@owlstalk Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 A spokesman for a Hillsborough survivors’ group has said the Leppings Lane End of Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium “needs to be knocked down” after an overcrowding incident last January was labelled a “near miss”. Newcastle fans reported safety issues before their third-round FA Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday in January 2023, with some choosing to rip netting from seats to make space. Sheffield Wednesday commissioned a review with Sheffield City Council which recommended increased CCTV and stewarding as well as a significant reduction in capacity to the Leppings Lane end. The upper tier has been reduced from 3,200 to 2,400 and the lower tier from 1,500 to 1300, but no structural changes were suggested. The Leppings Lane end was where 97 Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. Sheffield City Council’s sports grounds and events lead officer Matt Proctor told a meeting: “The initial concerns were raised by a journalist’s photograph and we actually reached out to Newcastle United supporters to give their insight into exactly what their actual concerns were about being at that particular end of that particular stadium. “When we received responses from Newcastle supporters they raised different issues to the issues raised by the journalist and we carried out a full investigation. “We classed it as a near miss and alterations have been made to the operation of that particular stadium as a result of the feedback.” Peter Scarfe from the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance told i: “Realistically that end needs to be knocked down and rebuilt. It’s a very old stadium, it’s not very well designed, it suited its purpose 100-odd years ago but now it doesn’t align with safety. It needs to be changed. “We tend to go back to Hillsborough quite often, part of the therapy and healing. The stadium hasn’t changed a great deal, it’s still quite a daunting-looking place. It’s still a dangerous stadium, it doesn’t matter whether you reduce it by 50 per cent, it still needs to be policed in the right manner.” Scarfe added: “The Leppings Lane end is so dated and poorly marked. It bottlenecks, it’s on the corner between the river and terraced houses. “It’s not the most accessible area, and then once you go through those turnstiles, there’s no direction to go left, right or down the tunnel. You know the term ‘tunnel vision’, that’s what you see in front of you so that’s where you go. “They have done a few modifications, but not enough, when you hear the announcement that they’ve put extra CCTV in and they’re going to speak to extra stewards, it’s still not enough.” Owlstalk Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkastav Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Pfft. Ok 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TrickyTrev Posted March 15 Popular Post Share Posted March 15 (edited) I look forward to Peter Scarfe funding these proposals. Very decent of him. Edited March 15 by TrickyTrev 18 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onslow Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Bet we don't hear a peep in response from the club to this. More reputational damage 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponte_Owl85 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 100 odd years ago 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sheffield_dave Posted March 15 Popular Post Share Posted March 15 Regardless of what you think about the reasoning, I think that ultimately saying "the West Stand should be knocked down" is right. I know people don't like hearing it from people outside the club, maybe especially not from anyone with a scouse accent, but it's still true. It should have been pulled down in 89, or when money was last spent on the ground ahead of Euro 96. I don't know why people leap to defend it. It's by a distance the worst part of the ground, can't serve its purpose to us anymore capacity wise and is attached to an appalling loss of life. And even if you think the Newcastle thing was a load of absolute b*llocks (as I do), then it's still an example of how easily that stand still - and always will - so easily attract negative attention to the club. 56 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ever the pessimist Posted March 16 Popular Post Share Posted March 16 Does it need knocking down? Yes. Is this particular instance an over reaction? Also yes. 37 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatzooma Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 6 hours ago, Inspector Lestrade said: If you arrive on time, in a sober state, don't push, take heed of the people around you, be polite, have a ticket, be patient, don't be aggressive, take the advice of the police/stewards, keep off illegal drugs, sit where your ticket tells you to sit, don't stand in the gangways, smile and enjoy the day, then there really shouldn't be an issue. Maybe it's just me. I agree but it does sound like the Tory manifesto 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleo Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Take it down and ban away fans. T1 won’t notice anyway. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post torryowl Posted March 16 Popular Post Share Posted March 16 Before they gave it over to the away fans the lep was my preferred stand and never thought it was dangerous even at the far greater capacity than it is these days ..... 9 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Jockstrap Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Frank Mittens or whatever he’s called may be right, however even knocking down the stand will cost a large sum of money, never mind the rebuild cost. I assume he’s not offering to pay for it so he can have his opinion but that’s all it is. It will not happen, if ever, for a very long time, if you don’t want to go to an away game at Hillsborough then don’t, nobody is forcing you. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Hyde2005 Posted March 16 Popular Post Share Posted March 16 nothing unsafe about the away end . i watch most of the away youtubers , never any issues . just ban away fans what refuse to go to there seats what are standing on isles . as for newcastle dont give them any tickets next time its sorted . 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesteel. Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 It’s only fans of PL clubs that flippantly suggest this and yes in an ideal world it would have been demolished or changed but there’s been absolutely no chance of that being viable in the last 23 years. If knocking down and rebuilding stands was so easy then it would happen a lot more in the EFL… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve301 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 We as a club certainly can't afford to knock that end down and rebuild it so step up Sheffield city council JOB DONE 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulva Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Just now, steve301 said: We as a club certainly can't afford to knock that end down and rebuild it so step up Sheffield city council JOB DONE If the club can’t afford it why should the council pay for it. Talk me through that one. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesteel. Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Council even less likely to have the money 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeyswfc Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 It does need knocking down. It’s a waste of a stand that can’t even be filled. However suggesting because it’s near houses as a reason would wipe about nearly every ground in English football and is just a silly remark to make. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulva Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 With the reduction in fans in that stand following the Newcastle game it would have made more sense financially to let them win it and progress to the next round. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@owlstalk Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 17 minutes ago, steve301 said: We as a club certainly can't afford to knock that end down and rebuild it so step up Sheffield city council JOB DONE I don’t want my council money spent subsidising the mad spending of this chairman 5 1 Owlstalk Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helmut_rooster Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 (edited) 19 minutes ago, steve301 said: We as a club certainly can't afford to knock that end down and rebuild it so step up Sheffield city council JOB DONE They could use all the money from the ULEZ cameras to fund it too, sorted. Edited March 16 by helmut_rooster 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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