Portland Bill Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 The Football League are to consult its 72 member clubs on the subject of all-seater stadiums in the Championship division. Current rules require all clubs at second tier level to admit spectators to seated areas, once they have spent an accumulation of two seasons or more at Championship level. Currently Yeovil Town are the only club at that level operating with terracing - unless the rules are changed they will be required to convert their two terraces into seated structures by the start of the 2015-16 season, assuming they are still at their current level. Clubs at League One and League Two level are able to keep their terracing. On Friday, all Football League sides were sent a paper, ahead of a February 2014 debate on the subject amongst club Chairmen, as to how they would like the League to proceed. The paper has been put forward by Championship side Derby County and League One sides Peterborough United and Bristol City, who have been three of many clubs to apply pressure for the rules to be changed. Rules are currently enshrined in UK Law, in the wake of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster, and are policed by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority which gives clubs their safety certificates. Recent campaigning by the Football Supporters Federation has called for either a return to terracing on a trial basis, either by current provisions such as those at Huish Park, or by the introduction of 'Rail Seating' which is currently adopted in the German Bundesliga, which allows for a fold-up, fold-down style seat that can be bolted to the terrace's crush barrier for domestic competitions, but refixed as a seat for UEFA competitions that demand all-seater stadiums. As yet the English Premier League have firmly resisted, whilst initially at least the Football League appeared reluctant to put it on their agenda. The weight of clubs and Supporters Trusts have bourne fruit though - the following clubs have all put their names forward for trials to be held, saying that they would be prepared to take part in them: Aldershot Town, Aston Villa, Barnsley, Brentford, Bristol City, Burnley, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace, Derby County, Doncaster Rovers, Exeter City, Hull City, Leeds United, Luton Town, Oldham Athletic, Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth, Shrewsbury Town, Sunderland, Swansea City, Swindon Town, Watford, AFC Wimbledon and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Surprisingly so far, Yeovil Town have not put their name forward, despite being currently the club that would be affected the most by the current laws remaining in place. As part of the League's consultation paper, there are four questions that clubs have been asked to have a view on for the February 2014 meeting: 1) Should the Football League approach the minister for sport to request that the 'all-seater' stadia requirement for Championship clubs be reviewed with a view to the re-introduction of standing accommodation? 2) Should the Football League approach the Sports Grounds Safety Authority to request that rail seating products be licensed in Football League grounds? 3) Should clubs be permitted to accommodate supporters in rail seating in the Championship? 4) Should clubs be permitted to revert from seating to standing accommodation in League One and League Two following relegation from the Championship? League Chief Executive Shaun Harvey has said that he is going to remain neutral on the subject, and will let the clubs direct proceedings, once a majority is established: "It is now over to the clubs to get their views. Speaking personally, I do not have strong views on this and it is genuinely a matter for the clubs." Depending upon how the above four questions are answered, the Football League will still have a number of matters to work through before there can be any u-turn on the current rules. They warn that there will need to be football regulatory, government policy and legislative issues worked through. However, FSF representative Peter Daykin said earlier this month that he did not believe this needed to involve primary legislation going through the House of Commons, with the Government's Secretary of State able to direct proceedings, should the League be able to successfully canvass the Government: "The legalities of safe-standing can be debated between solicitors but our understanding is that primary legislation is not required. The Secretary of State (for Culture, Media and Sport) can direct the SGSA to drop the all-seat requirement from the licence it issues. It's not an outrageous proposal - League One and League Two clubs are already exempt." The first step though, must be for supporters who are keen to keep their terracing, to lobby their own club and ensure that their club Chairmen are well aware of the mood amongst fans ahead of that February meeting. Only then can the Football League approach the politicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who Are Rovers? Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Hurrah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welcome To The Jungle Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Good news indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sglosbcfc Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 As we are about to upgrade our ground anyway, we could be one of the biggest winners out of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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