Safe standing to be trialled at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium

Safe standing will be trialled at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium next season.

The club has announced the ‘safety rail system’ will be introduced in a section of the North Stand T1 block for the 2026/2027 campaign. Fans in this area of the ground stand during matches anyway and have done for many years. The trial is with a view to expansion if successful.

Season tickets for next season went on sale at 10am on Friday morning and supporters seated between rows 27 and 47 of the North Stand were told they can renew as normal or select an alternative seat within the same stand.

The news is likely to be welcomed by Owls fans and others will probably want it to extending to others parts of the ground if it proves to be successful. Clubs in the Premier League and Championship have been allowed to introduce safe standing since since the start of the 2022-23 season. Supporters have said it improves safety and atmosphere.

New owners, Arise Capital Partners, have vowed to improve Hillsborough stadium, including the water systems, WI-FI and catering. It is understood that when discussions with the EFL about possible sanctions were taking place, a commitment to enhancing parts of the ground was high on the agenda.

All-seater stadiums were introduced in the UK following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. The subject of safe standing at S6 has been the subject of long-held discussions with outline plans for its implementation having been a subject of conversation behind the scenes as early as 2024. The scale of events surrounding the club over the last year effectively shelved those plans for several months.

Many stadiums across the country, including neighbours Sheffield United, have areas of safe standing. The installation of over 3,000 safe standing rails was completed at Bramall Lane a in September 2025, primarily located at the back of the Kop and a section of the away end.