Wednesday 5 May 2010

Standing Room Only


Could standing on the terraces at football matches in England be set for a surprising return?

Well, in a recent interview with the three men all vying for the next position as the minister heading up the Department for Sport, Media and Culture the most interesting answer came from the Liberal Democrat candidate Don Foster. Foster suggested that the Liberal Democrats would explore the options for a move towards 'safe standing' areas, with the Conservative candidate Hugh Robertson also open to such a proposal.

After the infamous Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and the much needed regeneration of the English game, standing terraces in the top two tiers of the football pyramid were replaced by seated stands following the Taylor report in 1990.

But now, 20 years on from that damning indictment of the state of English football a return to standing terraces is a real possibility. One argument goes that there is a working model for such a move in the Bundesliga in Germany.

With tickets for football escalating in price and attendances decreasing resulting in more subdued atmospheres the option of safe standing is a popular one amongst many football fans. Borrusia Dortmund houses a 24,000 capacity terrace with vociferous supporters enjoying a superb atmosphere at a reduced cost. This could certainly be seen as one way to bring back alienated fans from clubs who simply can not afford the price of a modern day football match.

Some would argue however that the cost of converting stadiums that have now shifted to all seater is a price that clubs would be reluctant to pay. Of course new build stadiums could have this option, and its certainly something that would be popular with football fans who reminisce about the 'good old days'.

I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to have experienced standing at an FA cup tie in the mid 90's between Plymouth Argyle and Kidderminster Harriers. Unfortunately my memory of that day, beyond a dourer than dour 0-0 draw was the urine stained crumbling concrete of a terrace that was in bad need of rebuilding. It is safe to say that modern day terraces would be less of dilapidated open air public toilet and more state-of-the-art seated convertible terraces as seen so successfully in Germany.



Dortmund offer standing and seating options

Photo: Stadionwelt.de

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