Bolton Wanderers have put the wheels in motion to install safe standing at the Toughsheet Community Stadium. According to a report from The Bolton News, the club are going to liaise with supporters in the coming weeks to gauge whether enough interest is there before potentially installing new standing sections for the start of next season.
A questionnaire is set be sent out to all members while the club are said to be in direct talks with the Bolton Wanderers Supporter's Trust who have long pushed for safe standing sections at the stadium after it became legal in 2021. If the poll comes back in support of safe standing, then the work won't take long to complete and should be finished in time for the first game of the 2024/25 season.
The area of the Toughsheet they are targetting is one of the lower tiers around the stadium, which has now been Bolton's home for 27 years. Anyone impacted by the potential change will be offered the option to either purchase a standing ticket in the same area of the stadium or move elsewhere to retain a standard seat.
Safe standing at the Toughsheet Community Stadium: Change matters
The previous owners of Bolton Wanderers refused to even discuss safe standing, stating that there were structural issues at the Toughsheet Community Stadium that made the idea implausible. However, current Chief Executive, Neil Hart, isn't of the same mindset and doesn't believe that any major or lengthy work will be needed to fit the required rails for safe standing.
According to the report in the Bolton News, Hart has been in talks with the hierarchy at Shrewsbury Town about how they handled transition when they became the first club to trial safe standing at their stadium in 2018.
The ease of which safe standing areas can be installed in stadiums is one of its great appeals. Since it became legal in the UK three years ago, thirty clubs from the Premier League to League Two have either had sections installed or gained a license to do so. B
Thirty clubs from the Premier League to League Two have already either integrated safe standing or sought to gain a license to do so from the start of next season. Clubs are also making it an integral part of new stadium designs, with Everton incorporating safe standing in their new stadium at Bramley Moore docks.