Adver News: Club to boost capacity ahead of Chelsea's visit

[News Monkey]

Club to boost capacity ahead of Chelsea's visit
           
           


  AN EXTRA 578 fans will be able to watch Swindon Town face Chelsea next week after the club’s decision to install new seating at the County Ground.

           

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/headlines/10678511.Club_to_boost_capacity_ahead_of_Chelsea_s_visit/?ref=rss
           
           
           

[4D]

Why were they removed in the first place? 

[Abrahammer]

The more people he can get in the ground the more money his cronies can line their pockets with.

It's so obvious

[Ardiles]

Why were they removed in the first place? 

I think it's more the case that there are illogical gaps here & there.  When I was booking my ticket last night for Saturday, there were obvious gaps along the side at the Town End where there could have been seats.  If it's simply a case of bolting on a few seats to an empty space of concrete, why not?

I suppose that this would take the total capacity of the ground back above 15,000 for the first time in quite a few years.

[Paolo69]

The seats being talked about are presumably going back into the areas they were taken out of a few years ago. I know the we made the drastic move of taking them out next to the away fans in the Arkells after a Rovers home game when they were being lobbed at each other. I don't think they wanted town lads getting as close to the away fans as they were. Never really understood that. Surely some netting/tarpaulin could have done the job and stopped people sitting there if that was what they wanted.

[RobertT]

Some were removed for security related concerns (Arkells, small section on the Bank by DR Stand) and others were cannibalised over time I think.  Some of the TE ones will have pretty awful views I'd imagine, but in games such as the Chelsea one, people will buy them so why not have them in place.

[Gnasher]

The seats being talked about are presumably going back into the areas they were taken out of a few years ago. I know the we made the drastic move of taking them out next to the away fans in the Arkells after a Rovers home game when they were being lobbed at each other. I don't think they wanted town lads getting as close to the away fans as they were. Never really understood that. Surely some netting/tarpaulin could have done the job and stopped people sitting there if that was what they wanted.

My season ticket of 8 years was in the seats removed between the home and away sections in the Arkells. In all those years the only 'trouble' we ever saw was a Millwall lad run over and say boo. I kid you not.

[TheMajorSTFC]

Presumably these seats have been put in the Stratton Bank (as per Chelsea getting an extra 250? tickets yesterday) and the Town End to the left by the turnstiles? Can't think of anywhere else, except the segregation part of the Arkells where they could be!

Having a bar in the Town End is a great idea!

[Paolo69]

My season ticket of 8 years was in the seats removed between the home and away sections in the Arkells. In all those years the only 'trouble' we ever saw was a Millwall lad run over and say boo. I kid you not.

At the risk of going all TC, this is the game I was referring too. I thought the seats were removed pretty soon after that. No idea if this was one of the 8 years you had a season ticket or not though Gnasher.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/1078988.fans_clash_as_rivalries_boil_over/

[Gnasher]

At the risk of going all TC, this is the game I was referring too. I thought the seats were removed pretty soon after that. No idea if this was one of the 8 years you had a season ticket or not though Gnasher.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/1078988.fans_clash_as_rivalries_boil_over/

Na, this was in the early-mid 90s! We had a good view of the Rovers seat exchange from the DRS.

Edit - It was Jan 1992. We beat them (Millwall) 3-1.

[Paolo69]

Na, this was in the early-mid 90s! We had a good view of the Rovers seat exchange from the DRS.

Likewise. :-)

[Reg Smeeton]

 Various seats have been removed down the years for H and S reasons...I'd always assumed because SBC insisted on it, so it comes as a surprise that we can just put them back in. Perhaps it was just Ron Topp.

[Peter Venkman]

Perhaps it was just Ron Topp.

Thats a name from the past, I had forgotten all about Topper and his right hand man Ray Rodgers, nice bloke but a bit of a stickler for H&S even before it came to the forefront in the late 90's.

[woolster]

I remember seats being thrown in the arkells by town/wovers  fans around 2008, they had netting over those seats taken out

[Red Frog]

Various seats have been removed down the years for H and S reasons...I'd always assumed because SBC insisted on it, so it comes as a surprise that we can just put them back in. Perhaps it was just Ron Topp.

I didn't think you could change your capacity at will. Although the article said the police had approved the release of the extra tickets, I thought that post-Hillsborough changes to capacity had to be approved by some stadium licensing authority. I hope Jed knows all about getting the relevant H&S certificates.