Improving Safety,
Offering Choice
A proposal for Safe Standing at Bramall Lane
Rail seating has been an approved form of seating at stadia in the Premier League and Championship since 2018 when the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) updated its best practice guidance. A growing number of clubs have since installed rail seating as a way to both improve safety and offer supporters an alternative option for viewing matches. After successfully trialling safe standing in rail seating areas, the UK Government is amending the relevant legislation to enable all Premier League and Championship clubs, and Wembley, to licence areas safe standing areas for the start of the 2023-24 season.
“Conventional areas of seating are simply not designed to be safe for persistent standing.”
SGSA, 2021
This proposal outlines how this could be introduced at Bramall Lane in a way that improves safety for supporters, improves the stadium and matchday experience, is affordable for the club, and is achievable in time for the 2022/23 season. Stand United has consulted rail seating experts, stadia safety, and Sheffield United supporters to help build this case, and would welcome exploring this proposal further with the club.
Improving safety for supporters
The club has a responsibility to ensure that supporters are able to watch matches in a safe environment. The SGSA highlights that conventional seating, as forms all of the current seating options on sale at Bramall Lane, are not designed to be safe for persistent standing – with risk of inadvertent forward or backward movement, progressive crowd collapse, encroachment into aisles from lateral movement, all of which negatively impact on crowd management.
Rail seating offers a solution to better mitigate the risks associated with persistent standing in a way that can aid stadium management and provide reassurance of enhanced safety. Independent research for the SGSA on the impact of rail seating and seating with barriers has found that these “almost completely eliminate the possibility of forwards or backwards movement during goal celebrations and the risk of a surge that could cause injury to those in front” and that both spectators and stadium staff consider these to have improved safety. These benefits have been reinforced by further research on the safe standing trials carried out at five clubs during 2021-22.
Improving the matchday experience for the club
Standing is seen by many supporters as being associated with better atmosphere and is attractive to spectators – both those that want to be part of creating that atmosphere, and those that feel an improved atmosphere aids performance of the team.
Enforcing existing all-seater policy has been a source of conflict between spectators who persistently stand and those who wish to sit, as well as between spectators and stewards. It’s a challenge for stewards to persuade large numbers of the most passionate supporters to sit down to meet safety requirements, which installing rail seating can help to address. These have also provided wider benefits beyond simply safety, including ease of leaving the row and positive behavioural impacts from spectator ownership of the unique space.
“It doesn't half give you a lift and an advantage if you get the fans on your side. It can drive you on and give you extra energy in your legs as a home player while at the same time taking away that energy from the opposition. It can be powerful, like a 12th man. We really want that from the fans.
“The fans understand how important they are and how their energy and noise can affect the players.”
Paul Heckingbottom, press conference, 2022.
Offering choice for supporters
For fans that want to stand at matches, there are currently no good options at Bramall Lane to do so safely. Rail seating is not aimed to fully replace seating options at grounds, but provide for a small section an alternative to current seating in areas of the ground where fans choose to stand.
It is already clear within areas where there has been persistent standing for a number of years that this is a preferred way for those fans to watch United. Installing rail seating would provide a safe way to provide this for fans.
Steel seats fit for the Steel City
Safe standing is currently licensed at several clubs in the Premier League and Championship, with more set to follow in 2022/23. Clubs such as Spurs have incorporated rail seating into new constructions. Other clubs have instead added rails alongside existing seating. This may provide a cheaper installation option, but comes at the cost of reduced spacing on each individual row, as traditional forms of seating take up more of the row depth than other options on the market.
Maximising row spacing is particularly important for rail seating if, like areas such as the Kop at Bramall Lane, the age of the stand’s construction means the row depth is lower than recommended for a stand.
There are, in our view, better rail seating options available to clubs where traditional seating has been replaced. Celtic, Kilmarnock, Shrewsbury, and most recently QPR in August 2022, have all installed steel seating provided by Ferco modelled on rail seats commonly used in Europe that maximises the spacing on each row – providing a strong seat with no protruding parts, with a safety rail as part of the seat.
While more expensive than adding a separate rail to existing seating, we believe that this has the potential to be a long term option for rail seating at Bramall Lane:
By maximising space on each row, this rail seating model offers a route to increase the current usable space on existing rows – ensuring SGSA safety guidance is met, and future-proofing for any adjustments in safe standing requirements.
By installing steel seats, the club would have a durable long-term seat requiring minimal maintenance compared to existing plastic seating.
Should the club want to redevelop a stand in the future, the seats would be reusable in a rail seating area of any new build – ensuring that future stadia changes would not make this a wasted investment.
How we can work together towards safe standing
Safe standing provides the club with an opportunity to enhance the fan experience at Bramall Lane. Engaging fans to help shape the safe standing areas will help to ensure it meets the hopes of those most supportive of its introduction, while addressing any concerns or hesitations that fans may have around how it would be implemented.
Since Stand United launched, we have aimed to raise awareness of and support for rail seating and safe standing among Sheffield United fans, and to engage fans on their own preferences on how this might look at Bramall Lane.
We have also engaged with existing fan groups such as Rainbow Blades and the Official Supporters Club as part of this process. At every stage, there has been a clear appetite for bringing safe standing in.
While some clubs have moved ahead with safe standing plans without significant fan consultation, we believe a more effective approach in the long term is to work with fans to help shape how safe standing could be introduced at Bramall Lane – in a way that meets the aims of the club, fans, and relevant safety groups, together.
A roadmap for safe standing
Below, we outline what we feel could be a workable plan to work together to scope, plan, consult on, and implement, safe standing at Bramall Lane for the start of the 2023/24 season.
Set up Safe Standing working group (by Oct 2022)
This would involve relevant representatives of the club, fan groups, and ideally the Sheffield City Council’s Safety Advisory Group. This group would scope out the feasibility of how to best introduce safe standing.
Launch fans survey on Safe Standing (by end of 2022)
This would be a substantial club-led survey, conducted online, based on SSWG discussions, with options presented to fans on location and type of safe standing areas for Bramall Lane.
Identify and consult on Safe Standing area (by Feb 2023)
Proposal to be refined following survey feedback. Area for safe standing agreed by SSWG. Further consultation with Season Ticket Holders in area(s) affected. Proposal to be sent to SAG.
Plan in place for Safe Standing area (by Apr 2023)
Order for rail seats placed with identified supplier and contractor ahead of summer installation. Options for season tickets in area included at STH renewal stage.
Safe Standing area opened (summer 2023)
Club to monitor and review the use of the new area across 2023/24 and reconvene SSWG in 2024 if necessary to consider expansion or changes.
Notes:
Written August 2022. Download pdf version.
Proposal accompanied a joint letter to the club sent in August 2022.