Safe standing to begin at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Following November’s Government announcement, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has received approval for licensed safe standing in seated areas from 1 January, 2022.

For many years, the Club and fans have campaigned for standing to be reintroduced and we are delighted that our first home game of the New Year against Morecambe on Sunday 9 January will be one of the first at which standing will be allowed in nearly 30 years.

We join Cardiff City, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United as the first Clubs in the top two tiers of football in England and Wales to pioneer a new approach which offers fans the choice to stand in certain areas of our stadium.

Our stadium opened with areas future-proofed for safe standing in its South Stand and Away supporter section - the areas in which licensed safe standing will now be permitted. Our ‘safe seating’ design provides the same comfort and leg room as in all other areas of the stadium, with an ergonomically profiled bar set at 900mm for clear sightlines.

The following areas of our South Stand are designated for safe standing:
• Rows 1-29, Blocks 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 254, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260
• Rows 71-82, Blocks 323, 324, 451, 452, 453

All South Stand Season Ticket Holders, who had been previously made aware of the potential for a change in legislation upon securing their seat in this area, and any fan purchasing an individual match ticket in a safe standing area, should be aware of the following:

• Safe standing areas will continue to operate on a one seat per person basis, with all seats remaining in use should fans choose to sit
• Fans who do not have a ticket in a licensed safe standing area are not permitted to enter it
• Our Ground Regulations and COVID-19 Code of Conduct continue to apply

All other areas of our stadium will remain subject to the Government’s all-seater policy, where standing for prolonged periods is not permitted.

Chairman, Daniel Levy, said: “The Club has led on lobbying the Government for safe standing at stadia and is delighted that this will now be possible. It delivers choice for fans attending the game - whether home or away supporters - and the vast majority of our fans are in favour of this scheme. We are extremely proud of our ‘safe seating’ design, which ensures both comfort and safety, whether standing or seated, while maintaining the same aesthetics as in all other areas of the stadium.”

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was selected following an application process, open to all grounds covered by the all-seater policy, led by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA).

Over the remainder of the 2021/22 season, research will be carried out at the five ‘early adopter’ grounds by CFE Research, to evaluate the implementation of the licensed standing areas. This research will be provided to Government to inform its decisions about the potential wider roll-out of licensed standing from the start of next season.

The introduction of licensed standing areas follows research conducted during the 2019/20 season, prior to the onset of the pandemic, which found that seats with barriers/independent barriers helped reduce the safety risks related to standing in seated areas.