There have been rumours coming out of Ashton Gate, home of my beloved Bristol City, that a small section of rail seats are being added to the Atyeo Stand A block. This was confirmed today and the topic is bound to cause much debate.
Image: Bristol Post
Rail seats, to explain to the uninitiated, are often referred to collectively as “safe standing” areas, whereby rows of seats are fitted into rails, which can be used for either sitting or standing, depending on the position of the seat. The seat can be locked into an upright position to allow for standing, or lowered into a position where it can be used for sitting.
If you’re still wondering why I am getting quite excited by this, post Hillsborough, one of the sweeping recommendations in the Taylor Report, was for stadia to become all-seater, to stop any such disaster ever happening again. Some clubs, including Bristol City, acted quickly to adhere to this legislation and turned former areas of terrace into seating areas. This has worked well for some clubs, but in City’s case, the largest and most popular terrace (the East End) was transformed on the cheap. With a shallow rake and no backs to the seats provided, it has proved highly unpopular with away fans, despite being looked upon with nostalgia by many City “ultra” fan groups.
The introduction of rail seats will make Ashton Gate the first stadium in the UK to have this type of seating in place. As current legislation stands, City would not be able to use any such area for standing during football matches, but with Bristol Rugby Club becoming tenants at the start of the 2014/15 season, there would be no issue with using these areas for rugby. It would be a first in football history for our humble little club!
Rail seats are commonly used in Germany where UEFA dictate that stadia must be all seated for European games, but there isn’t legislation to cover standing at domestic matches. This ingenious design allows either option to be used as and when necessary. The design allows for an increased capacity, as the space vacated by 1 seat can actually accommodate 2 people standing.
As you can probably tell, I am an advocate, but this wasn’t always the case. When the idea of rail seating was first mooted I was actually strongly AGAINST the idea. With new all seater stadia springing up all over the place, I presumed this was just a pipe dream. I also thought this would probably be seen as an affront to anyone who had relatives die or badly injured at Hillsborough, or any other stadium disaster. I just couldn’t see how anyone would see any sense in bringing back standing at football matches.
However, the growing support of rail seating has meant there is more literature to read and well-reasoned arguments were soon being put forward. Along with my own experiences at football matches, my opinions were slowly turned around.
So here are 6 reasons I believe legislation should be changed and safe standing should be allowed at football stadia:
The terraces proposed are a far cry from those crumbling edifices found at stadia up until the late 80s. Each row of rail seats has its own rail, meaning there are no crowd surges, no crush barriers and no mass crowd movement. It has been used in large German stadia for years with no issues.
Many, many lessons were learnt from the Hillsborough disaster. Grounds are much, much safer than they were back in the 80s. The development of safe standing could be a shining example of how crowd safety has developed in the UK.
It encourages clubs to reduce ticket prices. Standing areas have always been a cheaper option and it might attract back those who simply felt football was becoming too expensive to attend.
It produces a clear divide between those who want to stand and those who want to sit. Currently friction occurs when one person wants to stand and one wants to sit in a seated area.
It is much safer than standing in seated areas. I have ended up standing in many a seating area and when passion takes over, it is all too easy to take a tumble over the chair in front, or simply end up with very bruised shins.
Standing can help produce better atmospheres at matches. Spectators can move more easily, stand alongside friends, sing and be passionate without impeding the view of others.
No doubt, personally, I will continue to choose seating over standing at football matches, as I’m getting older and seating is what I’ve always been used to. However if legislation were to change, I might just give it a go!
