Unreserved seating causing problems at Dale matches

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Rochdale 2 - 1 Sheffield Wednesday
Wednesday vandals ripping down advertising boards, injuring some of their own supporters in the process!

Unreserved seating at the Rochdale v Sheffield Wednesday football match held at  Spotland Stadium on Saturday (12 February 2011) led to problems as the away fans congregated and caused chaos at the front of the stand.

At last week’s match, away fans tore down an advertising hoarding and were seen tugging at the pitch covers.

Unreserved seating at ‘all ticket games’ – where away supporters are expected to fill the stand – is becoming a serious problem for Rochdale Football Club but the clubs' hands are tied because the 'unreserved' policy is a dictat by Greater Manchester Police at matches when lots of away fans are expected.

Dale would prefer to have reserved seating, so those out of their seats can be directed back to the seat number issued on their ticket.

The club’s Chief Executive, Colin Garlick said: “The club would prefer to have reserved seating for crowds wishing to support the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Oldham and Huddersfield.”

Mr Garlick explained that the stand, which has 3,600 seats, is reduced by 10 per cent for matches where seating is unreserved.

At the match on Saturday he said there were around 500 seats free and although the stand looked full, it wasn’t.

Mr Garlick concluded that the problems start when people arrive late and don’t want to sit on the ends, or fill the gaps.

Mr Garlick said if the seats were reserved the stewards could tell those stood up where to go and sit – in their own seat – but the unreserved seating dictat means that it is difficult to find the empty seats.

“There is no doubt that is what causes the problem,” said Mr Garlick.

Mr Garlick hopes that the issue can be resolved for next season.

Discussing the matter on the Rochdale AFC Fans Forum, one user, said: “Once again we have a problem because the seating isn't reserved.

“It's also unacceptable that some fans didn't find seats despite there being over 500 available. Whoever makes this unreserved seating decision is a danger to the public.”

A Sheffield Wednesday fan, also posting on the forum, said: “A huge part of the problem in our section was the unreserved seating. It was dreadful.

“It works fine when you have loads of empty seats but when you sell out it just doesn't work.”

Superintendent Chris Hankinson, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "The match against Sheffield Wednesday is one of a few fixtures we have identified where the attendance of away fans is expected to reach capacity.

"When so many people attend we have, in the past, been faced with issues where supporters have not sat in allocated seats.

"This in itself represents a significant safety issue, so a decision was made to limit the number of away fans attending by approximately 200 less than capacity and not to have reserved seating.

"One of our priorities when policing football matches is to ensure supporters have an enjoyable and, more importantly, safe experience. The decision not to allocate seats was made with that in mind.

"We are working closely with the club to enable greater number of travelling fans to enjoy the game in the future."