Safe Standing Study Arsenal FC

Following the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster inquiry by Lord Justice Taylor, standing terraces in the Premier League and Championships have been banned and stadiums have been subsequently converted into all-seater venues.

With the introduction of solutions for ‘safe standing’ -such as rail seating- a few years ago, a new debate on this topic has been initiated, with a large group of supporters preferring to stand during football matches. A survey from March 2017 showed that also a large number of Arsenal fans are in favour of the introduction of safe standing at Emirates Stadium.

Upon request of Arsenal FC, The Stadium Consultancy has carried out an independent assessment of the technical, financial and operational feasibility of the introduction of safe standing at Emirates Stadium. To this end we have identified and analysed various scenarios for the introduction of safe standing and their impact on ingress, egress, segregation of fans, sightlines, seat loss, risk of overcrowding and migration, safety management measures and costs for implementation.

The study concludes with a decision matrix with regard to the various scenarios and conclusions and recommendations for implementation.