Standing together: let’s have sensible terraces

By Olly Deed

On the 15th April 1989, football changed forever. 96 people lost their lives on the terraces at Hillsborough; most probably the lowest point in English football. 20 years on the memories remain fresh in the minds of the players, officials and supporters who were at Hillsborough that day. Football has changed fundamentally since then. Policing and stewarding has improved, technology has improved and stadiums have improved. The transition from terraces to all-seated stadiums has been heralded by some as the defining point; the point at which football finally evolved and modernised. Others don’t hold such a view. They believe that this transition has resulted in the heart and soul being ripped out of football; the point at which ticket prices exploded and atmosphere died.

Firstly, let me address an important question that you’ll inevitably ask. Why is this on LabourList? Well, it’s on LabourList because it’s a political issue. Before 1997, Tony Blair promised a review in to football stadia which would explore whether or not a return to standing would be feasible. This never happened. David Cameron has made a similar pledge. The failure of the Blair government to fulfil its promise has left football fans across the country scratching their heads in disbelief. Myself and many other football fans have sent letters and e-mails to various different politicians including Richard Caborn, former Minister for Sport and Andy Burnham, only to be met with the same draconian and irritatingly evasive answers. They should be thoroughly ashamed.

None of us campaigning for a return to standing are suggesting we should return to the old-style crumbling terraces that were dangerous. When we refer to the re-introduction of standing areas, we mean safe standing areas based on the models used by German clubs such as Werder Bremen. These areas of standing are extremely safe (as shown in the picture) and have contributed to low ticket prices in German. Tickets for top flight games in the Bundesliga are often below 10 euros, which has resulted in the German top flight enjoying higher attendances than clubs in the Premier League.

Unfortunately this article cannot address all the issues. If you want to read more about the issue I suggest you visit the this site or read the literature produced by the Football Supporter’s Federation. The government should be thoroughly ashamed of its broken promise. The government should commission the review it promised and listen for a change. The introduction of safe standing into the English game is long overdue and will be good for the game.