Safe Standing at Ewood - Consultation

[Miller11]

We Are The Rovers and representatives from the Fans Forum have been in discussions with the club around implementing safe standing at Ewood. As part of this we want to get the opinions of as many supporters as possible, so please take a couple of minutes to complete the survey at the link below:

Click here to complete the survey

[MarkBRFC]

Nice to see some sort of survey and consideration for this.

Do we honestly believe that this will happen under Waggott/Venkys though?

I would be amazed if it did.

[windymiller7]

We'll look into it!

[Herbie6590]

It will happen if the club believes the benefits exceed the costs I guess…

I’ve always been a fan of an unreserved seating section to allow mates to sit together in the way you would arrange to stand on the same part of the terrace back in the day. Safe standing might allow that part of the football culture to return & *might* have benefits for the club…

[only2garners]

I was surprised to find when we met them that the club are pretty keen to do this but I think in the current financial situation they can't prioritise the cost. But their hand may be forced if the local SAG (Safety Advisory Group) decide that the consistent standing at Ewood justifies a reduction in capacity. They have been making noises to that effect.

[ABRAM ROVER]

I noticed the crowd funding question thrown in. Only a matter of time before something happens in NO1. At the Preston game in NO1 the steps were impassable and must have been two to a seat in some parts. 

[Upside Down]

10 hours ago, Herbie6590 said:

It will happen if the club believes the benefits exceed the costs I guess…

I’ve always been a fan of an unreserved seating section to allow mates to sit together in the way you would arrange to stand on the same part of the terrace back in the day. Safe standing might allow that part of the football culture to return & *might* have benefits for the club…

That is NOT how this club operates. Ever.

 

[Ossydave]

Is there a ball park cost attributed to the options? Guessing it's way more expensive than it should be as firms out there will be adjusting prices in line with the spike in demand....

[Miller11]

3 hours ago, Ossydave said:

Is there a ball park cost attributed to the options? Guessing it's way more expensive than it should be as firms out there will be adjusting prices in line with the spike in demand....

As a rough guide about £100 per seat

[wilsdenrover]

10 hours ago, only2garners said:

The club aren't asking for fans' views. It was fans who raised this with the club and who wrote the questionnaire. It was actually Mike Graham who wrote the it, which was amended both by other fans and by the club, who made a couple of very sensible amendments. They put it out because it's easier for them to get to more fans quickly than it is for us.

Financing is clearly going to be an issue but I was surprised by how positively the club have engaged with us - they had given it quite a bit of thought and had suggestions for us as to practical areas when we met. Safe standing seats don't cost a fortune, around £80 a seat and right now we are looking at a relatively small number being converted.

I can't be absolutely sure about future kits but I am reasonably confident that you will see where the fan input went when they are introduced.

 

34 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

As a rough guide about £100 per seat

I reckon, whatever the difference quality, Waggott’s going to pick O2Gs ‘quote’ over yours 🤔🤨

[only2garners]

1 hour ago, wilsdenrover said:

 

I reckon, whatever the difference quality, Waggott’s going to pick O2Gs ‘quote’ over yours 🤔🤨

Actually when I wrote my £80 quote I had in mind a figure of £70 but did a google check and saw an FSA £80 estimate so used that. Of course with the way inflation is at the moment £70 or £80 could be £100 by now....

[Mike Graham]

An additional point is that whatever we do for home fans re Safe Standing it has to be replicated for away fans.

I hear that Liverpool are aiming to make the Kop all safe standing; they have already retrofitted many rows of seats and they are continuing to fit the standing rails between home games.

This is what the standing rails look like:

 

[J*B]

Just so I’m sure I’ve understood this correctly - is there a suggestion here that fans could crowd fund roughly £100 per seat to install safe standing at Ewood, despite our owners being billionaires (and investment in the stadium being exempt from FFP) and our CEO being on 300K / year?

[Miller11]

 

38 minutes ago, J*B said:

Just so I’m sure I’ve understood this correctly - is there a suggestion here that fans could crowd fund roughly £100 per seat to install safe standing at Ewood, despite our owners being billionaires (and investment in the stadium being exempt from FFP) and our CEO being on 300K / year?

It’s been suggested as a possibility and we’ve been asked to gauge the reaction to it. I’ve made my personal reaction to it pretty clear in my response.

Something else I’m also personally pretty keen on is not just converting already occupied seats to safe standing ones. If they are already occupied the only purpose it will serve is to appease the safety advisory group, whereas I’d like to see safe standing used as a way to attract new or lapsed fans too, so finding areas which aren’t overly full currently.

[rigger]

1 hour ago, Miller11 said:

 

It’s been suggested as a possibility and we’ve been asked to gauge the reaction to it. I’ve made my personal reaction to it pretty clear in my response.

Something else I’m also personally pretty keen on is not just converting already occupied seats to safe standing ones. If they are already occupied the only purpose it will serve is to appease the safety advisory group, whereas I’d like to see safe standing used as a way to attract new or lapsed fans too, so finding areas which aren’t overly full currently.

So you would have it in the Riverside ?

[roversfan99]

Crowd funding stadium improvements would be yet another low of the Venkys reign.

[Upside Down]

As far as safe standing conversion, I would make the whole lower tier of the Blackburn and Darwen Ends standing.

Even the notion of this being crowdfunded is absolutely fucking disgusting. What about our "honourable" "generous" "billionaire" owners?

Wouldn't the cost of this work be "crumbs to them"?

Crowdfunding like we're a none league club. If only we were half as well run as any none league club.

Fuck off venkys. Scum.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Upside Down

[only2garners]

The Riverside has been ruled out. There's not much point in investing in a.stand that you might want to replace and anyway if you put standing space at the back you wouldn't be able to see the pitch.

[Mattyblue]

Is there actually a plan for the Riverside (apart from its condemning/closure)?

Can’t say I ever recall it being mentioned in the FF minutes.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Mattyblue

[JohnD]

Flawed poll, unless you choose one of the locations suggested for safe standing you can't submit the form.

[Mike Graham]

1 hour ago, JohnD said:

Flawed poll, unless you choose one of the locations suggested for safe standing you can't submit the form.

John, we had a working group with the Club and those were the only feasible options unless you want the whole of the BBE Lower for Safe Standing (which we ruled out as it would naff off too many long term ST holders).  O2G has explained why the Riverside option was ruled out.  
 

The key question is whether you would support Safe Standing or not.  I was at Chelsea and it was excellent; it will not be too long before the majority of Clubs in the Premier League and Championship have Safe Standing except at Turf Moor where they still have their quaint antique wooden seats.

[Mike Graham]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

Is there actually a plan for the Riverside (apart from its condemning/closure)?

Can’t say I ever recall it being mentioned in the FF minutes.

No.  I hear options have been discussed but non have come to fruition.

[MarkBRFC]

5 minutes ago, Mike Graham said:

No.  I hear options have been discussed but non have come to fruition.

Do you think it will be closed in the not to distant future? Surely Waggott would jump at the chance?

On the safe standing, such a shame that venkys have decimated out fanbase so badly, Darwen End lower would have been ideal for it, half home and half away fans like the good old days. Atmosphere would have been superb.

Edited November 30, 2023 by MarkBRFC

[Mike Graham]

10 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Do you think it will be closed in the not to distant future? Surely Waggott would jump at the chance?

On the safe standing, such a shame that venkys have decimated out fanbase so badly, Darwen End lower would have been ideal for it, half home and half away fans like the good old days.

Good question Mark.  Personally I don’t think it will be closed apart from odd matches such as minor cup games.  The only way the Riverside will be developed is either by us gaining Premier League status and / or a commercial partnership with a developer (retail / hotel / affordable housing) that would reduce the number of seats but would also upgrade what is in my opinion an embarrassment.

As for safe standing they are going to have to put some in the DE as the rules dictate what we do for home fans we have to do for away fans.  I would love to have the DE Lower to be 1/2 and 1/2 again. If the demand for Watford tickets is good the Club may have no option but to open up part of the DE Lower for that game; however for me the key is increasing the home attendance so opening part of the DE Lower is a no brainer, at present all we would be doing is spreading our fans more thinly across a greater area.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Mike Graham

[Lancaster Rover]

On 28/11/2023 at 13:53, Herbie6590 said:

It will happen if the club believes the benefits exceed the costs I guess…

I’ve always been a fan of an unreserved seating section to allow mates to sit together in the way you would arrange to stand on the same part of the terrace back in the day. Safe standing might allow that part of the football culture to return & *might* have benefits for the club…

Depends what you mean by unreserved, I know at Celtic Park they have absolute murder keeping those without tickets for the standing section out. I am all for them but one of the main considerations is around access to the section and effectively fencing it off so you don't end up with 100 people standing in an area designated for 50. Whilst standing sections are unreserved once you get in there you do get allocated a seat.