England: Return to safe standing

Since January, selected clubs have been allowed to offer their fans tickets in so-called safe-standing areas. For the new season, this model has now been officially approved for the two highest divisions.

January 2, 2022 was a historic day for English football. Not that the 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool FC would have been given a prominent entry in the history books in the long run, but rather another circumstance ensured the sporting historical relevance: For the first time in almost 30 years, fans were again allowed to stand in the stadiums of the English Premier League.

In January 1990, a decision was made that would permanently change English football: With the publication of the so-called Taylor Report, which addressed the effects and causes of the Hillsborough disaster, stadium-goers on the island had to prepare for drastic changes. The disaster at Sheffield Wednesday‘s stadium on April 15, 1989, killed 97 people. Just four years after the Bradford and Heysel disasters, England‘s football was once again shocked by a major tragedy. From August 1994, standing areas were banned in professional stadiums. The fact that Lord Justice Taylor did not classify standing areas as a general safety risk in his report did not change this decision.

Successful pilot project

It was not until 2012 – 23 years after Hillsborough – that it became known that it was not the fans but the law enforcement officers who were essentially to blame for the accident, and another four years later the jury of a commission of inquiry ruled that the deceased had been “unlawfully killed.“ With the reassignment of blame, at the latest, calls grew louder for standing-room-only crowds to be allowed again in England. This goal was a decisive step closer at the beginning of 2022.

Since January 1, the first five clubs have been officially allowed to offer standing areas. Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea FC, Manchester City and Cardiff City were the clubs that went along with the test run. At the end of April, England‘s Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston commented on initial impressions. According to analyses, the standing areas had had a positive effect on the safety of stadium visitors and improved the matchday experience. In recent years, it was normal for visiting fans in particular to stand during the game, even in the Premier League. During uncontrolled goal celebrations, falls over the low seating shells were not uncommon, potentially resulting in serious injuries.

The interim report by CFE Research, commissioned by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA), concluded that barriers and railings installed in front of seats make goal celebrations more orderly and overcrowding easier to detect. It also found that entering and exiting rows and aisles is safer because of the “stability“ provided by the barriers, and that there is less conflict between stewards and fans because staff no longer have to ask fans to sit down.

Official permission for Premier League and EFL Championship

As announced by the British government, clubs in England‘s top two divisions that want to introduce licensed standing areas in stadiums are allowed to do so from the 2022/23 season. The necessary amendments to the Football Spectator Act were introduced in Parliament on July 4, 2022.

This decision is encouraging other clubs to retrofit corresponding areas in their stadiums. Leeds United, for example, has already fitted some rows of seats with rail seats and plans to convert other areas of the stadium. Second division club Queens Park Rangers announced in March that it would convert slightly less than 1,000 seats to rail seats. The club previously conducted a survey of its fans in which 74% were in favor of introducing secure standing room at Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium. Due to minor delays, the new standing areas are expected to be completed by the end of August. Around the same time, some 600 variable seats in the guest block at St. James Park in Newcastle are also expected to be completed. Safe-standing seats in the home section are being considered for next year.

Wolverhampton Wanderers already took this step in 2019, equipping the Sir Jack Hayward Stand at their home, Molineux Stadium, with variably adjustable folding seats. This decision was also based on a survey of the club‘s own fans, which produced an even clearer result than at Queens Park Rangers: 97% of season ticket holders in the areas concerned were in favor of installing the Vario solution, even though the safe-standing model had not yet been approved at the time. However, the old seats would have had to be replaced anyway and so Wolves‘ move was a strong signal on the way back to standing room in English stadiums.

Liverpool FC also installed several thousand rail seats last year, at the time still stating that this should not be understood as the introduction of a safe-standing model. Due to the changed legal situation, however, this now no longer seems unlikely.

Numerous other safe-standing projects expected

Even Wembley Stadium will receive two safe-standing areas, each with 1,000 seats, which will probably be accessible for the first time next year. Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston is confident that numerous other clubs will follow suit in the coming months and equip their stadiums with safe-standing areas. However, the interested clubs will have to observe and comply with strict safety regulations.

Arsenal is also discussing the idea of introducing safe-standing areas at Emirates Stadium. However, structural issues also need to be clarified; after all, the stadium was not designed for the possible introduction of standing areas. As part of the decision-making process, the club entered into dialogue with fans and conducted surveys, which also showed that Gunners supporters are in favour of safe standing areas. However, Arsenal has not yet announced a final decision at the time of editorial deadline.

The latest newly opened stadiums in English professional football have even included safe-standing areas during construction. Tottenham Hotspur have installed around 7,500 rail seats in their new stadium. Everton FC, the new stadium is currently under construction, also has a possible widespread rollout in mind and has taken this into account in its planning. At the new home stadium, which is scheduled for completion in 2024, parts of the north and south stands are to be equipped with vario seats.

Brentford FC, which moved to its new stadium in 2020, even converted an entire stand for the new season. The entire west of the stadium, a block in the south stand and a section in the visitors‘ area offer the possibility of watching the game standing up. This is a tradition at the club anyway: at the Bees‘ former stadium, Griffin Park, there was standing room until the move, despite the ban, always with special permission from the authorities. Since the club already installed folding seats at the Brentford Community Stadium when it was built, only the railings were now installed, so a complete conversion of all seats would not be necessary.

Back to a better mood?

The introduction of safe standing is expected to make the crowds in English stadiums more atmospheric and informal again. In order to achieve this, it would probably also be necessary to tackle a problem associated with the seats: the ticket prices. Due to their high price, these exclude some fans from watching a match of their club in the stadium, as even the cheapest categories cost significantly more than in most first division stadiums in the rest of Europe. Whether safe standing in England will lead to more affordable pricing structures is more than questionable. In the event of price reductions, the clubs would therefore generate less ticket revenue. (STADIAWORLD, 10.08.2022)