Safe Standing At The Emirates? by Dan Smith
The FA are willing to hear about plans to introduce safe standing in stadiums. According to surveys it’s something supporters want football’s governing body to hear out. How sensitive this subject is to you might depend on your age. if you grew up in only the Premiership era you might consider this change as adding to your match day experience.
Older supporters remember tradgrdies such as Hillsborough. While it took way to long to learn the truth about the negligence in Sheffield, it did force England to look at how their domestic sport was being run. Laws were put into place to ensure every club had Health and Safety regulations to follow.
Since all seating stadiums became compulsory, serious injuries to spectators has decreased, those are statistics more important then decibel levels.
My attitude is if it isn’t broke why fix it? Even if, like at Celtic, assurances can be given that the risk is minimal, what’s the reason to gamble on something that works? Some things in life are more important then football. A human-s well being has to be prioritised over having a better atmosphere which might look good on Sky.
The Emirates is one of many venues which could benefit from being more hostile but that’s not a good enough reason to change legislation put into place to protect us. One death, injury or even scrape of the knee would be one too many.
For me, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
Dan Smith
There should only be one answer, YES.
No.
Standing is from the dark ages.
No. If the families of Hillsborough are against it then so am I. Respect their wishes
I agree. I might not be against it but that tragedy should be a painful reminder to us all. To go against their wishes would a disgrace to the memory of the ones who died that night.
It would look even more empty with people standing
No doubt whatsoever. Safe Standing as it’s being discussed is completely incomparable with the mess that created the Hillsborough tragedy. It has nothing to do with the old faulty system and poses no safety threat whatsoever, which is the only thing that matters in terms of respect to the victims and their families.
The Emirates direly needs it, if only to improve the poor atmosphere (which is also due to the open architecture of the roof letting all sounds dissipate instead of echoing back but that’s another issue).
Football has changed.
The days of standing ankle
deep in urine and vomit
on the terraces are gone thank goodness.
The endless racial chants have gone.
The brawling before during and after games
and the destruction of property have practically disappeared.
A generation has grown up with out experiencing this
medieval type of behavior and only know the
glorified history of the terraces handed down by the older generation.
Life on the terraces was crap pure and simple
and football fans were hated quite rightly by the majority of citizens.
Turn back the clock at your own peril.
Nothing of what you describe has any relevance on what modern standing system is and match viewing experience would be?
It works perfectly well already in lower league and none of those things are there.
I was against all seater stadiums when it was introduced but now find that with age I much prefer to sit than stand at the Emirates Stadium.However it is very unusual to attend Away matches and sit down as everyone seems to stand all the time and to be honest I enjoy that.Strange and contradictory I know.Just look at the Away support on Sunday and I guarantee we are all standing up despite having a perfectly good seat to sit on
Phil I wonder why supporters stand in away games….i guess during the invincibles era so many arsenal supporters will go to away games feeling so relaxed on their seats knowing fully well the arsenal team will do the job easily….. I guess nowadays we stand out of pressure and hope
Chiza-it seems all away fans stand up.I take your point about the invincible season and I was at every single away game .Itmist now be a tribal thing that away fans simply just do not sit down.Strange but true
It’s nothing to do with respect for Hillsborough relatives it’s about safety and fans needs. Away fans always stand as does the home kop at most grounds. The current seating is a danger when a goal is scored for fans in those areas. The standing/seats at Celtic are ultra safe and practical. Put them in everyway end and at home ends only. It will add to the atmosphere at grounds like the Emirates. We don’t all want to sit eating prawn sandwiches.
But the Club won’t agree to standing I bet.They won’t be able to charge as much for the ticket.Also terracing to stand on would not be the same as the steps now in place for seating would it?Not sure on that.Again I bet the Club won’t pay to rip out seats and alter the structure for standing unless they can make more money out of it
As a free marketeer and firm believer in peoples right to choose , within the law, obviously, I welcome the debate. It is perfectly feasible to design and construct safe standing; indeed it was also possible in the olden times but not given priority, disgracefully. To have to live with a law rushed through under a Thatcher governmenrt , with a PM WHO DESPISED FOOTBALL AND SEEMINGLY FOOTBALL SUPPPORTERS TOO, we now live in a more enlightened society where consumers should and mostly do have more freedom to choose. I will be perfectly happy to live with whatever decision the majority choose, that being democracy in action , as it should always be. Personally, I now prefer to sit BUT most fans are far younger, fitter and more externally passionate than I am when at the actual stadium AND CERTAINLY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO STAND, SHOULD THEY WISH!
It’s ok to agree to have standing back I don’t think but how many fans who have seats to watch football who stand up and spiol it for the people who have to sit .how many of those fans would get one to stand up. I recons not many, when it went all seated I thought why as it taken this long Thor me to sit down.
My daughter and grandson have season tickets in the North Bank lower tier, they stand for every game and love the atmosphere.
I, on the other hand, sit at the Clock End and only get out of my seat when those in front stand up and love the atmosphere also.
As Jon says, it should be an individuals choice and, when I was younger, loved the chanting, swaying and feeling of togetherness that seats do not offer.
On Phil’s point regarding costs, I always thought that an area of standing fans would actually increase the capacity. If I am correct, then the overall sterling takings would increase.
Kronkie would make sure it did anyway if it was to happen.
The safety issue of Hillsborough doesn’t really fit this scenario anyway, as it was always claimed that the problem there was the limited access into the area,
If all the safety criterias were met, I would be for it as it would/should allow more Gooners a chance to experience the Emirates.
As a footnote to this, Arsenal have confirmed to me (remember your questions regarding season tickets Jon/) that there is a current waiting list of over 100,000 fans. Standing areas would certainly help to reduce this in my opinion and, somewhere in the back of my head I seem to remember that Arsenal have inquired about standing areas, but I might be wrong on this.
Simply yes… Let the party begin. Sick of the stadium being full of old folk who do nothing but sit and clap for 90 minutes like they are watching an theatre show or some shit.