'Safe-standing'

[Tomo]

I know we've had countless threads on stadium development etc, but anybody think this would be a good idea for part of our stadium if we were to finish/improve Vale Park, or move? This looks pretty smart to me:

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/celtic-reveal-new-2600-capacity-safe-standing-area-with-brendan-rodgers-set-for-first-home-match-as-a7136581.html

 

There's a growing mention of it, & Celtic are the first British club to have this. Bit more info:

 

http://www.fsf.org.uk/campaigns/safe-standing/

[cheshirevaliant]

I think it's only a matter of time before most clubs adopt this.

[pvfc.pride.england]

I think it's only a matter of time before most clubs adopt this.

 

I hope so, i love standing at football matches, i use to stand up with my dad when i was a kid, it was brilliant, can remember standing at griffin park, saltergate, gay meadow, and a few more, nothing worse than being asked to sit down at a football match, i'd absoulutley welcome back standing.

[Jacko51]

I'm all in favour of safe standing - been advocating it for years. It will stop people standing up in front of me when I actually want to sit down in the seated areas!

[robf]

I think Bristol City are "testing" it still aren't they? They have a small block of the safe standing seats at Ashton Gate which are being tested at rugby games when Bristol Rugby play there (it is still banned from use in the Football League).

 

I would hope that as long as it's tested thoroughly and then approved then it would start appearing in grounds. I personally would welcome the choice between standing and sitting just as long as it was safe.

 

Link to story - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/26141427

[Machinist]

very interesting

 

Celtic reveal new 2,600 capacity safe-standing area

Celtic have paid in the region of £500,000 converting one corner of the 60,000 capacity venue

 

sounds cheap

[davidatpreston]

To me, this is one of the most important issues in football - it was an outrageous decision to impose all seaters years ago, mainly because of Thatcher after Heysel and Hillsbrough, and we all had to suffer.

Football lost much of its magic and atmosphere and it would return with standing areas, particualarly at clubs like Vale.

A good mix of seating and standing - as we used to have with seats in the Railway Stand and standing in the Railway Paddock - would be fantastic, and crowds would surely increase.

That cost to Celtic is just £20 per person, and I reckon fans would pay that as a one-off on top of their entry fee and this would finance the thing. RIP OUT THOSE AWFUL SEATS !

[Tomo]

I understand that Machinist, doesn't look cheap, but I'm not sure if that means they've paid that much for the seats & converting job, or have they paid some for the privilege of having them too? Perhaps when they're more widely used, they may become cheaper? Could be because they're only being trialled, I don't know, only saw it whilst at work today so haven't read a lot about it yet.

 

Either way, if we were to finish the LS or move, I reckon we should definitely incorporate rail seats into our stadium. If we did have the money, imagine the entire Bycars made out of them, would bring the atmosphere (& more fans) right back in there!

[Conrad]

I understand that Machinist, doesn't look cheap, but I'm not sure if that means they've paid that much for the seats & converting job, or have they paid some for the privilege of having them too? Perhaps when they're more widely used, they may become cheaper? Could be because they're only being trialled, I don't know, only saw it whilst at work today so haven't read a lot about it yet.

 

Either way, if we were to finish the LS or move, I reckon we should definitely incorporate rail seats into our stadium. If we did have the money, imagine the entire Bycars made out of them, would bring the atmosphere (& more fans) right back in there!

 

Great idea, I always stand at away matches(right at the back so as not to block the view of those seated)

[TJHValiant]

As things stand (ahem) we originally had to go all seater because we were in the 2nd Tier at the time and spent long enough to be demanded to have an all seater stadium. That was why the old Lorne Street had to either close or be demolished.

 

Smaller clubs like Stevenage/Burton who have standing would need to get rid of it if they ever get promoted. Burton will have to convert if they stay up for a few seasons.

 

I agree with the principle, as I love standing. Brentford, Burton, Barnet etc have been great away day standing experiences. However as long as the regulations demand it, we should stay all seater. The Bristol City experiment only applies to rugby.. not football...but they should be able to use it in league 1?

[keeled56]

Yes great idea !!

 

Sent from my LG-V400 using Tapatalk

[Santa]

The Bristol City thing has been removed because that stand was knocked down and rebuilt.

 

I don't agree with the term 'safe standing' because it implies that ordinary terracing is inherently unsafe. If it was, the standing areas at league grounds like Fleetwood and Morecambe would be shut.

 

Some very wrong conclusions were drawn at the end of the 80s which need to be revisited.

[Fosse69]

Is not the point of rail seats to cater for different competition rules? Germans can stand for ordinary league games but Champions league require all seated. The "Celtic" standing is for league games, so presumably could not be used for Champions league? I seem to remember that Lorne St has to be all-seater since we were tier 2 at the time the Govt funding was given.

[Magicman]

At the recent Vale Legends game me and my friend ended up right at the back of the Lorne St. stand, so for most of the game we stood as we weren't blocking any views, it would be good to be able to do this regularly so I'm all for it.

[Tomo]

Santa, be that as it may, whatever you call it (terracing, safe-seating, whatever), rail seats are multi-purpose, & in my opinion look better, as the colours go with the rest of the stadium, far more appealing than a giant block of concrete (basically what we have to look at every weekend, with a few rails).

 

It's got to be part of the future of modern football stadia for me. Looks far more natural.