Celtic open UK's first rail seating section

Saturday 16^th July 2016: a red letter day in the safe standing campaign. Celtic open the UK’s first rail seating section for their pre-season friendly against VfL Wolfsburg.

It could hardly have been more appropriate: the UK’s first rail seating section opening in a game against VfL Wolfsburg, a club that has helped us on several occasions to show rail seats to UK fans, club executives and the media. And green ones at that! The 2,975 green rail seats at Celtic Park went into use for the first time – or rather the rails above them did – as Brendan Rogers’ men stepped up their preparations for the new season with a tough friendly against the 2015 German Cup winners and Bundesliga runners-up.

Reaction to the new facility from the fans was 100% positive, as the pictures at the foot of the page show. Club officials, too, declared themselves very happy with the rail seating section, the installation of which their media team captured in this video.

The seats were lowered for the first time for the club’s Champions League qualifier on the following Wednesday (20^th July) against Lincoln Red Imps and locked backed up for standing use three days later for another friendly, this time against Leicester City, thus demonstrating the great flexibility of stadium configuration that the rail seats provide.

After a thoroughly successful first three games for the rail seating section at Celtic Park, it must now be hoped that this shining example encourages clubs in England and Wales to lobby the relevant authorities to be allowed to create similar areas.

Read a full case study on the Celtic installation here

Picture gallery: Celtic fans give the thumbs up to safer seating for standing fans