Safe Standing and Atmosphere

[reedy63]

Safe standing would be great, but the problem is that you may not be able to see over the fans' heads in the row in front of you, due to the poor rake on the Kop, etc.
Will it reduce the capacity of the Kop?

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Safe standing would be great, but the problem is that you may not be able to see over the fans' heads in the row in front of you, due to the poor rake on the Kop, etc.
Will it reduce the capacity of the Kop?

To be perfectly honest the rake of the kop lends itself more to standing than it does to seats.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

I was in the safe standing area at Wembley.

There's still a seat. It was the same as any other seat at Wembley, but with a bar, or rail in front of me, that was just about under head height, for me, if I was sat down. It was a handy height to lean on, when stood up.

I can't imagine anyone sat on the back 20 rows of the kop, would rather stand up and sit down over and over, get shoved over the seat in front etc, than be able to stand comfortably and watch the game for 90 mins

In fact I'm not finished here.

It's ridiculous that we can't just go and stand and watch football on the kop.

It's a legacy of the hillsborough disaster and the thatcherite oppression of football fans that put us in cages, the ultimate underlying cause.

It’s just a shame the club had to have their arm twisted by SAG to finally give the fans what they wanted.

 

[dexter101]

I would like safe sitting first cos those Kop seats are cripling for the longer person.

No need to brag mate

 

[Nick Jansky]

I'll be delighted if we get safe standing on the Kop, but it does seem a bit odd. The communication we received previously (I thought) was that the hurdles were huge, and that it was unlikely ever to be viable with the current stand.

I think they are dispensing with the idea of the huge hurdles. They were going to be just inside the turnstiles. The idea of them was that if you were unable to hurdle them because you were too unfit/old you didn’t qualify for safe standing and would be directed to a seat and not expected to sing. But I think common sense and pragmatism have now prevailed on the huge hurdles.

 

[WorkingtonBlade]

I think they are dispensing with the idea of the huge hurdles. They were going to be just inside the turnstiles. The idea of them was that if you were unable to hurdle them because you were too unfit/old you didn’t qualify for safe standing and would be directed to a seat and not expected to sing. But I think common sense and pragmatism have now prevailed on the huge hurdles.

I thought the idea of them was that if you’re one of those adults who still thinks they’re a child, you would try to run underneath the hurdle but, being taller than you realised, you’d hit your head and knock yourself out, thus protecting others in the safe standing area from childish adults.

It’s no wonder they abandoned the idea, given all the confusion regarding their purpose.

 

[Pollingtonblade]

They need to bring back smoking in the stadium and allow drinking in stadium that'll do wonders and create that 80s vibe

Also bring back pissing on kop concourse

 

[Nick Jansky]

Also bring back pissing on kop concourse

Has that ever gone away?

 

[LBA_Blade]

Be interesting in thinking of how you could divide it. Currently I believe the Kop is circa 3,000 seats, from reading the limited info I have seen apparently safe standing wouldn’t reduce but could increase capacity. You could go with either a few “systems”

1) Make the Kop fully safe standing, anyone not wishing to have standing, offer season tickets elsewhere in the stadium including BLUT

2) 50/50 approx 1500 seats at the front and a back of 1500 safe standing

3) Safe standing blocks either randomly down the sides or in different sections but something along the lines of 100 safe standing amongst seating

 

[Broomhall Blade]

Be interesting in thinking of how you could divide it. Currently I believe the Kop is circa 3,000 seats, from reading the limited info I have seen apparently safe standing wouldn’t reduce but could increase capacity. You could go with either a few “systems”

1) Make the Kop fully safe standing, anyone not wishing to have standing, offer season tickets elsewhere in the stadium including BLUT

2) 50/50 approx 1500 seats at the front and a back of 1500 safe standing

3) Safe standing blocks either randomly down the sides or in different sections but something along the lines of 100 safe standing amongst seating

1. Is just silly no way near that amount of interested in it.

2. Surely you would then have to leave some kind of gap between the seats and the standing, otherwise you are going to get covered in spit everytime Cannon misses a chance, not too mention bits of pie and god knows what else dropped on your head if you are sat directly in front of the standing.

3. Might work down the sides.


Personally I would put them in the Pukka pie corner.

Oh and it won't do anything to improve the atmosphere that's just a myth peddled by the few that want this.

 

[Broomhall Blade]

It’s just a shame the club had to have their arm twisted by SAG to finally give the fans what they wanted.

I don’t want it and I'm pretty sure the majority of fans don't or at least won't ever use it.

 

[S64 Blade]

I don’t want it and I'm pretty sure the majority of fans don't or at least won't ever use it.

Polls have previously been conducted and suggest otherwise.

Besides, it’s less than 10% of the capacity of the stadium. You’re not going to be forced to stand there, even if you are in a majority, as you claim.

 

[General Jase]

To be perfectly honest the rake of the kop lends itself more to standing than it does to seats.

Only if the guy in front of you is sat down .. When everyone stands you cant see that well without standing on your tiptoes.

 

[Gin&Juice]

WEERZ INVESTMENT

 

[JohnGannonsPerm]

I don’t want it and I'm pretty sure the majority of fans don't or at least won't ever use it.

I don't like hotdogs and I'm pretty sure the majority of fans don't buy hotdogs on the concourse but we still sell them...

 

[Broomhall Blade]

Polls have previously been conducted and suggest otherwise.

Besides, it’s less than 10% of the capacity of the stadium. You’re not going to be forced to stand there, even if you are in a majority, as you claim.

Well if these "polls" you talk about and I've never been asked for my opinion are correct why are they just doing less than 10% ?
I know I'm not going to be forced to stand but I could potentially be due to loose my seat in the middle to the back of the kop, I seat i have had for a long time.

 

[Broomhall Blade]

I don't like hotdogs and I'm pretty sure the majority of fans don't buy hotdogs on the concourse but we still sell them...

They don't claim that selling hot dogs improves the atmosphere though.

 

[Foxy]

the limited info I have seen apparently safe standing wouldn’t reduce but could increase capacity

Good luck fitting more safe standing on the Kop within the equivalent footprint of the current seating/rows.

 

[S64 Blade]

Well if these "polls" you talk about and I've never been asked for my opinion are correct why are they just doing less than 10% ?
I know I'm not going to be forced to stand but I could potentially be due to loose my seat in the middle to the back of the kop, I seat i have had for a long time.

I’d guess a few reasons (1) cost (2) trialling how well the change goes before making future decisions (3) practical complications of installing more (as Foxy has hinted at).

Furthermore and to your second point, the safe standing is to be installed in areas where there is persistent standing already. So unless you’re persistently standing, which it sounds like you’re not, you need not worry.

 

[Spot the Vas]

I'm not against safe standing, but if it is only to be installed where people are already persistently standing, how will it make the atmosphere any better?

 

[Dave]

Back 10 rows of the Kop safe standing - simple as that. No need to complicate it. if you want to sit down, there are plenty of seats in the Kop which enable this

 

[LBA_Blade]

1. Is just silly no way near that amount of interested in it.

2. Surely you would then have to leave some kind of gap between the seats and the standing, otherwise you are going to get covered in spit everytime Cannon misses a chance, not too mention bits of pie and god knows what else dropped on your head if you are sat directly in front of the standing.

3. Might work down the sides.


Personally I would put them in the Pukka pie corner.

Oh and it won't do anything to improve the atmosphere that's just a myth peddled by the few that want this.

I was thinking that too if I was going with option 4 as it holds about 900 seats. I don't really know enough about the regulations but with Wembley they seem to have safe standing almost segregated. What made me laugh was this picture showing the safe standing section, where most people are seated.

 

[Nick Jansky]

Good luck fitting more safe standing on the Kop within the equivalent footprint of the current seating/rows.

They’re going to suspend it from the kop roof. Just behind the pillars.

 

[reedy63]

Carlmcblade.We are in the back row on the kop near entrance F. We all stand up; however, the people in the rows below all stand up. We all stand on our seats because, even standing, you only see the back of someone's head. I'm not sure where you stand on the KOP. The rake is poor when you stand. The steps are different from the old KOP steps. I am not a building engineer, so I have no idea how they can rebuild the KOP. I do know that it needs a properly covered concourse with better facilities.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Back 10 rows of the Kop safe standing - simple as that. No need to complicate it. if you want to sit down, there are plenty of seats in the Kop which enable this

As a point of interest, how many rows are actually on the Kop? I was thinking more of a top half bottom half arrangement.

 

[Panini]

Be interesting in thinking of how you could divide it. Currently I believe the Kop is circa 3,000 seats, from reading the limited info I have seen apparently safe standing wouldn’t reduce but could increase capacity. You could go with either a few “systems”

1) Make the Kop fully safe standing, anyone not wishing to have standing, offer season tickets elsewhere in the stadium including BLUT

2) 50/50 approx 1500 seats at the front and a back of 1500 safe standing

3) Safe standing blocks either randomly down the sides or in different sections but something along the lines of 100 safe standing amongst seating

Respectfully I'm not sure where your figures are coming from but 3,000 is a long way short.

The Kop officially has 10,221 seats.

 

[Dave]

As a point of interest, how many rows are actually on the Kop? I was thinking more of a top half bottom half arrangement.

It goes back to AE which is 57 rows i believe.

 

[WorkingtonBlade]

As a point of interest, how many rows are actually on the Kop? I was thinking more of a top half bottom half arrangement.

Yes, 10 rows seems very small. Based on the figures above that would be about 1,800 standing - less than 6% of the ground. When Bramall Lane used to have seating and standing areas available, my memory is that more chose to stand than chose to sit. The long period of only seating being available (and perhaps changes in society?) will have had an impact on that of course, but 6% still seems low. Half the Kop would be about 16% of the ground, which sounds nearer the mark.

 

[Dave]

Why i suggested back 10 rows is that i stand on row AB, unless its Wendy at home, the two rows in front of me stand and the ones behind, that is it. 7 rows of stood up fans directly behind the goal. This increases and down near gangway F and reduces near A. if all the 10 rows stood at the back, the atmosphere would carry further. Keep the back 10 rows standing, that will do for now.

However, ill be honest, atmosphere in stadiums is hard to develop without full participation from multiple sections. G&H block arent the same as they used to be and the family stand doesnt generate anything. Music in a venue only carries if there is a beat to keep the timing of the song. The best atmospheres from clubs abroad and national countries is due to active participation by a small group who either provide a drum or megaphone.

I have been a neutral at Inter, Porto, Sporting, Genoa, Croatia, Czechia, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary & Austria. All of those teams had a dedicated section with either drums or megaphones organised by one or two "ultras" who dictate the songs they are singing. It keeps the atmosphere alive and is extremely impressive to be involved in.

This will not happen at Bramall Lane as its not in English footballing culture to have a megaphone at a game or any chance we will copy the pathetic excuse for a band like wendy have. The only thing we have as a last opportunity is excitement and fearlessness. We had this in 19/20 and i doubt any time soon it will come back due to the PL season under hecky - that destroyed the club in more ways the board will understand.

 

[LBA_Blade]

Respectfully I'm not sure where your figures are coming from but 3,000 is a long way short.

The Kop officially has 10,221 seats.

Good spot was a typo from my side I thought 9,000 but will take 10,221 as a number as I was just guessing really based on not a lot