Safe Standing

I thought the below might be of interest and possibly spark a debate about whether it would be good for the club to introduce safe standing zones to the Riverside:

"The Liberal Democrats commit to reform health and safety laws to allow Premier league and Championship football clubs to introduce safe standing facilities as part of their 2015 General Election manifesto.

After the Hillsborough Disaster of April 1989, the Football Spectators Act 1989 required safety authorities to ensure that fans attending games in England's top two divisions are seated. This was introduced following Lord Justice Taylor’s report, where he commented: “There is no panacea which will achieve total safety and cure all problems of behaviour and crowd control. But I am satisfied that seating does more to achieve those objectives than any other single measure.”

While this works well in theory, the practice in all-seater stadium around the country remains one of persistent standing. As a result, there are whole sections of stadiums designed for sitting which are occupied by people who choose to stand. In response to this, the Football Supporters Federation (FSF) launched a campaign for “safe standing” areas. The solution proffered is: “rail seating”.

Rail seating is a seat that is attached to a rail or barrier. Rail seating offers a flexible solution for clubs who still wish to install standing sections to lock the seat in an upright position and fans to stand leaning against a barrier. Alternatively, the seats can be unlocked to comply with the all-seater stadium rules, as and when required. Rail seats have been tried and tested in many football grounds across Europe including in Germany, Austria and Sweden.

The Football League has also lobbied for a change in legislation, given that a number of its 72 clubs would like to implement standing in their grounds. The chief executive of the Football League commented: "We recognise that this is an extremely emotive issue and that significant change isn't necessarily going to happen overnight. However, a logical first step would be for safe standing products, such as rail-seating, to be licensed for use by the relevant authorities…This would give everybody greater insight into the use of this type of accommodation and help take the debate forward in a cautious and responsible manner, as it would not require any changes to the existing law as these clubs are already permitted to have fans standing at their matches."

In Scotland, the Scottish Premiership clubs are also strong backers of safe standing. However, Celtic's application to install a section of rail seating was rejected by Glasgow City Council earlier this month.

Safety in football stadium, and at any sporting venue where crowds gather en masse, has been a focus for many years and the proposals are no relaxation of the requirement to maintain a high level of health and safety at all sporting events."

I'm all for it myself.

Didn't they talk about this before, and Boro were one of the few clubs opposed to this?

Should definitely have rail-seating installed in all grounds.

Here we are: http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/middlesbrough-fc-believed-only-championship-4010775

It will not really reduce ticket prices by much! Standing massive reduces the fans viewing experience in a lot of cases

I think the club's stance may have changed a bit since then to be fair OMG. They've been very tolerant and accommodating for Red faction to be able to essentially use safe standing in their block.

"The Liberal Democrats commit to reform health and safety laws to allow Premier league and Championship football clubs to introduce safe standing facilities as part of their 2015 General Election manifesto"

They won't get a sniff for decades after the coalition farce....

It's not going to happen at the Riverside imho. We can't even get rid of after goal music, which is used to control fans behavior, kill the goal celebrations and not to create a proper atmosphere which would be more difficult for them to control.

Safe standing is far safer than what currently happens, people standing infront of seats.

Totally agree, I don't see what the fuss is about.

Assigned standing positions, is no different to assigned seating positions - only without an obstacle in the way of you standing. No brainer!!!

I notice that there is not that much variation in head height when adults are sitting compared to when adults are standing. The significant variation seems to be in the length of legs, not the length of torsos.Spectators of lesser stature would prefer to opt for seating areas so they can see the match. It is frustrating when others stand in seated areas. With designated standing areas and strictly marshalled sitting areas at least the shorter spectators have a choice of sitting and seeing what they have come to see or standing and seeing taller people enjoying the game. I am 6ft in case you were wondering, but my match buddy isn't.

That's what tippy toes and giraffe necking are for :D

learnt to use mine in the Holgate from an early age!!