Premier League clubs and leagues will be allowed to offer safe parking areas from the start of the 2022-23 season.
Five clubs – Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Cardiff City – participated in a government-commissioned pilot study on “early adopters” during the second half of 2021-22.
Brentford and QPR Wolves will be the next clubs to join them in offering a licensed spot in designated seating areas for fans indoors and outdoors.
Other clubs are expected to follow suit during the new season.
Wembley Stadium will also provide a small licensed parking area for fans at domestic matches later in the season.
The venues were selected after an application process and strict conditions were met, including improved use of CCTV, better training for hosts, and fans being strictly confined to a “one person, one space”.
Necessary legislative amendments to the Football Spectators Act were submitted to Parliament on Monday.
“Thanks to strong experience, accurate evidence and modern engineering, we are now ready to allow our land to stand again,” said Culture Minister Nadine Doris.
“We are not recreating the stands and only clubs that meet strict safety standards will be allowed.”
Bars in seating areas allowed fans to stand while their safety was independently assessed and in April interim report By CFE Research, commissioned by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA), it said the safe mode had had a “positive impact on spectator safety” and improved the match day experience.
Then in May, Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston He said he was “determined” to allow stadiums to license their parking spaces next season.
On January 2, Stamford Bridge became the The first highest grade ground to allow authorized parking In almost 30 years when Chelsea and Liverpool met in a 2-2 draw in the Premier League.
Designated parking areas have not been seen in Premier League stadiums since the adoption of all-seater stadiums in the early 1990s – a recommendation from the Taylor Report in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 97 fans died after being crushed.
Spectators in many stadiums continued to stand in seating areas, most commonly behind targets, despite regular warnings from local authorities and police that this was dangerous.
“Based on what I’ve tried and learned through the pilot, safe mode is set to provide an electric atmosphere in our football stadiums,” Huddleston said Monday.
“Fans have always campaigned to deliver and we have worked carefully with supporter groups, including the families affected by the tragic Hillsborough disaster.”
Standing areas are common in the German Bundesliga and there are similar examples in the rest of Europe, the United States and Australia.
