Indirect Kick: Impact of All-Seater Soccer Stadiums — Bad or Good?

We have reached the month of April, meaning spring, warmer temperatures and the most intense month of the soccer season. Not only are title races coming down to the wire, but so are domestic cups. This has always been the case when the calendar turned to April, but in 1989, the mood in soccer stadiums changed drastically.

With an exciting FA Cup semifinal match between Nottingham Forest FC and Liverpool FC at the neutral Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, a radiant afternoon turned tragic when 96 Liverpool supporters died from a crush of fans.

A little background into the event: the stadium police force was passive and was not readily available in their time of need. Liverpool fans, many without a ticket, were ushered through an exit gate and subsequently, a tiny tunnel by police attempting to seat everyone in time for kickoff.

Stadiums like Hillsborough did not have seats for opposing fans. With Liverpool allotted the visitors end, their fans were subjected to stand in pens. To picture these structures, imagine if one end of a stadium had no seats in the lower bowl. Instead, there were staggered railings called crush barriers and fencing to separate the area into four separate enclosures. The conditions of Hillsborough were not only inhumane, but also dangerous.

Another issue of the crush was that upwards of 70 victims were pronounced dead at the stadium and might have survived if transported to a hospital rather than the stadium training room. Police, who were ultimately at fault for the incident, refused to allow backup from the opposite end, along with more than one ambulance, to enter the ground.

The scene was one of chaos, with advertising boards being used as stretchers, and players helping pull fans out of the pool of people. Since the incident, stadiums in England have been required to have seats instead of standing areas for opposing fans. The all-seater policy has done well for safety, but has it affected the environment of games?

The answer … a simple yes. While the fans still chant and cheer and sing for their club, there is not much of a personality among different fans. On Facebook, I follow a page called Terrace Culture, which showcases the best fans from all over the world. The most wild and zany fans do not come from England, however, but instead from countries such as Germany, Greece and Turkey.

The issue addressed after Hillsborough was fan safety and unruliness. It took until a few years ago for investigators of the accident to determine the blame should be on police and not the Liverpool supporters. What should have been changed was security policy and enforcement, not putting seats into stadiums.

I can tell you from experience, attending Revolution games. Since 2013, I have never sat down at a soccer game. In fact, it is borderline frowned upon to do so. Some of the Major League Soccer fans have more personality than Premier League fans. With the adoption of tifos, or large banners hung or held by fans, the MLS fanbase has started to develop its own unique personality.

In other European countries outside England, it is not uncommon to see smoke bombs or fireworks in crowds at soccer games. Some matches have even been stopped because of dangerous conditions and flaming objects being thrown onto the pitch. Now, I’m not saying this is cool or should be adopted and made common, because it isn’t. It is irresponsible.

However, the main difference between European environments and English environments is one thing: supporters sections in the rest of Europe have no seats. The idea has been proven to work and work effectively.

For example, Borussia Dortmund, a German club with what have been considered the best fans in the world, still has not adopted an all-seater stadium. Nicknamed “The Great Yellow Wall,” fans are placed in a 25,000-person free-standing grandstand, the largest in Europe. There have been few incidents related with the section, and for the most part, it has been a successful environment for fans and players.

So is there an optimal solution? With such a successful fan base in Germany, it has been proven that free-standing grandstands can work optimally. However, it is security that must be improved. If English and American security can be combined with German facilitation, the most favorable fan environment can be created.

Seats were added for the sole purpose of preventing overcrowding. However, the same thing can be implemented with no-seat grandstand. As long as proper security measures are taken and overcrowding is prevented by allotting a sufficient amount of ticket, free-standing grandstands can make a comeback and the environment at soccer matches will be thoroughly improved.