Bolton Wanderers can confirm that safe standing will be installed across the whole of the Franking Sense South Stand Upper Tier and in seats 1 to 14, rows AA to LL, of Block JU1 of the Eventura Nat Lofthouse (East) Stand Upper Tier, with the aim of having every seat in both areas back in use for the visit of Middlesbrough on Friday 23 October.
Supporters will have noticed that the first four rows of the Franking Sense South Stand Upper Tier have been netted off this season and that the club has not been able to sell them. The front two rows (AA and BB) of Block JU1 were also closed ahead of the 2026/27 season, after persistent standing continued despite the club writing to supporters in the block.
We want to explain why, and what happens next.
Following an inspection at our home league game against Bradford City last season, the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) made a recommendation to the stadium's Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which is chaired by Bolton Council. That placed a restriction on the upper tier, reducing the number of tickets we can sell.
It is the reason our Preston North End fixture sold out on a lower capacity than the Toughsheet Community Stadium should hold. Every available ticket was sold but there were fewer available than there should have been.
David Ray, CEO, said: "People might have noticed some seats in the South Upper are now netted off. That was a recommendation from the Sports Ground Safety Authority to our Safety Advisory Group. We were one of the highest-risk clubs for persistent standing but the reason isn't that we have more persistent standing than other stadiums. It's specifically the upper tier, and this is the important bit: the rake of the stand in the upper tier is very steep. That restriction has meant we haven't had as many people in the stadium as we'd like and we've been missing out on income from ticket sales."
As a result, the club has had to prioritise these two areas and bring the work forward. Safe standing in other areas of the stadium, including the lower tiers, remains part of the club's long-term plans.
Work will begin on Monday 12 October, straight after our home game against Stoke City on Saturday 10 October, and we intend to complete it in time for the visit of Middlesbrough.
David Ray added: "What we've done is prioritise the areas where there's an impact on capacity, so that we can get as many seats and as many people into the stadium as possible. I'd say that's phase one. We'd like to do more, including lower tier areas, but there's no capacity restriction on those at the moment, so we've prioritised these spaces first."
The safe standing is the latest in a series of upgrades the club has been required to make. This summer, the stadium floodlights were replaced to meet Championship requirements following promotion. Work has also taken place behind the scenes to meet the requirements of the Academy's Category Two status under the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan.
"It's not just the floodlights and the safe standing. We upgraded the floodlights this summer, which was a significant investment. We didn't meet the lux requirement under the regulations with the old floodlights, so it was a necessary upgrade to meet Championship requirements. They're now LED, so the running cost is less than 10% of what we were spending before just to turn them on, but the reason we did it is because we had to. The requirements are higher again for the Premier League, and when we get there, we'll have to do another upgrade. We've made improvements for Category Two status in the Academy, including additional staff. People don't see that every day, and it's not insignificant, but it's all about the long-term, sustainable growth of the club," he added.
We would like to thank supporters in both areas for their patience, and we look forward to welcoming a bigger crowd to the Toughsheet Community Stadium.