Arena SEATING because of the circumstances in which it was outlawed after the Hillsborough disaster . While there is definitely a lot of support for its return from fans who fear the English game is increasingly being played in very sterile atmospheres , there are those who feel it should never be brought back .
Sometimes fans of Premier League clubs are quite pleased when they are drawn away to a smaller club in one of the cup competitions . “ Oh good – we can stand again ,” is a phrase that ’ s often used . Those with longer memories who remember the cramped terraces of the 1970s and 80s and the very basic facilities that came with them might disagree !
As someone who has worked in the live events industry for many years now , I automatically look at things from a safety point of view . If football fans , who are the consumers in this situation ( however much some people hate that term being used ) want terracing to return then it ’ s inevitable that it will . What is crucial for me is not if terracing comes back or not , but how it is done .
There have been a lot of headlines around Hillsborough in the past two years , and the more you read about the events of that day , and the way things were run , the more you realise how differently sports fans , particularly at football , were treated back then .
The fact that we had fences around the perimeter of stadiums , and the fact that it took the authorities so long on the day to realise that something was tragically wrong , is a world away from how major sporting events are run now .
I ’ ve worked at top football stadiums , Premiership rugby grounds , one-off tournaments such as the Badminton Horse trials and also Ryder Cups . The consideration given to the comfort and safety of people who pay to come and watch these events is light years from where it was in the 1980s .
From the entry gates to the systems that allow people to move around the stadium or golf course to the catering facilities , sightlines and quality of the seating ; everything is done to make sure the customer has the best experience possible .
In the area of safety , huge amounts of planning takes place to cover every eventuality with meetings taking place often months before an event takes place . Then you have things like the introduction of professional stewarding and security companies into the market .
As a company , we at Arena Seating build safety into our products as part of the construction process . Our Sports Stands and Premier Sports Stands , for example , which are well used in nonleague football , are all compliant with the Green Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds , along with any other relevant health and safety guidelines .
That includes the grandstands we offer which feature terracing , which is still allowed in non-league football .
We have a specialist scaffolding division alongside Arena Seating within the Arena Group – Arena RIM Scaffolding – who are experts with an exemplary safety record when it comes to constructing bespoke , one-off structures for major events . Having people who know what they are doing and who abide by the regulations is a huge part of how safety for sports spectators has evolved over the years .
I have heard the phrase “ Hillsborough could never happen again ”. Maybe that ’ s right , but those of us who work on the infrastructure of major sporting events and have an input into the safety plans that govern them should never be complacent .
The fact that we have not seen a disaster on that scale since is down to many things such as the way stadiums are built , the laws that sports events have to abide by and the diligence of the people who manage them .
Combined with all those changes is the fact that the safety and comfort of sporting spectators is now the number one consideration for companies like ours . Whether you agree with the return of terracing or not , I think we can all agree that ’ s a good priority .
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