Rotherham United are the latest League One club set to install rail seating- however, this comes at the request of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and not the club.
The Millers were relegated out of the Championship last year and have returned to the third tier after two years away.
However, supporters may notice a different experience at the New York Stadium in the coming months as rail seating is to be installed due to 'a series of potentially dangerous crowd behaviour issues in the away end in 2023/24.'
Releasing a long statement to supporters, in which they make it clear that it was not a decision the club would have taken without request, the Millers did not give an exact date in which it would be ready for use by.
READ | Safe standing to be introduced for away supporters at request of SGSA
— Rotherham United (@RotherhamUnited) September 2, 2024
"The change in Law regarding Safe Standing within football stadia has seen it adopted more widely across the leagues, but we would like to stress that this is not a decision the club were set to make…
Reading- last visiting there in 2021- are set to return to the New York Stadium in October.
A statement read: "Rotherham United would like to inform supporters that a Safe Standing section is to be introduced in the Mears Group South Stand from the 2024/25 campaign onwards, following a request from the Sports Grounds Safety Authority brought about by the behaviour of some travelling supporters last season.
"This is set to be actioned as a result of a series of potentially dangerous crowd behaviour issues in the away end in 2023/24 which were brought to the attention of the SGSA and now require the club to implement a Safe Standing area in the Mears Group South Stand in the interest of safety. It was also made clear that the alternative option were we not to install Safe Standing in this area would have been to reduce the capacity of the South Stand.
"The change in Law regarding Safe Standing within football stadia has seen it adopted more widely across the leagues, but we would like to stress that this is not a decision the club were set to make without external influence. Whilst we acknowledge the rationale of the SGSA for the installation of Safe Standing to safeguard the well-being of away supporters, we have only reached this decision following several ultimately unsuccessful attempts to deal with the matter through communication and stewarding.
"At present, there are no further plans to extend Safe Standing to any other areas of the stadium but it remains a topic that will continue to be reviewed both at Board level and in conjunction with the SGSA and local authority."
Royals fans experienced safe standing at Birmingham City on the opening day of the season, while Burton Albion, Crawley Town and Bristol Rovers still use terracing for away supporters.
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