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Football is an ever-evolving game, both on and off the pitch, and West Brom are clearly not hanging around as they look to implement a big change for next season.
West Brom have now spent six of the last seven seasons in the Championship, with just one ill-fated campaign in the Premier League back in 2020/21.
This season, the Baggies are flying high in fifth place as things stand, and have a brilliant shot at achieving promotion through the play-offs under Tony Mowbray.
Over the last week in the Championship, West Brom picked up a crucial win at home to struggling Oxford United, but the club has now just scored a major victory away from the pitch.
West Brom to introduce safe standing for next season
West Brom have officially announced plans (via Twitter/X) to introduce safe standing at The Hawthorns stadium from next season.
After planning in the background for this for a while, the Baggies have confirmed that the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) and the club’s Safety Advisory Group have now given proposals the green light to convert almost 4,000 seats in the home and away end.
The capacity at The Hawthorns, which is among the top ten in the division, will remain the same at 26,804 under these changes that are set to take place in the summer.
As with any plans regarding safe standing, the main objective is to enhance the matchgoing experience, not just for supporters in the designated area, but throughout the whole stadium.
On the development, Managing Director Mark Miles said: “The club have long been advocates of safe standing and we are delighted to be introducing it to The Hawthorns for next season.
“Though the upper Smethwick End and Millennium Corner are expected to be very popular locations for safe standing, we understand it might not be for everyone, and we’ll ensure anyone who would like to relocate can do so.
“A lot has changed since The Hawthorns became an all-seater stadium almost 30 years ago, and we’re confident now is the right time to bring standing back in a safe and controlled way.”
Fans have been complaining about poor atmosphere at The Hawthorns
It is hoped that this change will go a long way to solving something that fans have been unhappy with for a while, which is that the atmosphere at The Hawthorns simply isn’t up to scratch.
Some of that comes down to the fans, of course. But, there are also plenty of things clubs can do to improve this, too, and offering standing seating is a surefire win, we would assume.
EFL Analysis got the expert opinion of Kieran Doody on this one, and he suggests that, while the plan could be more effective, it’s a great start to improving an issue fans have long been demanding a solution for.
He said: “The introduction of safe standing is interesting and will be well received by fans, it’s clearly an admission from the club that they want to improve the matchday experience and atmosphere.
“There has been a lot of discussion around the club about the atmosphere at The Hawthorns in recent seasons, there are multiple reasons for this and I’m unconvinced this will do much to improve it.
The majority of the seats that will be replaced, particularly at the top of the Smethwick are essentially safe standing anyway and where fans are most vocal.
“If this is how the club thinks they can improve the atmosphere, I feel the upper or lower section of the Birmingham Road End would have made a bigger impact. But it’s a start and clearly shows the club is in touch with fan concerns.”
Only time will tell whether this big change can actually improve the atmosphere at The Hawthorns, but it’s a very exciting idea and one we will be keeping a close eye on next season.