COVENTRY City are hoping to introduce safe standing at the Coventry Building Society Arena and will be consulting supporters with regards to implementing the idea in time for the 2024/25 season.
The club will begin to consult fans at the start of the upcoming season and over the coming months.
Sky Blues chief executive, Dave Boddy, has undertaken work and site visits in conjunction with the Arena over the past few months, hosting a number of potential providers of a safe standing solution.
Boddy said: “With the agreement to play at the Arena signed in April, we are now able to put into place some of the plans we have around the Arena – including for a safe standing solution.
“We’ll be working with our partners on this but the most important thing we need to do is consult with our fans, especially those who will be affected.
“We now have a period of time to do this, with the intention that any change to the configuration would be made to be in place at the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
“There is a significant cost to this, which will be borne by the club, but we know this is something many Clubs are moving towards and we will listen to what the fans wish to do in this area.”
Boddy’s work includes meetings with Coventry City Council and the Sports Ground Safety Authority while a new safety officer will be in place at the Coventry Building Society Arena ahead of the new season when further discussions will take place.
Currently, the club believe blocks 13, 14, 15 and 16 are most suitable for the safe standing solution.
However, this may change following the consultation, with the club to speak to supporters in those areas regarding the safe standing solutions proposal, as well as the wider fanbase.
The blocks chosen were as a result of safety concerns identified by authorities over a period of time in the aforementioned areas.
