Exclusive:Sheffield Wednesday stand closure latest with further doubt cast over future
The rejection of a safety certificate to grant usage of Sheffield Wednesday’s North Stand at Hillsborough is ‘very possible’, The Star is told, though any ultimate decision is yet to be made.
It’s understood Wednesday held a meeting with a Sheffield City Council’s Safety Advisory Group last week to determine progress over improved safety measures after the club were asked to satisfy recommendations over works ranging from the securing of electrical wiring to roof drainage improvements and, perhaps most significantly, actions needed on the upkeep and strengthening of six of the 18 steel trusses on the North Stand roof.
It’s understood the club have been in conversation with authorities over required improvements to the North Stand since a 2021 annual inspection report, with the club having undertaken an annual survey instead of the 10-year standard over the last few years. Some of the recommendations made are believed to have been acted upon and further talks are expected to take place this week.
After a March 2022 structural appraisal on the North Stand roof by a Yorkshire-based engineering consultancy firm signalled a number of high-priority actions with a subsequent recommendation to begin work by the close of 2024, it’s understood that some of the more major recommendations had not been fully acted upon by the Spring of this year and that as recently as February a second opinion sourced and funded at the Wednesday end saw a construction company based in Bangkok review the concerns raised. Further second opinions have been sought by industry experts this summer.
Though some work is believed to have been done since, The Star has been told the full scale of the work required to fulfil the more substantial recommendations remain incomplete, with the potential cost of the project crossing into a seven-figure sum. A well-placed source has told The Star that there are serious doubts over whether the club will be granted a prompt safety certificate and that the club could well start the season without the use of the North Stand - be that temporarily or otherwise.
Wednesday’s first home game of the season will welcome Stoke City to Hillsborough on August 16 and an ultimate decision from authorities is expected in due course.
Amid public fears the club would not be issued a full safety certificate for the forthcoming campaign, a statement released to BBC Sheffield following last week’s meeting was noncommittal but did suggest further guidance would be imparted this week. It read: "At this stage no decision has been made as to whether a certificate will be issued (for the North Stand at Sheffield Wednesday). A further update will be shared next week."
Should the North Stand not receive the appropriate clearance for use, it would provide Wednesday with yet another major problem to solve in what has been a manic summer of turbulence at Hillsborough. Several thousand season ticket holders are known to have purchased tickets for the stand and would need to be rehoused elsewhere in the stadium, while a further reduction in the stadium’s capacity would impact matchday revenue at a time the club is a state of in financial distress.
As recently as October 2021, Wednesday’s South Yorkshire neighbours Barnsley saw the closure of the West Stand at Oakwell Stadium following inspections and discourse with Barnsley Council, with ‘various remedial works’ said to have been required to ensure its safety. Around 1,000 season ticket holders were allocated new seats in other stands and fans were offered refunds. Following enhancements, it was re-opened the following January 2022.