The Bolton News can exclusively reveal that WANDERERS are giving fans the option to vote on whether safe standing is added to the Toughsheet Stadium starting in the upcoming season.
For the first time since the ground opened as an all-seater venue in 1997, the club is debating whether to set aside a portion of one of the lower decks to accommodate standing spectators.
In addition to continuing discussions with the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust, an online survey will be distributed to club members in the upcoming weeks to gather their thoughts. However, given that prior straw polls suggested that the supporters would be in favour of the changes, it appears likely that Wanderers will employ safe standing in some capacity starting with the 2024–2025 season.
Although the previous Bolton ownership had refused to discuss safe standing areas, chief executive Neil Hart has now confirmed that the current seating and concourse configuration will not require major work to fit the modern rails. The previous ownership had refused to discuss this because structural issues at the stadium would make the cost inefficient.
From the Premier League to League Two, thirty clubs have either incorporated safe standing or applied for permission to do so before the 2019–20 season begins.
Following the Taylor Report, it was suggested that all new stadiums switch to an all-seater configuration in light of the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989. All elite fields were forced to phase down standing spaces starting in August 1994.
The EFL’s “trailblazers” for safe standing were Shrewsbury Town, who included a clause in 2018 as a part of a government trial held at the former Montgomery Waters Stadium. Wanderers have already spoken with League One graduates Lincoln City about their experience of making the transition, and they have also held talks with the Shropshire club over how they have managed the process the modifications made to LNER Stadium.
Beginning in 2022, safe standing will be trialled by Cardiff, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur. This led to a report from the Department of Culture and Sport stating that, “Standing areas did not appear to encourage or increase the likelihood that spectators would behave in ways posing a safety risk.”
Beginning with the 2022–2023 season, Brentford, QPR, and Wolves were part of the group of “early adopters.” Later that year, UEFA authorised the use of rail seats in European competitions.
Subsequently, thirty clubs from all four divisions have either filed successfully for safe standing zones or declared that they will implement safe standing in the near future.
Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Burnley, Chelsea, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Tottenham, Wolves, Birmingham, Cardiff, Norwich, QPR, Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland, Swansea, Barnsley, Derby, Lincoln, Oxford, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Shrewsbury, Wimbledon and Wrexham are among the teams that have supported the introduction of standing areas at Sheffield United, according to the StandUnited website. Safe standing has also been included in Everton’s new stadium, which is being constructed at Bramley Moor Dock.
The Wanderers want to emphasise that any changes they make will be driven by fan feedback. They also want to assure season ticket holders that anyone impacted in an area they think would be best suited for safe standing will receive all the help they need to move to a different section of the stadium or switch to standing.
