Newcastle United will install rail seating at St James' Park this summer after the Government permitted Premier League and Championship clubs to introduce licensed ‘safe standing’ areas from the start of the 2022/23 season. Around 600 seats at the front of the away section will be replaced with rail seating in the coming weeks.
Supporters will not be permitted to stand until St. James' Park is given the green light for licensed standing but the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) has advised that the upper section of the Leazes End would benefit from having the added infrastructure in place as a priority.
Newcastle decided against trialling the measure in 2021 but have now outlined their long-term commitment to safe standing and plan to introduce rail seating in home sections as early as next year once they have consulted supporters.
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"We can apply for the license but we need to consider how that is best placed in our home section," Dave Gregory, Head of Safety and Security at Newcastle United, told Chronicle Live. "The matter is not straight forward and requires consultation with the fan base. Where is the best place to put it? Should it be in the Leazes Stand, the East Stand or the Gallowgate? Everybody will have an opinion on that.
"We also need to consider that you need to start installing from the rear to the front to make it work. Once someone is standing at the front, the whole section needs to be standing. So to get the numbers right we need to start at the rear.
"That consultation needs to take place. We need to understand how many fans actually want to stand for the full game. We don't have that data at this stage so that consultation needs to go out so people can give us their view of what they are after. That will determine the number of seats or the section that we can considering installing."
Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Manchester United and Cardiff City all took part in the early adopter programme during the second half of the 2021/2022 season, while Brentford, QPR and Wolves have already announced they will offer licensed safe standing areas for home and away fans this term.
However, no changes will be made in the home sections of St. James' Park until at least 2023 as the Magpies did not want to disrupt fans who have recently bought tickets for the upcoming season.
"We've discounted this season because tickets have already been bought," Gregory added. "Season tickets went out last week and we thought it would be extremely unfair on the fan base to start moving people around and asking them to move. So it isn't going to be considered for this season.
"We'll look at that consultation, and that consultation will just have to take the time it takes, whether that is this season or it may creep into next season, I don't know. We will have to see how easily we can get round it to try and keep fans happy and improve the fan experience for those that want to stand but also those who don't want to stand.
"It should be win-win if we can get the moves done but it's a big administrative task and obviously not everyone is comfortable moving to other parts of the stadium. If you've been coming a long time, you know those people sitting around you and you know your friends and family in that group as well.
"That matchday routine people have, they don't like to break and we know that. That is why the consultation is paramount before we get to installation."
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