop pool hadn’t been finished – although you can’t actually see the pitch from the pool. But that’s deliberate. Watching the football feels like an afterthought.

Architect Phillip Johnson of the firm Populous explains: “Usually when you build a new stand you try to maximise the view of the pitch. The Riverside Stands switches the focus to the river.

“It means it is designed unusually for a football ground. We took from the tradition of rowing and boat houses down in Putney.”

And project director Glen Sutton said: “We thought way less about the average football experience. The design of this is much more similar to world-class hotels, cruise ships or restaurants than anything in football.”

On non-matchdays, the stand remains open and also becomes a private members’ club – targeted at local residents in the wealthy part of west London where Craven Cottage is situated.

The new Riverside Stand facilities are directly opposite the Johnny Haynes Stand. Built in 1905, it is the oldest stand in English football and a Grade II listed building, offering real heritage – but limiting opportunities to modernise that part of the ground.

Fulham chief executive Alistair Mackintosh explained: “Fulham has always been blessed with a wonderful location but until today not had wonderful hospitality.

“This has been a long time coming. We wanted the best stand in the world. Going way back, this was a real vision for me – but we had delays with Covid, and needing a lease for the River Thames.

“I spoke to the Fulham Supporters’ Trust when I first started 17 years ago, and they said two things were important to them. First, sustainability and then staying at Craven Cottage.

So Fulham fans have kept their historic 28,000-capacity ground. But what’s the pay-off?

The wider backdrop to Fulham’s ‘world class’ Riverside fan experience is the Premier League’s relentless march towards monetising the matchday experience.

Fans at several clubs including Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have held protests this season over ticket price rises, concerned that clubs are prioritising more lucrative corporate hospitality sales instead of season ticket holders who contribute to the atmosphere at games.

Broadly, there is also a perception that local, hardcore supporters are being priced out of matches, in favour of tourists, who will spend more money on food, drink and in the club shop on matchdays.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) has been critical about an “attack on concessions” at some clubs and suggested the reduction on season tickets available is a “covert” way of charging premium prices for the biggest games.

Other clubs such as Wolves, Brentford and Liverpool have announced freezes on ticket prices.

A Liverpool MP, Ian Byrne, recently said “young working class supporters” were being “priced out” of top-flight matches.

At Manchester United, some fans behind the dugouts are being relocated to convert those seats into ‘premium-priced’ hospitality areas.

When United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe defended those ticket price increases recently, he argued: “I don’t think it makes sense for a Man United ticket to cost less than a ticket to see Fulham.”

The new Riverside development arrives amid some criticism from Fulham Supporters Trust (FST) about season ticket prices rising by 2.8% across the board.

FST, the biggest fan group at Craven Cottage, does accept that the Riverside Stand is an important revenue stream, which it says should help keep prices down for the average supporter in the rest of the ground.

They argued that matchday revenue is dwarfed by broadcast income and commercial sponsorship deals.

Fulham say the decision to raise prices “was made with careful consideration, largely driven by the continued rise in matchday and operational costs”, adding: “Our ambition to be financially sustainable, as well as competitive on the pitch in an ever-demanding Premier League, are also always important factors when deliberating ticket prices.”

The new Riverside Stand is accessed via Gate 51, and you come out directly onto a decking area which overlooks the river and has food kiosks and live music playing.

One fan said it is like walking into a “posh garden party” – this is a space open to fans with general admission tickets.

Another entrance awaits those with ‘extra’ hospitality tickets and features a golden, well-lit spiral staircase serving various lounges up from the basement to the fifth floor where the pool is.

Architect Johnson says there is very little mention of Fulham, no memorabilia, and just a few logos or discreet black and white colouring, with one floor having fabric upholstery more fitting of a Dubai skyscraper than a football setting.

There are also private rooms with private balconies overlooking the river, where you can receive Fulham shirts signed by the entire squad on arrival.

The stand overhangs the River Thames and this is where the pre-match hospitality takes place with champagne or mimosas served on arrival.

The opening of the stand was substantially delayed from its original target date of September 2021 because of many factors that arose during construction, including the Covid pandemic.

Johnson added: “It juxtaposes with the historic Johnny Haynes stand which was designed by a hero of the sports architectural industry, Archibald Leitch.”

A unique offering is a creche for parents with children too young to enjoy the match.

Private members pay between £750 and £1,250 a year, with the creche, a spa, hotel rooms and a pool available.

That fee doesn’t include access to matches and Fulham say currently only around 20%-30% of members are interested in matches alongside their packages.

Mark Wooding, who has been a fan since 1962, said: “It is expensive but a wonderful stand. We need some hospitality and although some fans pay £3,000, only a few hundred fans are paying that. We have to co-exist with hospitality and it happens at all clubs. We have a 28,000 capacity stadium only and are trying to compete with Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.”

David Clarke, a Fulham fan since 1958, said: “I understand that we need to raise as much money as we can to compete at a high level and for the team to succeed. I am happy enough with what we have got but it is not cheap.

“The disappointment is that when you pay £1,200 or so for a season ticket, you feel like there are a lot of good places you can’t go to. We have good bars down here but it would be nice to be let into even the lower hospitality levels.

Tottenham’s new stadium offers 22 tiers of tickets, with suites, fine dining and a tunnel club, where you can watch the teams come out onto the pitch through glass. Brighton also have a tunnel club offering extreme closeness to the players.

Chelsea have recently come up with a ‘Dugout Club’ and charged up to £15,000 for a single seat for the recent home match against Liverpool.

The offering includes a seat directly behind either bench, access to a blue carpet, where the team bus comes into the stadium and allows you to walk on the pitch before the match. Manchester City have also offered similar pitchside access for several seasons.

Arsenal charge more than £30,000-a-year to join the Diamond Club with heated seats, dining at an exclusive restaurant and an onyx bar for drinks.

When Everton move into their new stadium, they will be offering a “Club View Lounge” for £1,200 a ticket, in a fenced-off enclosure which will have reclining chairs, personal televisions for replays and a concierge service to deliver food.

Increasing revenue streams, in theory, is sold to promote better performances on the pitch, especially in the era of Premier League profit and sustainability rules.

Clubs like Fulham must continue raising revenues, to pay transfer fees and wages – but in a sustainable manner to balance the books and not only retain Premier League status, after years as a ‘yo-yo club’, going between the top flight and the Championship.

They have now established themselves with four years in the Premier League and are pushing to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2010 under manager Marco Silva.

But that all costs money and Fulham are competing alongside bigger, richer clubs.

Project manager Sutton told BBC Sport: “It’s a monumental day for Fulham FC.

“We borrowed much more from incredible high-end hospitality and there are unusual experiences on offer. The Riverside market downstairs has 10 independent traders, seven of which are from the local borough and that’s open to all fans.

“This development creates revenues streams that are important for the financial sustainability of a historic club like this.

“Unless you come up with creative ways to develop the location you are in, we’ve seen that other clubs have left their historic homes a few miles away, to build the capacity and amenity they need.

Belfast’s Anthony Cacace retained his IBO super-featherweight title with a ninth-round stoppage of Leigh Wood at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday.

It was a gripping battle between the two 36-year-olds, which appeared on a knife-edge until Cacace made the big breakthrough and he was in no mood to let the home favourite off the hook.

Wood is noted for his powers of recovery, highlighted by his remarkable come-from-behind victory over Michael Conlan three years ago in the same venue.

But this time it was beyond him with Cacace ruthlessly closing the show as Wood’s corner threw in the towel just as it seemed referee John Latham was about to wave it off.

Wood began confidently off the jab as he sought to assert himself, but was snapped back on a couple of occasions from Cacace’s right hands and again towards the end of the opener as there was a sense both men could land something decisive.

Neither could afford to get reckless as there was clear respect between the pair, but Wood walked into a right hand in the second round which made him think twice.

But he did get his best shot off in the dying seconds as he found a home for his own right hand which brought a respectful nod from Cacace.

They landed simultaneously in the third before Cacace appeared to make the first bit of a dent as he got through with one of his trademark uppercuts. After briefly switching to southpaw, he thumped home a left hand which seemed to drive Wood back, but was caught late in the round when missing the target and punished by a counter.

There was an air of tension as the fight proceeded, although Wood enjoyed a good fourth round as he found his range.

It remained on a knife-edge in the fifth with Cacace’s stiff jab rocking Wood’s head back, but the Nottingham man responded well to have his own success.

Early in the eighth, Cacace suffered a setback with blood beginning to pour from his nose, but Wood was made to eat a solid left up close as they began to trade blows late on.

The Englishman sought a fast start to the ninth round but it proved his undoing.

Perhaps getting a little too excited, he left himself exposed and Cacace pounced and a strong right hand appeared to have a delayed impact as Wood stumbled backwards and, with the ropes keeping him up, referee Latham gave a count.

Cacace didn’t let him off the hook as he meticulously broke Wood’s resistance, thudding home some punishing shots and the towel came in from his corner to save him from an inevitable KO.

Earlier, Lisburn’s Kurt Walker tasted defeat for the first time as he was outpointed by Liam Davies in their battle for the vacant IBF International featherweight title.

The scorecards read 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112 in favour of Englishman Davies on his return to action after his own maiden defeat on points by Shabaz Masoud last November at super-bantamweight.

Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott suffered a fractured jaw from what manager Andoni Iraola described as a “very violent” elbow by Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings.

The 21-year-old midfielder went down in the sixth minute after being caught by Mings’ right elbow in Saturday’s Premier League defeat at Vitality Stadium.

Scott required lengthy treatment but continued to play, before going to ground again holding his face after an incident involving Amadou Onana, and was subsequently replaced at half-time.

Aston Villa were reduced to 10 men with 10 minutes to play when Jacob Ramsey was shown a second yellow card, but Mings did not receive a caution, to Iraola’s dismay.

“The second yellow that Ramsey received is not a second yellow,” the Spaniard told BBC Sport. “Tyrone Mings knows what he is doing, he knew where Alex was. It was very violent.

“The value of a red card in the sixth minute or the 80th minute is very different. He sees Alex coming and for me it is very dangerous.

BBC Match of the Day pundits discussed the incident and former Wales defender Ashley Williams said: “I don’t think he means it. But only Tyrone Mings knows.

“I think it is the height difference in this. Mings does have a little look to see where the pressure is coming from and puts his arm out to protect the ball. It’s a nasty collision.”

Derry’s Paul Hughes got back in the win column with an explosive 42-second knockout victory over Bruno Miranda in Belfast.

Hughes soaked up an electric atmosphere inside the SSE Arena before producing a performance that matched it.

The 28-year-old lightweight, who dropped Miranda with a huge left hand, said: “I wish it went on a little longer, I know people wanted to see a scrap, but what do you do? I just hit too hard.

“I made my professional debut in this arena over eight years ago and every single time I drove past it I said I am going to fight there [again] and my dream came true.

“We’re a small country but we’re dong big things on the world stage. I hope I represent you all well, because I am going to the top.”

Fighting on home soil for the first time since 2019, Hughes might have felt the weight of a nation on his shoulders.

After a narrow defeat by former Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov in January, Hughes needed a big performance on home soil to stake his claim for a rematch.

But there was zero sign of nerves from Hughes, who wore a broad smile from the moment he emerged from backstage.

Hughes appeared alongside local musician Foy Vance, who sang a live version of the Dubliners ‘Grace’.

The crowd sang the lyrics back to Hughes after relentlessly booing Miranda a few moments before.

Hughes entered the cage to ‘Oles’ nd there was no time for even a slight lull in atmosphere as Hughes took advantage of a lazy kick from Miranda by catching it and delivering his knockout blow.

As Miranda collapsed and Hughes unloaded, the referee stepped in to stop the contest.

“Usman Nurmagomedov, you can run and you can try delay this rematch as long as you want, but your day is coming,” Hughes said in the aftermath.

In the co-main event, Englishman Lewis McGrillen upset local fighter Alan Philpott by submitting the Antrim man in two rounds.

Manchester’s McGrillen, fighting for the first time since winning the 2024 PFL Europe bantamweight tournament, produced a dominant performance to see off 32-year-old Philpott.

He capped the fight off with a rear-naked choke, to secure the first submission victory of his career.

McGrillen, 24, improved to 11 wins and one loss and had a simple message after his latest victory.