Tottenham Hotspur have become the first Premier League team to test safe-standing during the construction of the club’s new state of the art stadium.
Safe-standing is a phrase used to denote a specific stadium design which allows for spectators to stand during events, while complying with all health and safety regulations.
Following a number of harrowing and fatal accidents at football grounds, the Football Spectators Act of 1989 declared that all football stadia in England and Wales must be all-seater, so as to minimise risks of further accidents.
Ever since, fans all over the country have protested against the prohibition of standing accommodation, considering breakthroughs in design and architecture would allow for safe-standing to adhere to the health and safety regulations just the same as all-seater stadia.
In Scotland, the regulations were relaxed in 2011, which permitted Glasgow club Celtic to test safe-standing last Summer to much success, and now Tottenham seem to be following suit.
It has been reported by Football.London that an area of the stadium’s North stand has been trialed as safe-standing, however only for visual purposes and not for practical use, as standing accommodation is still banned in England.
On Tottenham Hotspur’s official Twitter account, the club explained:
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“This is part of future proofing should legislation change. These seats are only being trialed.”
In addition to this, commenting on the trials, a club spokesman has been quoted by The Daily Record as saying:
“We have consistently said that we would be open to investigating the opportunity to incorporate safe standing within our new stadium should legislation and licencing permit this.”
Should the trialing prove to be successful, Spurs may even roll out the safe-standing in the South stand too, and if the regulations do in fact change in the future, Tottenham’s new stadium would already be prepared to embrace the sensible use of standing accommodation.
Would you like to return to standing stadia? Or do you think the legislation should remain intact?
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