Premier League safe standing – but not at the Amex anytime soon

It has been a battle over 25 years in the making, but football fans in England have finally won the right for safe standing to be reintroduced at Premier League and Championship level – but do no expect it at the Amex anytime soon.

The Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) are inviting clubs in the top two division who wish to take part in a pilot scheme to submit an application for sections of their stadiums to be licensed for safe standing before October 6th.

Those who are successful will be allowed to offer standing to supporters from January 1st 2022. If the initial trials prove successful, the government will introduce legislation for every stadium in the country to be allowed safe standing areas within the next few seasons.

Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Wolves have all installed the required rail seating in their stadiums in anticipation of today’s long expected announcement.

Should all six apply for and be granted licenses, it would mean more than a quarter of the Premier League’s club will have safe standing at their home grounds.

Not the Amex though. At the recent Brighton Fans’ Forum, the topic of safe standing was brought up for its annual airing.

Paul Barber remains dismissive of the idea for a number of reasons. He said the club had considered it and previously invited fans who were interested to a meeting at the Amex three years ago to talk about the subject.

Only 33 people turned up, suggesting that the demand was not as widespread as believed. Unless there was genuine interest, then the club would not consider it an investment worth making.

To install rail seating at the Amex would involve Tony Bloom paying a lot of money to rip up the existing North Stand.

This would potentially displace supporters who have held the same seat for a decade and who have no interest in safe standing, forcing them into other parts of the stadium where they may not want to sit.

At the same time, safe standing would reduce the capacity of the Amex because it demands more space per person than normal seating.

An expensive undertaking which would result in less matchday revenue through making the ground smaller was not the best of combinations from a business point of view.

As a result, if safe standing were ever introduced at the Amex then tickets in that section would probably have to be more expensive to offset the losses. Either that or bags of Starburst go above the £5 mark for the first time.

Barber also pointed out that safe standing is not the nirvana that many fans think it to be. As well as tickets costing more more, it is not like the days of standing anywhere you like or moving around the old North Stand terrace at the Goldstone Ground.

You are still allocated a fixed position which you have to stay in. Safe standing simply allows you to stand in your seat with some form of rail in front and behind, rather than having to sit down by law.

The manner in which Barber went out of his way to point out all the pitfalls of safe standing is enough to suggest that the club are not in favour of it.

But what if the prospect of seeing Wolves, Spurs and Liverpool supporters enjoying safe standing from January onwards leads more Brighton fans to support its introduction at the Amex?

Barber did say that if there was suddenly a sufficient appetite (ie a lot more than 33 people), then the Albion would be open to exploring the idea further.

It will therefore be up to Brighton supporters to convince Bloom and Barber to introduce safe standing at the Amex – if there is indeed even the demand for it.