Troubled Owls face stand closure
Sheffield Wednesday’s North Stand has been hit with a prohibition notice by the city council over safety concerns, adding to the Championship club’s woes.
Following a meeting of the Sheffield City Council-led safety advisory group on 18 July, and subsequent discussions with the club, the council in its role as the certifying authority responsible for issuing the general safety certificate for the Hillsborough stadium has issued a prohibition notice for the North Stand.
It is understood that chiefly, the concerns relate to several of the steel trusses supporting the stand’s roof, which require attention.
A prohibition notice is a formal document issued to a club by a local authority to prevent spectators entering a football ground or specific stand until specified work to resolve the issue has been completed to that authority’s satisfaction.
Assurances around the structural integrity of the North Stand have not been provided by Sheffield Wednesday FC, the council said, forcing its hand. SCC will require professional assurances that the ground is safe before the notice is lifted.
After starting the season away at Leicester City, the club is due to start its home campaign on 16 August against Stoke City.
The stand was originally built at the turn of the 20th century, and has a capacity of just over 9,000, within Hillsborough’s total capacity of around 35,000.
At the time of writing, SWFC had noted the council’s action, issuing a brief statement: “Sheffield Wednesday can confirm that, following a recent meeting with the local Safety Advisory Group, Sheffield City Council has today issued a Prohibition Notice preventing the use of the North Stand at Hillsborough.
“The club are continuing to work with the Safety Advisory Group to satisfy their concerns such that the North Stand remains open.
“Additional information is currently being obtained, and we will provide further updates to our supporters at the earliest possible opportunity.”
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Cllr Joe Otten, chair of SCC’s environmental services and regulation policy committee, said: “It’s our role to ensure the safety of all sports grounds for all spectators. We have been working with Sheffield Wednesday Football Club for some time, through the Safety Advisory Group which we chair, to seek reassurance that the North Stand is structurally compliant.
“Because we haven’t been given that professional reassurance, we are regrettably in a position where we must issue a notice prohibiting spectators in the North Stand until we can be absolutely assured that the required work has been undertaken to the satisfaction of the council as certifying authority.
“We have done this immediately, following an assessment by engineering specialists who can no longer confirm that the North Stand is safe for spectator use.
“We recognise that this is a very difficult situation, and we will continue working closely with the club and provide support and guidance where we can. We as much as anyone want to see the fans enjoying football at Sheffield Wednesday next season.”
Concern over the running of the club has increased massively this year, with fans unhappy at the leadership of club owner Dejphon Chansiri, a Thai tuna magnate.
The club is under a transfer embargo, has seen highly-rated manager Danny Rohl depart and according to reports has struggled to make payroll on time several times recently.
