Molineux Stadium safe standing milepost moment

Article posted by Coliseum, February 27^th, 2023

Image: Wolverhampton Wanderers

The Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. will officially operate licensed safe standing areas at their home arena – the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England (UK) – for the first time from March 4^th during their game against their peer team Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

‘Wolverhampton Wanderers FC’ stated that the above game will mark a landmark moment for a club that have been at the forefront of the campaign to introduce areas of safe standing at all-seater stadiums for many years.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England (UK), which competes in the Premier League, the highest level of the men’s English football league system. The club has played at the Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road (a football ground in Wolverhampton which has since closed down) in 1889.

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The 32,050-capacity Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England (UK), has been the home ground of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers since 1889. The first stadium built for use by a football league club, it was one of the first British grounds to have floodlights installed and hosted some of the earliest European club games in the 1950s.

‘Wolverhampton Wanderers FC’ further stated that in the Summer of 2019, Wolves became the first Premier League side to install barrier seating into an existing stadium, after the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) confirmed that it could be licensed as compliant with the Government’s all-seater policy.

Now, the SGSA have granted Wolves the license to operate safe standing, which will see legal standing return to Molineux for the first time since 1993.

London (UK)-based the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) is the UK Government’s advisor on safety at sports grounds and a world leader in safety.

It provides independent, expert advice, based on nearly three decades of experience in making football in England and Wales a safe and enjoyable experience for spectators. The SGSA uses its experience to advise and support other sports and related industries in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Ken Scott, Head of Inspectorate, SGSA, UK, is a Member of Coliseum – Global Sports Venue Alliance.

The license was granted earlier this month, after the club installed 585 barrier seats in the Steve Bull Stand. These seats had to be installed to get the license, which stipulates that areas for licensed standing must be available to both home and visiting supporters.

Wolves now offer 5,553 seats in the Sir Jack Hayward Stand, 2,115 seats in the Stan Cullis Stand and 585 seats in the Steve Bull Lower Stand, providing a total capacity of 8,253 licensed standing seats across the stadium, and become the fifth Premier League club to receive the licence.

Stated Steve Sutton, Wolves’ Facilities, Safety and Security Director, “We are absolutely delighted to have been granted this license after many, many years of hard work put in by a number of people. We have listened to feedback from our fans and played an active role in supporting the process, including taking part in the research, that has led to this historic change in policy.”

As part of the introduction of licensed safe standing at Molineux, a number of new measures have been introduced already, including updated ground regulations, which contain conditions relating to the standing areas, and a code of conduct for anyone who purchases a ticket in the areas.

Tickets for seats in those areas will see safe standing messaging incorporated into the ticket’s design, and anyone with season tickets in those areas will be made aware of the new code of conduct.

Wolves will now face additional scrutiny from authorities in relation to persistent standing occurring in other areas of the stadium, with the club required to put in place a management plan to ensure that persistent standing does not occur in areas without mitigating measures.

Failure on the club’s behalf to adhere to this plan and manage and control persistent standing will inevitably lead to enforcement action by the authorities, which could result in seats being made unavailable in the future.

For any supporter who is concerned that they may be unable to adhere to these rules, can contact Fan Services on fanservices@wolves.co.uk or 01902 810485 to discuss his/her options, regarding how he/she could move to an area of licensed safe standing on a match-by-match basis during the season, or more permanently in the Summer.

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