Standing

[Yngwie]

seat belts

I think you're onto something there! Better still, those restraints that come down over your head like you get on rollercoasters and fairground rides. They would be activated at 3pm and released only at half time and full time, ensuring full compliance with current no-standing rules.

[Scotty]

I thank the club for their clarifications on this, and can totally understand how it will not be a priority in the forseeable future if that is the likely criteria that they need to meet .... If you calculate it out at roughly 2500 seats per existing stand then it is £210,000.00 per stand just to buy the new seats, and that is not including the labour to put it in, or any other works that may need done to accommodate the change. Also, not sure how 'sellable' the old seats would be but each stand has about £75,000 worth that might end up being thrown away ... although I am sure the club could sell a few hundred to fans as a keepsake.

It would however be interesting to see what reaction would be to a request for a small terracing area on the west side ... it is only a few rows high, and - realistically speaking rather than talking about it via the rules - it might need nothing more than a few crush barriers (if at all) and because it is not fenced in like the stadiums where crush deaths tragically occurred, then surges should not be an issue as there is an escape route.

I am all for being aware of what happened in the past, and in respecting the findings of the Taylor and/or other reports dealing with football crowds, as well as incorporating some of the valid and sensible suggestions made in these reports, but not to the extent where we once again continue to go to the extreme each time and figuratively speaking always take the sledgehammer to crack a nut route with a blanket ruling that tries to cover hundreds of potential scenarios (or disparate designs of stadiums) and the subtle nuances with a single solution ...

for that reason, I stand by what I said in earlier posts .... Maybe we should look around the globe to areas where crowd control and standing is perhaps not such an emotive issue....

I regularly attend matches in a FIFA sanctioned league, in a 21,000+ all-seater stadium, which is usually 90-100% full for most games. The seats may not be exactly the same as those used in Scottish stadia, but if not, they are as near as dammit. the particular section of the stadium where my seat is located is designated as a "supporters section" where standing is encouraged, (or pretty much required if you want to actually see anything when everyone else is standing) and I would say that this section is probably more than 100% full as there are definitely 'interlopers' who make their way into the standing area from other areas of the ground where it is not allowed.

I have witnessed 77 league games (MLS-->CONCACAF-->FIFA), 9 Champions League games (CONCACAF-->FIFA), 8 Canadian Championship Games (CSA-->CONCACAF-->FIFA), as well as friendlies against the likes of Benfica, Aston Villa, Independiente, River Plate, Real Madrid and others. I have also been present at the 2008 All-Star game and the 2010 MLS Cup Final which were both held in Toronto.

In all of those games, the stadium had a significant proportion of the crowd that were allowed to stand. The walkways were no deeper than in Scotland, the seats were no different, and outside of the OF, the crowds were significantly higher. There was no "Taylor Report" over here but it would be foolish to assume that means the governing bodies are oblivious to it. Much of North American "soccer" (sorry) is managed by or watched by ex-pats (and other nationalities) and many of the other supporters (not ex-pats) have followed European leagues for - in some cases - decades !

Maybe someone at the SPL should take a wee jolly over to North America and see how the average 20000+ crowds at Toronto FC, Vancouver, and Los Angeles, or the incredible 38000+ average at Seattle deal with standing ...... and those are in stadiums that let you drink too !!!!!!

[Heilandee]

A "source" from the SPL advised,"Supporters wishing to use the safe standing areas will be required to participate in a 2 day safe standing course which clubs will run on a monthly basis supervised by representatives from the health and safety executive. Supporters will learn safe jumping heights currently set by European advisers at 10 cm except in certain circumstances where 15 cm is permissible if a harness is attached to a fixed point,Advanced standing courses will be available for supporters wishing to stand and wave scarves simultaneously,but it is expected to take several seasons before these are available at all grounds"

Don't think there will be any danger to spectators standing as they will be well protected by the amount of red tape surrounding the implementation of any "safe standing" area,the problem with the whole thing is ,by the time it becomes a reality , I will be so old i'll want a seat by then :irritated:

[Scotty]

seat belts

I think you're onto something there! Better still, those restraints that come down over your head like you get on rollercoasters and fairground rides. They would be activated at 3pm and released only at half time and full time, ensuring full compliance with current no-standing rules.

Some of our former officials would have loved that ..... imagine the scene .... set the restraints, then if anyone misbehaves you have something like one of those fairground 'grabber' machines where individual users can be ejected ..... "I say old chap .... grab that IHE fellow, he's pissing one orf" .... followed by whirring and clinking of machinery as the grab hook travels over, locates IHE and lifts him high above the crowd ... He's in his kilt so the ladies get quite an eyeful, and the gents see something that will haunt them for the rest of their days .... steady folks, I mean he is actually wearing underwear, not going commando .... the grabber hook then carries him over to the edge of the firth where a special ICT modification, the "Monty Python Boot" propels him into the firth to swim with the dolphins ..... HMS Sneck picks him up and he starts the process again in 2 weeks ......

[Caley]

I am interested that "Caley" is of the view that 750 extra OF fans and 100 fans of other clubs would come in as a result of any implementation. Two questions there. How does Caley know this - could he please show us his market research? Also, in addition to the safe standing accommodation he presumably wants in the home end, what would the club do with the 650 safe standing places for visiting fans left unused for the 16 home games per season when the OF are not involved?

What I was referring to was using the West Terrace again, which had a capacity of about 1500, split 50/50. That's where the 750 extra OF fans figure comes from. For OF games the South Stand is always full with demand for tickets such that some OF fans choose to sit in the home end. I don't think selling 750 extra tickets would be a problem for these games. The average 100 extra for other games was just a guess, but I'm sure we would get more away fans if they could stand up watching the game.

I would leave the other 3 stands as they are. The West Terrace is only a few steps high, so why not propose this as our "safe standing" pilot? It is an intrinsically safe place to stand and watch football because it is so low. These expensive safe standing systems are intended for much larger structures.

Doncaster said they would look at each individual case on its merits, so why not give it a go? Wouldn't really cost anything to put the proposal to the SPL.

[Northern_jaggie]

The club should trial the uncovered "singing section" to the right of the north stand. Put a financial proposal in some form to the fans (increased ticket price in the north stand, donation boxes, sponsorship - im sure we would get there even if it took a season or two!), there cant be any harm in that?

Id personally love to stand; Ayr United away thats all im saying.