Shrewsbury first English club to apply for safe standing

The club have formally approached Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) and are looking to increase the capacity at Greenhouse Meadow stadium by 500 using rail seats in the Salop Leisure Stand.





"If the plans are given the green light by the SGSA and their local Safety Advisory Group amongst others the Oteley Road ground will become the first all-seater stadium in England and Wales to introduce safe standing," the club said in a statement.

Shrewsbury are hoping to follow Scottish side Celtic, who introduced a 2,900-capacity safe standing section last year.

"There's a clear demand from our fans for an area where they can stand safely," said Roger Groves, the joint chairman of Shrewsbury Town's Supporters Parliament.

"We see that at every game with several hundred choosing to stand at their seats, which is not altogether safe.

"Rail seats will ensure that nobody falls over no matter how wildly they celebrate a goal and, by having a dedicated standing area, we believe that the overall atmosphere in the stadium will also be enhanced."

All-seater stadiums became mandatory in England's top two divisions following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 96 fans were killed in a crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

However, West Bromwich Albion said last week they were willing to take part in a safe standing pilot scheme at the Hawthorns as proposed by the Premier League.





(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world