John Barrow, the designer of Wembley, Soccer City, the Emirates and the London Olympic stadium has today backed a belief that the Football Federation of Supporters has been proclaiming for years - a return of standing. Personally this notion, although still unlikely, excites me greatly. Some of my favourite memories of watching football are from when I used to stand at the London Road end at Oxford's Manor Ground (see picture below), and the introduction of a safe form of standing back in grounds would allow cheaper tickets to be available, allowing many fans who simply can't afford premier league tickets a chance to attend games, and to increase an often subdued atmosphere that has been created by all seater stadiums. Interestingly, a point Barrow also raised was the ability if standing to raise attendances, which would solve the problem Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea face at the moment, forcing them to consider moving from the grounds that have been there homes for decades. The introduction of standing would see attendances rise, without having to sacrifice their grounds, which have been at the core of their history. Barrow, and the FSF, both point out the success stories in Germany, where teams including Bayern Munich, and Borrussia Dortmund (see picture above), have introduced standing, which has proved both safe and effective. These stadiums, as Barrow points out have a standing system where only rows of one or two can stand between barriers, making a crush impossible. Therefore, if a massive club like Borrussia Dortmund has the ability to safely house 37,000 standing fans, it surely should be the same for any team in England's top tier of football.
Obviously doubters will still point to the Hillsborough disaster, where standing was partly to blame, but the success in Germany surely shows with the correct design, and good management, the dream of standing at Football in England should not be forgotten.
John Barrow, the designer of Wembley, Soccer City, the Emirates and the London Olympic stadium has today backed a belief that the Football Federation of Supporters has been proclaiming for years - a return of standing. Personally this notion, although still unlikely, excites me greatly. Some of my favourite memories of watching football are from when I used to stand at the London Road end at Oxford's Manor Ground (see picture below), and the introduction of a safe form of standing back in grounds would allow cheaper tickets to be available, allowing many fans who simply can't afford premier league tickets a chance to attend games, and to increase an often subdued atmosphere that has been created by all seater stadiums. Interestingly, a point Barrow also raised was the ability if standing to raise attendances, which would solve the problem Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea face at the moment, forcing them to consider moving from the grounds that have been there homes for decades. The introduction of standing would see attendances rise, without having to sacrifice their grounds, which have been at the core of their history. Barrow, and the FSF, both point out the success stories in Germany, where teams including Bayern Munich, and Borrussia Dortmund (see picture above), have introduced standing, which has proved both safe and effective. These stadiums, as Barrow points out have a standing system where only rows of one or two can stand between barriers, making a crush impossible. Therefore, if a massive club like Borrussia Dortmund has the ability to safely house 37,000 standing fans, it surely should be the same for any team in England's top tier of football.
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