Apparently it was the Chairman's idea. He thought it would be nice for fans to meet up with people located elsewhere before the match and during halftime. It is a great idea and it worked a treat until some idiots decided not to go back to their stand and subsequently ruined the experience for everyone else.

The trouble arises because we have terracing. Had the stadium been all seater then there is no way people could have sneaked into another stand. The best option would be to install card readers at the West and East Stand entrances but that would be expensive no doubt and so ultimately I can see West and East Standers being asked to show their season ticket/ticket in order to get back into those stands.

Perhaps until they figure out a longer term solution the club has stopped selling West Stand tickets for the Salford match (saying only season ticket holders can go in there) and started selling tickets to Saints fans for the East Stand, which is the nominal away end.

Is there not a bar that fans/season ticket holders can use before the game? It seems a lot of trouble for the sake of 15 minutes at half time. It would also be pretty time consuming for the stewards to check everyones tickets. I'd be pretty annoyed if I went down for a pee at half time and then had to join a queue to get back in to the stand. If each stand's concourse has the same facilities then surely there's no need for this. It's likely you'll be sat/stood with your mates during the game anyway. I guess the Widnes game was there to find niggly problems like this but if something so trivial is going to potentially affect your SL attendances then surely it's best to knock the idea on the head?

Also, letting your fans use the away end against Salford to make up for the limited capacity in the west is a very good idea, if our friendly against them on Tues is anything to go by there'll be plenty of room in there for you!

Its not just the 15 minutes interval it's the hour or so before the game when potentially a lot of revenue could be lost if they meet up for a drink beforehand and choose to go elsewhere. There's people I would want to meet up with that are in other parts of the park and I welcome that freedom of movement not to be segregated like animals in a zoo. So it's not that trivial in some peoples minds!

There appears to be some quite harsh criticism of some fans here based on what?

Has anybody confirmed that fans moved from the seats to this stand? I saw that they thought this may have contributed, but it sounds pretty unlikely to me.

Why would fans pay for seats and then move to the terracing? How many of them did so, as surely it would have to be quite a large amount doing this to cause a problem?

I’d be stunned if you suddenly got scores of people deciding to change stand, it doesn’t make sense.

At Warrington on opening night there were problems with terracing as fans don’t move to all of the spaces available, especially when the entrances are low down as you simply can’t see them. Strong stewarding is needed and this is now in place at Warrington, although too late for the higher capacity.

To attack a group of fans when nothing has been proven is strange to say the least.

Tickets now available for Hull game.

Based on feedback from the club, who will have had feedback from the stewards.

Those of us who have season tickets in the West Stand and who value the relaxed nature of the concourse and want to see it continue have every right to criticise those fans who have put the whole thing in jeopardy by deciding to stand with their buddies/take a look from a different angle/whatever motivated them to change stands.

If fans have crossed over into the West stand from where ever when we played Widnes, the club would have learned very little about the safe capacity of the West stand, not knowing how many crossed over. So it looks like the club have to try again not knowing the true number in the stand against Widnes, they will start with a reduced number against Salford, and no movement from one area to another, this will give a more accurate figure of what the stand holds.
Against Widnes about 80 fans were moved out, who knows if there is room against Salford (and there should be) could we see fans being asked to move back into the West stand, at half time to gauge things even better, just a thought that last bit.

It cant be a massive problem, only about 80 fans were moved out of the West stand, counted most of them, but its a safety issue, and it needs to be sorted.

But you don't know how many moved from the North/South Stands to stand in the West, and that is a problem. The only safe way is to segregate the four areas, most people will be in the same areas as their friends/family anyway.

Here we go some knowledgeable person who hasn't even set foot inside the place telling us it's the ONLY safe way.
It beggars belief!!

Set up barriers between each area to a height of 4 foot. On top of the barriers fix a worktop such as found in any kitchen. People can meet with friends and chat across the 'bar' without trespassing, then go back to their own seats/stands whilst always being kept apart but still being able to socialise.

Simples, and only a small cost (relatively) compared to losing a thou off the west stand gate due to safety issues.

You are making a massive assumption that all the people that can't get a west stand ticket will just decide not to go. Presumably some will buy more exoensive tickets and some will go in another standing area. Also the 2000 figure sounds rather large.

So Salford fans are being expected to pay £5 more than they would've paid in the east terrace?