RETURN OF THE KIPPAX
RETURN OF THE KIPPAX AS CITY TO INSTALL 5,600 RAIL SEATS FOR NEW STANDING AREA AT THE ETIHAD
CITY have taken a step towards restoring the glory days of the Kippax after announcing rail seats will be installed in the lower tiers of the South Stand at the Etihad.
The Blues have revealed 5,620 rail seats will be installed, which would facilitate a standing area.
Standing has been outlawed in English football grounds since the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster recommended all-seater stadiums in 1990.
The last standing area at City was the Kippax, which held 18,300 before it was turned into a seated area in 1994.
But in recent years, fans across the country have campaigned for the return of ‘safe standing’ area in a bid to improve affordability, atmosphere and to cut the dangers of standing in seated areas, which has been a problem at the Etihad Stadium and other grounds.
That campaign gained support when the Liverpool fans group Spirit of Shankly dropped its opposition to a return to standing areas.
Continental clubs have successfully introduced rail seating, in which folding seats attached to rails allow for areas to be easily switched between standing and seated areas.
City announced the move after consultation with fans through their City Matters consultation group and have worked with Manchester City Council and the Sports Ground Safety Authority.
It is anticipated that standing at football grounds will be legalised again in the near future.
City’s managing director of operations Danny Wilson said: “The development and installation of a bespoke rail seating system at the Etihad Stadium will not only improve supporter safety but also ensures that until there is a change in legislation which permits safe standing, the matchday experience of supporters and seasoncard holders in the lower tier of the South Stand will remain unaffected.
“Whilst we will continue to remind supporters that they should remain seated during matches, we are also pleased to inform them that the installation of a rail seating area means the Etihad Stadium will be ready and prepared should the government bring forward legislation to introduce safe standing in the Premier League.”
The news was welcomed by the 1894 Group, a supporters’ organisation dedicated to improving the atmosphere at the Etihad which regularly organises banner displays and has been behind moves to group together singing fans in the South Stand.
They posted a message on Facebook which read: “Seven years of campaigning! Worth the wait!”
The success of a safe standing experiment at Celtic paved the way for the return of standing, with the rails - unlike the old barriers - preventing the surges and sways which were a feature of the old terraced areas.