Our “new” seats

[sailor_h]

These “new” seats in the main stand are utterly ridiculous. My knees are bruised. Surely, we need to replace them? 

[stv]

59 minutes ago, sailor_h said:

These “new” seats in the main stand are utterly ridiculous. My knees are bruised. Surely, we need to replace them? 

Whit yer knees ?

Seriously have yet to see what mine look like. Not looking forward to it if the numerous reports are correct.

[mcguru]

First time I've seen them last night and made sure to inspect for jagged edges on my seat and ones adjacent but have to say was all smooth.

The original wooden seats would never get confused for Qatar Airlines business class so I'm thinking the footprint of the new ones must be larger which is causing an issue? Was quite a procedure to allow people by, no much wiggle or any other room.

The spacing was set in early 60's was it when the stand was extended & rebuilt i presume and the average height and waist of the patrons is not decreasing so what to do?

Oh aye it looked like it'd never been wiped at all since wooden ones were removed, needed a right good wipe.

Thinking aisle seat or right down the front next time.

[grizzlyg]

Spiderpig posted about this the other day. Club needed to do a rush job to get seats in. If nothing in place we couldn't use that stand.  Would like to think will be proper upgrade.

If any consolation my seat in hunter stand with my wee legs was perfect 🤪🤪

[Spiderpig]

2 hours ago, mcguru said:

 

Thinking aisle seat or right down the front next time.

Im Glad ive got an aisle seat, at least it gives me somewhere to go when people want in or out of the row, being in the middle must be a nightmare.

Oh and dont lean on or grab the seat back for support, as it wont hold as i nearly found out to my cost last night 😂

[Kmcalpin]

Seats were horrific. Back rest is too low and flimsy. When fellow fans want in and out its a nightmare.  

[sailor_h]

I think we all need to email the club. Something had to be done d to fix it. 

[dennyc]

3 hours ago, sailor_h said:

I think we all need to email the club. Something had to be done d to fix it. 

Tried that after Genk. Ignored.

And they did not need to replace the central seats. It was only the bucket seats on the wings that needed sorted. I wonder if any of the powers that be even tried the seats?

Biggest issue is Health and Safety. An injury waiting to happen. How they passed inspection is beyond me. Someone needs to put their hands up and accept they got it badly wrong. But currently wagons being circled. Although those wagons are probably more comfortable than the new seats. 

[Kmcalpin]

11 minutes ago, dennyc said:

And they did not need to replace the central seats. It was only the bucket seats on the wings that needed sorted. 

This is what I don't understand.  Whilst the central seating wasn't in great condition I also understood that it was the 2 wings that required replacement as they did not meet UEFA requirements (an issue in itself). So, why was it that the central sections were replaced but the 2 wings left untouched? If they had been, there might well have been no requirement to open the McLean Stand at extra cost? Could it be that the POD's safety certificate, issued by North Lanarkshire Council, does not allow for its full capacity to be realised and the club therefore cannot fill the 2 wings? 

 

I've also emailed the club to complain.

[Spiderpig]

7 hours ago, dennyc said:

 

And they did not need to replace the central seats. It was only the bucket seats on the wings that needed sorted. I wonder if any of the powers that be even tried the seats?

 

The old seats and the bucket seats were not UEFA compliant, as advised by Brian Caldwell when he called me in response to my email. The old seat only had a 4cm back rail UEFA rules call for seating with at least a 32cm back. So thats why both sets of seats were replaced.

The comfy padded seats in the members / directors area are ok and will not be replaced.

And as has previously been discussed the various limitations of the POD as it stands meant that the seating we got was the only available option. So short of major remodelling of the POD the new seats are here to stay until such times as we either move to a new stadium or rebuild the POD.

[mio]

They are absolutely awful, when someone tried to squeeze past me I had to turn side on and lean as far back as I could, as soon as you lean back onto the seat the thing bends….if these seats are kept they are going to snap and cause an injury. I can’t believe someone signed off on these. I saw a few folk with cushions which is a good idea but should not be necessary. I’m generally quite fit and in decent enough shape but that’s 2 games I’ve been to and my back,arse and legs have been killing me for a couple of days after the game. God knows how the OAPs are going to get on.

[Kmcalpin]

I thought I'd take a look at the notional capacity of the various stands, which turned out to be more difficult than I thought. Various component figures seems to have changed i.e. the Hunter Stand dues to incremental works. Anyway, here's what I found:

McLean Stand 4,500

POD Stand 3,500

Hunter Stand 3,305

Cooper Stand 2,373

Total 13,678

Now I just wonder, because the wings of the POD have been cordoned off and seats not "upgraded", if the capacity allowed by the safety certificate has been cut from 3,500 due to other reasons (fire/safety/exits etc). It could, of course, just be down to cost of replacing seats. I've seen folk sit in the wings in normal league games but then again, the total capacity of the stand wasn't exceeded.    

 

  

[Spiderpig]

52 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

I thought I'd take a look at the notional capacity of the various stands, which turned out to be more difficult than I thought. Various component figures seems to have changed i.e. the Hunter Stand dues to incremental works. Anyway, here's what I found:

McLean Stand 4,500

POD Stand 3,500

Hunter Stand 3,305

Cooper Stand 2,373

Total 13,678

Now I just wonder, because the wings of the POD have been cordoned off and seats not "upgraded", if the capacity allowed by the safety certificate has been cut from 3,500 due to other reasons (fire/safety/exits etc). It could, of course, just be down to cost of replacing seats. I've seen folk sit in the wings in normal league games but then again, the total capacity of the stand wasn't exceeded.    

 

  

I noticed on Thursday night that the bucket seats in the lower section  to the left of us have been replaced, so maybe there was not time to finish t hem all, but it looks like they are all being replaced.

[dennyc]

1 hour ago, Spiderpig said:

The old seats and the bucket seats were not UEFA compliant, as advised by Brian Caldwell when he called me in response to my email. The old seat only had a 4cm back rail UEFA rules call for seating with at least a 32cm back. So thats why both sets of seats were replaced.

The comfy padded seats in the members / directors area are ok and will not be replaced.

And as has previously been discussed the various limitations of the POD as it stands meant that the seating we got was the only available option. So short of major remodelling of the POD the new seats are here to stay until such times as we either move to a new stadium or rebuild the POD.

And yet one of the guys that helped replace the seats said the middle seats were only replaced so they were uniform and looked better. And they were good enough for the Sligo game.  I think Brian said what he had to to placate the fans. Not a first. Maybe you should have asked him if he had actually sat in the new seats. And whether they passed a Health and Safety check. I get we are stuck with them but somebody got this badly wrong. After a Euro tie the talk should really be about the game but sadly the hot topic is the seating. There is a reason for that.

[Spiderpig]

23 minutes ago, dennyc said:

And yet one of the guys that helped replace the seats said the middle seats were only replaced so they were uniform and looked better. And they were good enough for the Sligo game.  I think Brian said what he had to to placate the fans. Not a first. Maybe you should have asked him if he had actually sat in the new seats. And whether they passed a Health and Safety check. I get we are stuck with them but somebody got this badly wrong. After a Euro tie the talk should really be about the game but sadly the hot topic is the seating. There is a reason for that.

I can only go on what i was told, but it seems blatantly obvious that nobody actually sat in one of them in situ or considered the dificulties of getting up and out of the way to let people get in and out of the rows which is the main issue with them, before the order was placed. 

They are not fit for purpose, but as i said earlier they are there to stay until we move to a new stadium or the POD is rebuilt.

The club have dropped the ball with this fiasco and created a bigger issue which will not be resolved easily or quickly.

 

[mfc88]

38 minutes ago, dennyc said:

And yet one of the guys that helped replace the seats said the middle seats were only replaced so they were uniform and looked better. And they were good enough for the Sligo game.  I think Brian said what he had to to placate the fans. Not a first. Maybe you should have asked him if he had actually sat in the new seats. And whether they passed a Health and Safety check. I get we are stuck with them but somebody got this badly wrong. After a Euro tie the talk should really be about the game but sadly the hot topic is the seating. There is a reason for that.

The uefa guidelines are published here:

https://documents.uefa.com/r/PxVtjcYr9Ntgwd0wYgq2xw/VwP_y6GYxRLIkBHXeSU3uQ

Skip to article 18 for the seating criteria. For stadium category's 2-4 the 30 cm backrest thing is a requirement. Stadium category 1 is not sufficient for certain stages of the competition, so brian is not just saying what he has to to appease fans.

I agree that it is a downgrade, and its solving 1 problem while creating 2 or 3 more. Frankly, its a bullshit requirement. Will take it as gospel that there was no other seating options, but it feels as though shifting most of the pod stand to the south stand for euro ties would have been a better option.

Personally i can deal with the uncomfyness, but getting in and out is a mission. Here to stay though - only 90 mins every couple weeks 🫠

[joewarkfanclub]

16 minutes ago, mfc88 said:

The uefa guidelines are published here:

https://documents.uefa.com/r/PxVtjcYr9Ntgwd0wYgq2xw/VwP_y6GYxRLIkBHXeSU3uQ

Skip to article 18 for the seating criteria. For stadium category's 2-4 the 30 cm backrest thing is a requirement. Stadium category 1 is not sufficient for certain stages of the competition, so brian is not just saying what he has to to appease fans.

I agree that it is a downgrade, and its solving 1 problem while creating 2 or 3 more. Frankly, its a bullshit requirement. Will take it as gospel that there was no other seating options, but it feels as though shifting most of the pod stand to the south stand for euro ties would have been a better option.

Personally i can deal with the uncomfyness, but getting in and out is a mission. Here to stay though - only 90 mins every couple weeks 🫠

I dont sit in the POD so cant comment on how bad it is. But the UEFA requirement does seem a bit stupid. If I remember the wooden seats correctly, they were just a smaller wooden bar at the top of the seat as the backstop, but surely its the height from the top of the bar to the seat that counts? Grown adults arent falling thru the hole in between! If that was the problem, surely we could have had some sort of covering screwed on to fill the hole? It would have looked totally "tinpot" but would it have been any worse than the current remedy?

I think it does provide a very good example though of the problems facing the club in respect of stadium maintenance and why a full and robust debate is required over solutions.

The Hunter Stand was an absolute disaster again on Thursday night at half time with people trying to use the narrow concourse at the back to get to the toilets and food outlets, all of which are too small to cope with a sell out crowd. You could hardly move trying to get back and forward to your seat.

If our style of play and associated attendances are maintained, the situation isnt going to go away.

When our stands are only a half or  2/3 full there isnt an issue. But you really notice the difference with a full house.

[Kmcalpin]

11 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

The Hunter Stand was an absolute disaster again on Thursday night at half time with people trying to use the narrow concourse at the back to get to the toilets and food outlets, all of which are too small to cope with a sell out crowd. You could hardly move trying to get back and forward to your seat.

If our style of play and associated attendances are maintained, the situation isnt going to go away.

When our stands are only a half or  2/3 full there isnt an issue. But you really notice the difference with a full house.

It was the same in the POD Joe. In the stairwell where the kiosks are located, you had fans queuing for the toilets, mingling with those queuing for the kiosks, and those coming and going down stairs to hospitality. Complete chaos as it was last season.   

[mfc88]

13 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

surely its the height from the top of the bar to the seat that counts?

That is a very good point - reading the uefa requirements back, that is exactly how it reads...

I really hope that was clarified before going ahead.

[Spiderpig]

24 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

I dont sit in the POD so cant comment on how bad it is. But the UEFA requirement does seem a bit stupid. If I remember the wooden seats correctly, they were just a smaller wooden bar at the top of the seat as the backstop, but surely its the height from the top of the bar to the seat that counts? Grown adults arent falling thru the hole in between! If that was the problem, surely we could have had some sort of covering screwed on to fill the hole? It would have looked totally "tinpot" but would it have been any worse than the current remedy?I

Thats exactly what should have been done, the simplest, quickest an cheapest option to get the seats compliant.

But as i said there does not seem to have been much thought put into the whole process, the club knew since probably March that a european place was likely

[weeyin]

3 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said:

I dont sit in the POD so cant comment on how bad it is. But the UEFA requirement does seem a bit stupid. 

Any time you try and create a standard for something like a seat, it's going to feel a bit stupid. There will be a decent sentiment behind it to avoid being stuck on benches that are falling apart or old wooden seats that are a safety hazard. So they have to try and draw the line somewhere. Inevitably that will make some things look daft.

[joewarkfanclub]

18 minutes ago, weeyin said:

Any time you try and create a standard for something like a seat, it's going to feel a bit stupid. There will be a decent sentiment behind it to avoid being stuck on benches that are falling apart or old wooden seats that are a safety hazard. So they have to try and draw the line somewhere. Inevitably that will make some things look daft.

I get that.

Without knowing the exact wording of the rule, and how that is interpreted, its hard to know where the fault, if any, lies.

But its similar to the debate about the bucket seats. Folk sat in them for years without incident. How did they suddenly become unsafe?

Anyway, the sooner we get to our new Superdome at Ravenscraig the better! 😉😉😉

[dennyc]

15 minutes ago, weeyin said:

Any time you try and create a standard for something like a seat, it's going to feel a bit stupid. There will be a decent sentiment behind it to avoid being stuck on benches that are falling apart or old wooden seats that are a safety hazard. So they have to try and draw the line somewhere. Inevitably that will make some things look daft.

Setting aside how uncomfortable and cramped the seats are, the health and safety implications are a major issue.. Seriously, until you have actually been in the seat and attempted to let someone limbo past as the rear of the seat collapses under you, it is difficult to appreciate how much of a mistake they have made....no matter how many good intentions came into play. Heaven forbid, but the thought of needing a quick Stand evacuation is frightening. And that is a factor the issuing of a Safety Licence must take intro account. I've been to most grounds in Scotland and I'm struggling to come with one that is worse than what we have been landed with. Next time you are back home I'll happily let you try it out.