Man Utd to open new 6,000-capacity safe standing area for next game

Tom Weber

• 21 Nov 2025 05:01 CST
• 9 min read

News

Manchester United will open a new 6,000-capacity safe standing area at Old Trafford on Monday.

Since September, work had been ongoing in the Stretford End to expand the rail-seating capacity at Old Trafford. Supporters had been crying out for more safe standing opportunities at Man Utd's famous ground.

The first safe standing area at Old Trafford was installed in 2021, and additional sections have been added over time. All four quadrants of the Theatre of Dreams now have available rail seats, which are believed to improve fan safety and the atmosphere at the stadium.

The latest addition, one of the largest safe standing areas in the entire Premier League, has taken the total number of rail seats at Old Trafford to an impressive 13,577 or 18 per cent of the ground's capacity.

The overall capacity of Old Trafford has now risen to 74,412. Man Utd have announced that the new section will be inaugurated on Monday, when the Red Devils host Everton in the Premier League.

Official Man Utd statement

"One of the largest safe standing areas in the Premier League will officially open at Old Trafford for the visit of Everton on Monday," an official club statement read. "A total of 6,000 additional rail seats have been installed in the second tier of the Stretford End since September.

"That work is now complete and the section has now been officially certified by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority for safe standing. The new section adds to existing safe standing areas in all four quadrants of Old Trafford and brings the total number of rail seats to 13,577, or 18 per cent of total capacity.

"Safe standing is recognised to improve fan safety while also enhancing atmosphere in areas of the ground where fans prefer to stand. The club has been gradually expanding safe standing since the first rail seats were installed in the north-east quadrant in 2021, with support from fan representatives and the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust.

"Fans with season tickets in the second tier of the Stretford End were surveyed before work began and this demonstrated strong support for safe standing in the section."

What is safe standing?

As the name suggests, safe standing is a measure to enable football supporters to stand during games, harkening back to the era of terracing in British football grounds during the 20th century, but without the risk of overcrowding or other safety threats.

Following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, a crush that claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans, as well as previous tragedies, the Football Spectators Act was passed, requiring that stadium terraces be converted into all-seater areas in England and Wales.

Although this regulation was relaxed for lower divisions after just a few years, a ban on terracing became increasingly widespread around Europe when UEFA announced that standing areas were no longer permitted in its competitions in 1998.

With clubs in some countries, like Germany, not wanting to remove their standing sections, a hybrid model was developed, which eventually became known as safe standing.

Essentially, seats and railings (rail-seating) were added to standing areas so that supporters could continue to have the freedom of standing during games without the dangers of old-school terracing. One of the most famous examples is Borussia Dortmund's 25,000-capacity 'Yellow Wall.'

It allowed clubs to comply with UEFA regulations while continuing to reap the benefits of standing areas, namely a better atmosphere. And it is precisely because of the atmosphere that fan groups in England have increasingly lobbied for the installation of safe standing areas.

In 2022, the decades-long struggle to reintroduce standing in English grounds finally met with success when, after successful trials at clubs like Man Utd and Chelsea, the UK government announced that all clubs wishing to install safe standing areas for the 2022/23 season would be free to do so.

However, it was actually Glasgow giants Celtic who were the first British club to officially introduce safe standing, doing so already for the 2016/17 season.

The Football Spectators Act does not apply in Scotland, but having an all-seater stadium was an entry requirement for the top flight of Scottish football from 1998 until 2011.

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