Afirst view of potential safe standing in the Premier League has emerged today with photographs of ‘future proofed’ areas in Tottenham’s new £800 million stadium.

The issue of safe standing in football is currently under government review but, with sports minister Tracey Crouch having described herself as “open minded” on the subject, Tottenham are preparing themselves for a possible change in the law by ensuring that their new stadium could immediately provide the option.

Areas at the front of the stadium’s new 17,500 capacity single-tier South Stand, as well as in the visiting supporters’ section, are being future-proofed for safe standing. These are both sections in which the club has had issues with persistent standing at its former White Hart Lane home.

‘Rail seating’ is used extensively in Germany but Tottenham have created a different design that they expect to improve comfort by using the same moulded seats as in the rest of the general admission areas.

Season ticket holders have made aware of the potential for safe standing when purchasing seats within the future-proofed areas. “As a club, we did not engage on this until the Hillsborough Inquiry was concluded, which showed that the tragedy in April 1989 had not been caused by standing,” said executive director Donna-Maria Cullen. “We then conducted research with our fan base which showed overwhelming support for safe-standing. The main reasons given were choice and atmosphere - fans cannot sing sitting down.

“So, at our new stadium, we have designed a section within the home area and within the away section that has an integrated safety bar with the normal seating. Fans have bought season tickets for the home area in the knowledge that, should the law change, this would be our standing area - it was one of the first areas to sell out.” A survey for the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust found that 88% of fans were in favour of safe standing.

 

Source: telegraph.co.uk

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