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EXCLUSIVE: Gold starts safe seating talks

EXCLUSIVE

By Hugh Southon

David Gold has started talks with manufacturers of safe seating systems which he wants to see introduced at the London Stadium.

In a major exclusive with ClaretandHugh this morning the co-chairman revealed: “I have been speaking with the people who put in the rail seating at Celtic Park. I have been an advocate of this for many years and it is something I am working on.

“It was absolutely right after the Hillsborough tragedy that the Taylor Report suggested all-seater stadiums but that was 30 years ago and technology has moved on so now – as was the case at Celtic – we need to look at these possibilities and hold talks. That’s what I am doing.”

Once a system is found to suit the London Stadium it can be assumed the club will have been in touch with every relevant body including the stadium operators, FA and PL and it could be that Celtic’s Ferco Seating system will be the one adopted.

Gold’s talks are the starting point in moves he hopes will calm the voice of discontened supporters who have contributed towards making this a burning issue following the move from the Boleyn.

He said: “We are working on it. I believe in it – we are in touch and we will do everything we can to resolve the issue.”

DG and his daughter Jacqui have both tweeted regularly that fans need to sit at the stadium in order to get the licence to increase the stadium capacity to 66k.

And DG said: “I’ve ben accused of making this about money which is crazy because I won’t profit personally – only the football club.

“For me it’s about pride. For as long as I can remember we have been London’s fourth club now we have a chance to become the biggest in terms of capacity.

“Arsenal have 60k, Chelsea and Tottenham will have 61k and we will have  66k. I want that. I want to be the biggest and I think the majority of our fans will too.”

In the video above the Ferco Seating system is featured in a BBC programme at the time of the Celtic moves towards safe seating in which DG’s support for safe seating is mentioned. 

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

13 comments on “EXCLUSIVE: Gold starts safe seating talks

  1. Good news that talks have started, will the supporters be kept in the loop as to how these talks are going and timelines Hugh ?

  2. There’s no reason they couldn’t have been ahead of the game on this – rail seats could have been installed and locked open, so that the stadium would still have been all seater, but as and when the law was changed, they would have been there, ready for use as terracing.

    • Nice idea H01, but I think the howls of protest would have been even greater. “Why can’t we have it now?” etc etc, also it is not swapping like with like. Those seats look pretty uncomfortable by comparison. The real problem was that we have standers mixed with sitters; they should have made standing areas in the 1st place (with the massive warning that they could not provide it, but would introduce it when it became legal etc etc)…but hey, that bus has been missed.
      A previous contributor made the brilliant suggestion of petitioning the Government to change the law; if they get 100,000, the Gov MUST look at it. Time for supporters of clubs across the country to get together.

  3. I am a massive fan of DG. I’m v pleased he has made his position a lot clearer. But it is a long journey to get legislation changed and then persuade the owners. But hoepfully he can show his heart is in it now.

  4. I think we should move with the times,but these safe seating areas are not going to be the same as the old days when 4,000 of us were crammed into the Abbey stadium great togetherness and atmosphere.COYI

  5. I hope that Mr Gold reads this…….

    The problem with football grounds prior to 1992 were the barbed wire perimeter wall fences, not the fact there were standing terraces. (I’m not going to go there about the Hillsborough tragedy, because we have long known whose fault it was. Nevertheless, Sheffield Wednesday was one of many of the top division clubs that installed barbed wire fences, unlike West Ham.)

    Even when the stadium was at full capacity, I never ever witnessed a dangerous crush at Upton Park. On the odd occasion when there was a tight squeeze, fans would climb over the perimeter wall and the club’s stewards quickly transferred them to other parts of the ground.

    The Taylor report was clearly flawed as it was prepared by non-football people who took the ‘safe’ option of an easy way out. There was absolutely no need to enforce all-seater stadia onto the top division clubs in British football. All they needed to do was remove the fences, simple.

    If the lower tiers of the London Stadium was all-standing – with crush barriers strategically placed on the terraces like we had in the past – I’m very sure there would be no crushes, and certainly no more injured fans than there are now. What’s more, West Ham could have a home ground that housed 100,000 fans.

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