Cardiff City FC
Management of Persistent Standing at the Cardiff City Stadium
To transform the behaviour of its fans, the club worked closely with distinguished
academics over a three year period. A report of the work was published as Stott C;
Hoggett J and Pearson G (2011) ‘Keeping the Peace’: Social Identity, Procedural
Justice and the Policing of Football Crowds. British Journal of Criminology – online
2011 pp 20.
The club’s whole ethos is about differentiated customer service – recognising the
diversity of its customer base and delivering a range of products and services which
seek to meet the legitimate expectations of diverse market segments.
This ethos has been evidenced in a variety of ways, of which just some examples are:
The very careful migration of customers from the old stadium to the new, ensuring
that like-minded people were able to carry on sitting together;
Using the Canton Stand to attract the more vociferous supporters, drawing them
away from the potential hotspot at the segregation line;
The range of activities provided in the Family Stand, ensuring that the match is
part of an enjoyable day out;
The hosting arrangements for away fans, including an away family area and
initiatives such as posters, shirt displays and showing DVDs to welcome the away
fans to the stadium;
The efforts made to accommodate smokers by providing pass-out facilities during
the time the stadium is open;
The provision of live music on the Canton concourse before the match; and
The voucher exchange scheme to speed up half-time beer sales.
The club has a clear understanding of who its stakeholders are and actively builds
relationships with them. Fans are seen as key stakeholders and are actively consulted
on all aspects of matchday operations.
The success of this customer service approach is evident from the results achieved in
terms of season ticket sales, other revenues, awards won and record low arrest figures.
The club’s current and proposed future arrangements for managing persistent standing
in the Canton and Ninian Stands have to be seen in the context of this differentiated
customer service ethos. Indeed the stakeholder meeting on Friday 11th January was
opened with a presentation by the club on building relationships and the customer
service journey to date. The specific question of managing persistent standing was
thus located from the outset in a multiple stakeholder customer service context.
In essence, the majority of fans in the Canton Stand wish to stand up to watch the
match. The club is therefore looking to facilitate this, providing any attendant safety,
security and service risks are being or can be managed. Conversely, the majority of
fans in the Ninian Stand wish to sit down. The club is therefore seeking to find an
appropriate way of managing the small minority of fans who continue to stand up in
this area.