What was the melee all about today?

[IDM]

I for one can't wait for safe standing to be employed, then we don't even need to discuss it anymore.

[Yorkiered]

i totally agree however i think it would be a very brave government whyo would allow it.

[IDM]

The Germans do, very successfully..

[silent majority]

i totally agree however i think it would be a very brave government whyo would allow it.

You mean like the Scottish and Welsh assemblies? Its already in the pipeline.

[silent majority]

It seems to me that the problem we have at Oldham (we had it the last time we played there as well) is that with Oldham closing off the higher banks of seating then whats left is much more in the width than in the depth, i.e front to back is quite short. Those at the sides have a relatively poor view because of the  support stanchions blocking out parts of the pitch. Therefore once the back rows are taken it doesn't leave much. I ended up on the lower rows because of this, something I wouldn't normally do.

My suggestion is that we, as a club, contact Oldham before we play them next time and ask that they open up the higher banks of seating because of the poor view they offer from the sides. I'm sure they can accommodate that.

[glosterred]

You talk about safe standing, but who is going to pay for the retro fitting of the stadium? Has the club the money or the will to do it?

COYR

[silent majority]

You talk about safe standing, but who is going to pay for the retro fitting of the stadium? Has the club the money or the will to do it?

COYR

Its a customer service issue, so no doubt it will be looked at in that vein. Cost? Soon recoverable I would suggest.

[glosterred]

You talk about safe standing, but who is going to pay for the retro fitting of the stadium? Has the club the money or the will to do it?

COYR

Its a customer service issue, so no doubt it will be looked at in that vein. Cost? Soon recoverable I would suggest.

So you expect a substantial increase in attendance to pay for the retro fit to the stadium, don't see it myself.

COYR

[silent majority]

You talk about safe standing, but who is going to pay for the retro fitting of the stadium? Has the club the money or the will to do it?

COYR

Its a customer service issue, so no doubt it will be looked at in that vein. Cost? Soon recoverable I would suggest.

So you expect a substantial increase in attendance to pay for the retro fit to the stadium, don't see it myself.

COYR

I didn't say that though did I? And again I'm not sure what you mean by retro fit. Apart from taking out some seats there isn't a lot to do.

[glosterred]

Retro was the wrong word, but to change the stadium to accept standing will incur a cost and without an increase in attendance how and who pays. Should the owners be expected to put their hands back into their pockets without a guarantee of payback within a reasonable time frame. Is it financially viable for a club the size of the Rovers to make that change. I appreciate you cannot probably answer that but there is much more to it than taking out a few seats that never seems to get talked about when safe standing is mentioned.

COYR

[Copps is Magic]

It's costing Celtic around £500k to turn 2,600 existing seats into rail seating

So for the likes of us it would cost a few hundred grand say to turn 1,000 seats (middle two blocks of the SS) into safe standing. The upshot is you can fit 1.8 times more people in the same amount of space so it would increase capacity and begin to pay for itself if you can draw people into the ground.

[glosterred]

And the word is "if"

COYR

[Copps is Magic]

That's why it's good that we've got Celtic as a UK example, the article says they've already sold most of the season tickets for that area next season.

[Yorkiered]

i totally agree however i think it would be a very brave government whyo would allow it.

You mean like the Scottish and Welsh assemblies? Its already in the pipeline.

I would love it to happen but again I think the UK government is a totally different kettle of fish to both the Scottish and Welsh assemblies.

[silent majority]

It's costing Celtic around £500k to turn 2,600 existing seats into rail seating

So for the likes of us it would cost a few hundred grand say to turn 1,000 seats (middle two blocks of the SS) into safe standing. The upshot is you can fit 1.8 times more people in the same amount of space so it would increase capacity and begin to pay for itself if you can draw people into the ground.

But that's for rail seating. I doubt we would require that. The 'Green Guide' already defines whats required for a club of our size.

[silent majority]

Retro was the wrong word, but to change the stadium to accept standing will incur a cost and without an increase in attendance how and who pays. Should the owners be expected to put their hands back into their pockets without a guarantee of payback within a reasonable time frame. Is it financially viable for a club the size of the Rovers to make that change. I appreciate you cannot probably answer that but there is much more to it than taking out a few seats that never seems to get talked about when safe standing is mentioned.

COYR

AS I say its a customer service issue, and by that I mean a safety issue. And because of that then all clubs should invest what it takes to make their grounds as safe as possible. If that means further investment then so be it.

[Copps is Magic]

Without wanting to trudge through the green guide what are the other options?

Also why is the size of the club a factor? Surely it's down to the geometry of the terrace in question.

[silent majority]

Without wanting to trudge through the green guide what are the other options?

Also why is the size of the club a factor? Surely it's down to the geometry of the terrace in question.

Rail seats are designed to serve two functions. They enable standing for normal league games but can convert to seats for International or UEFA competition games, i.e. Champions League. Apart from about a dozen clubs in this country I can't see the need for the rest to install that type of seat. The Green Guide, published by the Sports Ground Safety Authority, details what requirements are needed to have standing areas in stadiums. If you comply with that, as do all stadiums who currently have standing areas, then why go for expensive rail seats? That's why the size of the club matters.

Just to add, the Green Guide doesn't cover 'rail seats'. However they do issue guidance on open terraces or standing areas. Its usually about the size and location of crush barriers etc. An odd situation for them, the SGSA, to be in!!

[silent majority]

i totally agree however i think it would be a very brave government whyo would allow it.

You mean like the Scottish and Welsh assemblies? Its already in the pipeline.

I would love it to happen but again I think the UK government is a totally different kettle of fish to both the Scottish and Welsh assemblies.

Not really. The changes made in recent months have some very pro-standing people in important areas of government. Its only a matter of time. However, firstly we have to wait for the Hillsborough inquests to reach their conclusion, until then nobody will be making a move.

[drfchound]

You talk about safe standing, but who is going to pay for the retro fitting of the stadium? Has the club the money or the will to do it?

COYR

Its a customer service issue, so no doubt it will be looked at in that vein. Cost? Soon recoverable I would suggest.

So you expect a substantial increase in attendance to pay for the retro fit to the stadium, don't see it myself.

COYR

I didn't say that though did I? And again I'm not sure what you mean by retro fit. Apart from taking out some seats there isn't a lot to do.

I would imagine it is more than just taking out a few seats.
What about the anti crush bars/ stanchons that we used to have on the terracing.
They would surely have to be refitted.

[silent majority]

You talk about safe standing, but who is going to pay for the retro fitting of the stadium? Has the club the money or the will to do it?

COYR

Its a customer service issue, so no doubt it will be looked at in that vein. Cost? Soon recoverable I would suggest.

So you expect a substantial increase in attendance to pay for the retro fit to the stadium, don't see it myself.

COYR

I didn't say that though did I? And again I'm not sure what you mean by retro fit. Apart from taking out some seats there isn't a lot to do.

I would imagine it is more than just taking out a few seats.
What about the anti crush bars/ stanchons that we used to have on the terracing.
They would surely have to be refitted.

Of course they would. Do you think that's a major job?

[German Rover]

Is there the appetite at the club to reinstall terracing.  There is a large section of the fans who would welcome the choice. but if the club don't want standing areas then they wouldn't have to install them.

Hopefully the unreserved seating and approach to the black bank singing area is an indication.

[Padge_DRFC]

Loads want to stand. Look at the Scunny game. The amount of people that had to be moved because there was nowhere to stand was ridiculous

[silent majority]

I must reiterate, its a safety issue first and foremost. Lord Justice Taylor said, in the report on Hillsborough, that safety should come first and clubs must strive to make football stadiums as safe as possible. Its why the SGSA exist. Therefore its not about whether the club want it, its about doing whats right. The current ground regulations are unenforceable and most clubs have given up trying. The Football League have already voted to lobby the Government on reintroducing standing, so the clubs have already said they want it.

[drfchound]

Loads want to stand. Look at the Scunny game. The amount of people that had to be moved because there was nowhere to stand was ridiculous

If people who had taken seats in good time were asked to move because late arrivals wanted to stand in front of them then i agree, it was ridiculous.