There are countries lagging behind that still possess high wire fences today but those countries tend to have the odd extremist in the crowd or tend to not have the policing to control such big crowds.
Sports minister, Hugh Robertson, has said the government will consider the possibility of reintroducing standing areas at top-level football matches, top-level being the focus here with clubs that are able to police better than those in lower leagues with less finance and facility.
Despite the fact clubs have seated stadiums you can often see groups of fans standing, the issues I believe that are most important are:
That standing fans have something to balance themselves with, I remember when I were a young lad standing in the terraces. They had hand rails which came in handy when you lost balance, or needed to lean on something to take some weight off your feet.
That half a stadium are not going to get bladdered on alcohol which could in turn create chaos, all top level stadiums need to have rules in place to combat such an scenario. Whether they all have or not already is something I am not aware of.
That a qualifying club has a stadium built that can prevent a disaster such as Hillsborough, like sufficient entries and exits as well as medical facilities and a trained medical team.
Without a doubt it would be a welcome move in my opinion, bring back some old memories and make for a better atmosphere. I am talking about one or two stands here though and not an entire stadium, our club at present would be perfect seeing as families with children and fans with disabilities are catered for.
What is your opinion on bringing back the standing terrace?
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Borussia Dortmund have Europe's largest stand, Südtribune, which is 25,000 capacity standing terrace, and I haven't heard them having problems.
ReplyDeleteFrom there you can watch the current table toppers in Germany for £12.50 (£15 against the big boys), and you can get a season ticket in the same stand for £150.
How many fans in the UK haven't been priced out of watching the team they love over the past 10-15 years? Imagine having tickets that could be sold for less than half what seats cost at the moment, because you had standing, and it'd also allow a bigger attendance for matches.
The Premier League are going to fight against standing, they are using Hillsborough as an excuse, only standing was not the problem as Hillsborough.
ReplyDeleteThe Fences around the pitch and the clubs inability to crowd control was the cause of the problems.