NO.

And are these fans going to be paying for the conversion work?

Of course not. ATEOTD none of the partners in the stadium, wether it be Fartown, Town or Kirklees can afford to be spending money on what amounts to little more than a folly at the whim of a vocal minority.

The stadium is all-seater, it was built and designed that way. Like smoking if people want to stand they have plenty of opportunity to do so before and after a match. However during the match they have to sit. For 80-100 minutes of your day it's not that much to ask is it?

They could make the Fantastic Media lower tier a standing terrace easily. Remove the retractable seats and replace them with a retractable standing area. Bet some Fartown and Town fans would stand there and more season tickets sold than is currently. It's a good idea, I personally wouldn't go in there but I know quite a few fans of both clubs who would regularly.

The stadium is a shared venture between Town, Fartown and Kirklees so the cost would be picked up by all three parties it's that simple and fair.

It's no longer the Galpharm!!!

As for standing areas this a backwards step as already pointed the stadium was built as an all seater stadium after a visit to Toronto and the Taylor report. It was a vision!

Besides standing terraces were built to get as many in for little outlay by the clubs. Whats going to pay for the shortfall but wait no there won't be a shortfall as the price would remain the same so given you stand behind the goals for £25 yet can sit along the side for the same price where will everyone then go? It's a suggestion by a minority still reminiscing about the olden days but this isn't then this is now!

NO. If they are going to spend money then perhaps it should be spent on sorting out the facilities for the players - they looked a bit tired on open day - if we want to attract the best we have to make the club attractive to players!

I personally don't have a problem about standing or not but wouldn't want to be standing in there, you'll get pi$$ed wet through mind you no different to going to Odsal each year

I think they're on about converting the FM Lower into Rail Seats. Mr Hoyle is apparently in favour - Rail Seats are from Germany and they feature variations between Standing and Seating, which can be locked.

I don't see why we should pay for something the football side want. Standing areas have been out into some stadia such as Warrington partly because it's cheaper- and now Hoyle wants to pay more for it! Well let football pay! As I said the money could be much better spent.

Given the choice, I prefer to stand. As mentioned above, I'm not convinced that you could install rail seating at the John McAlpharm given it was designed from the outset as an all-seater. I think the stands are raked too shallow to make it work properly.

Some of the grounds converted to all-seater from terracing simply whacked seats where none existed previously. The Kop at Liverpool, for instance, is one such and the legroom is tiny. Going to a rail seating system there would be easy. I don't think it'd work the other way round. So yes, places like Old Trafford, Villa Park, Parkhead etc, who have all expressed an interest, would be ideal for it. Huddersfield, Hull, Bolton etc, probably not so much.

Having purchased a season ticket in the Fantastic Media stand I will not be happy if people are given the option to stand. If the club is even considering this then they need to consult with the fans who have already purchased season tickets in the the potentially affected area.

Again as the north end was designed for the purpose of the multi use of the stadium ie concerts, the north lower has always been temporary seating which can be taken down easily for building of a stage which is also why the North upper is so tall for the purpose of rigging and acoustics. The Temporary seating is also 2 foot in front of the permanent stand to allow light into the gym behind. Many could say we'll never get concerts again anyway but to eradicate this entirely wouldn't help the stadium in the long run.
Just because they have it in Germany doesn't mean it's what we should have. I only stand if the price is cheaper. prefer to sit as I hate it when you get a decent spot and someone much taller than you stands right in front of you!! And looking at that pic of rail seating suggests you have restricted viewing when it's converted to seats so I'm still not convinced!!! And how many times would it be exclusive seating?? Once installed after a large outlay they'd want as much money as they could get so it'd rarely be used as seating!!

I grew up watching sport on terraces ( Hillsborough and Fartown)and even now i still prefer standing up to watch games rather than sitting down, saying that i wouldn't be bothered either way. The atmosphere where there is standing available will always be better than seating its just how it has always been.

I don't agree the atmosphere is better standing. I suppose it depends what you class as atmosphere though.

In 20 years I have yet to come across one solitary person who said "I'd go watch Town/Fartown but the lack of anywhere to stand for the duration of the match is really putting me off". Unless there is an untapped resource of pile sufferers that are itching to come to matches but can't sit on hard plastic seats then the need to install a standing area seems to me to be equally non-existant.

I also agree with Jools, standing or sitting has no bearing whatsoever on atmosphere. There is often a very good atmosphere in the Riverside stand on a match day but this seems to be largely dependant on opposition, weather, team performance etc than whether the people are sitting or standing.

rlDean Hoyle backs safe standingrl

Or is he just making the right noises to keep the fans on side?