January 1 will herald a historic moment for English football: after more than 25 years, fans are set to be legally allowed to stand at four grounds in the Premier League and one in the Championship. Experts in “safe-standing” are expecting a rush in the summer from other clubs in England’s top two divisions to install “rail seats” that will allow supporters to legally stand at their matches too.
Anyone who goes to matches in England’s top two divisions knows that despite the abolition of terraces in 1995, many supporters already choose to stand in front of their seats in large numbers, which campaigners have long argued is more dangerous than licensed safe-standing.
What will be different at the five clubs that have applied to be “early adopters” of safe-standing — who The Times has learnt are Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Cardiff City — is that they will have specific areas where not only are fans allowed to stand, but they will also have the necessary protections in place with barriers or rails to prevent “progressive crowd collapse”.
The five clubs have committed to providing safe-standing for home and away fans. The numbers vary but at Tottenham’s new stadium there should be licensed standing for more than 10,000 supporters, including 7,000 in the South Stand.
Jon Darch, who has run the Safe-Standing Roadshow and has campaigned for the Football Supporters’ Association, said: “Quite a few more clubs have it on the radar for next summer. I would expect to see a number of clubs doing some kind of safe-standing installation next summer.”
Wolverhampton Wanderers have some rail seating and initially applied to be an early adopter but withdrew their application due to the requirements for away fans. West Ham United also have some rail seating, while Arsenal are already in talks with supporters about making a safe-standing provision for next season.
The criteria for safe-standing in English football has been drawn up by Ken Scott, the head of inspectorate for the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA), which will confirm the names of the clubs who have applied next week.
It appears almost certain that all five will be approved, but Scott has been keen to stress that even where space allows, only one standing fan for one seated fan will be permitted, though he accepts that that situation may change in the future.
“I am still nervous about the pressure we will inevitably get for more than one seated position for one standing position because it happens in Europe,” he told The Times. “We know that Germany for instance goes for 1.8 standing per one seated but we are very careful that we move ahead with this at a cautious pace because I want this thing to work. I don’t want it to blow up in our faces. It closes the door initially to more than one for one but these things can be reviewed in the future.”
Darch agrees that is the best approach, adding: “The last thing anyone wants to see is the squeezing in of extra fans.”
The SGSA’s criteria says that every standing fan needs a space of 0.2m² per person, which limits the numbers permitted, especially in the older stadiums. Tottenham’s purpose-built safe-standing areas could accommodate more standing and still comply with the space criteria but Scott said the club is not pushing for that.
“You could push it beyond that — in some of the modern stadiums you could probably get beyond one for one — but Spurs are not interested in that for the minute,” he added. “It may be that we can evaluate that at the end of the season. Hopefully, depending on the government’s decision, it will lead to a wider roll-out at the end of the season.”
In the longer term, Scott envisages a system where clubs increase safe-standing areas on a step-by-step basis, until they cater for all those who want to stand throughout a match, but leave areas in front for those who choose to sit or who must sit.
“If you take as an example the Kop at Liverpool, where there are many thousands of people standing, I’m a firm believer that lots of people are standing because they have got no choice if they want to see what’s happening.
“What I am keen to do — and I have discussed this with all the clubs who have installed the seats with rails or barriers — is address the risks as soon as we can.
“We have to do it by increment, with say a couple of thousand seats with rails at the back, and increase it until we reach the tipping point between those that want to stand and those that want to sit.
“Most of the venues will not have enough to meet the demand so these are works in progress.
“I think this will satisfy lots of customer care issues too. I’m a Sunderland fan and I know, if I want to watch them away, I will need to stand for 90 minutes and lots of people can’t do that.”
In years to come, clubs in England and Wales may reflect the set-up in Germany, with a third of a stadium given over to safe-standing — for example, Borussia Dortmund’s stadium has 53,675 seats and 27,589 safe-standing places.
“This is a historic moment but we don’t want to push it to extremes,” Scott said. “This is safe-standing — licensed standing in an area and not a return to terracing. That is a really significant point.”
How will safe-standing work?
Safe-standing areas have seats incorporating rails or barriers. These seats should flip up automatically so that if no one is sitting on them they are in an upright position.
What is the timetable for this development?
Five clubs who have applied to be “early adopters” should be licensed for safe-standing areas from January 1, with legislation changed to allow other clubs in England’s top two divisions to have similar areas from next summer onwards.
Can the seats be locked in an upright position?
Not in England and Wales; they have to be able to flip down if the fan wants to sit. The seats can be locked upright and down in Scotland, which has different legislation and where Celtic have that kind of rail seat installed. That does allow more space for standing but at least one manufacturer now has a flip-seat which is completely concealed in the frame.
Why should there be seats at all if it is safe for standing?
Some competition organisers such as Uefa and Fifa require all-seat stadiums for their competitions. The British government would almost certainly not have entertained changing legislation around safe-standing unless seats remained an option.
How much does it cost to install seats with barriers or rails?
The cheapest versions start at £60 to £90 per seat but the more comfortable the seat, the more the price rises.
Is there a risk that old stadiums could actually have a smaller capacity for standing fans than seats in the same area?
Potentially — although old stadiums can have very narrow spaces between the seats and there have been situations where if everyone stands then people spill out into the aisles. Ken Scott of the Sports Ground Safety Authority says that would affect capacity — but that of those clubs who have applied for safe-standing areas in January those issues have already been sorted out, so capacity will remain one standing fan per seat.
