Shrewsbury Town safe standing fundraiser launches
A fundraising campaign to install safe standing at Shrewsbury Town Football Club has officially been launched.
The crowdfunding initiative is looking to raise £75,000 for a section of rail seating at the club’s Montgomery Waters Meadow.
It was launched at the stadium last night and had attracted £3,000 in the first few hours it was open, with contributions from fans from clubs including Arsenal, Ajax, VVV-Venlo, Inter, Penarol and Stevenage.
The move would be a landmark change for English football and would be the first in the country.
Roger Groves, of the Shrewsbury Town Supporters Parliament, which has been behind the plan, said they were thrilled to have finally opened the fundraising.
He said: “It is really exciting. Today has been like Christmas Eve getting ready for it.
“This is about giving people an option and it would appear, and I say appear, that safe standing is a big news story and something a lot of clubs are looking at. We are almost the guinea pig really.”
Mr Groves said the move is one which means the whole of English football is looking at the club.
He said: “It is great and you can call us “little old Shrewsbury”, it is very humbling but it is great we are getting some positive press out if it and it feels like we are leading the way a bit.”
If the fundraising is successful, around 500 safe-standing places will be installed behind the goal at the Salop Leisure South Stand.
The rail-seats allow fans to stand but also include a fold-down seat should the need arise for the area to be made a seated section for any particular game or event.
The seating has already been installed at Celtic Football Club in Scotland and is widely used in the German Bundesliga.
The project is being watched closely by football clubs across the country, with many Premier League clubs understood to be interested in installing the rail-seating.
Last week the project passed a major hurdle with approval from the Sports Ground Safety Authority. The move means the club can now apply to Shropshire Council for the changes it would require for its safety certificate.
