Lancaster Park Could Have Thousands More Spectators

Press, Volume C, Issue 29608, 2 September 1961, Page 9

Lancaster Park Could Have Thousands More Spectators

IN the last two Rugby test matches played at Lancaster Park, against the British Isles in August, 1959, and against France last month, hundreds of would-be spectators have not been able to see the games although the embankment on both occasions could have held thousands more spectators. In a crowd of more than 58.000 at the mateh against the British Isles, more than 35,000 persons were on the bank. However, there were still large pockets where the crowd was very loosely packed.

On Saturday there were no more than 33.000 spectators on the bank and the

same large pockets of looselypacked persons were apparent to observers and stewards at the foot of the bank.

It would appear that the bank could hold 40.000 in comfort if the crowd was evenly spread over the whole of the embankment. With seating for 22,350 at present, this would give a total capacity for the ground of 62.350 spectators. When the new No. 2 stand is completed, the capacity of the park, with 40.000 on the bank, would be in the vicinity of 63.000 —and it is clear, from the growth of population alone, that this capacity will be taxed before long.

Although the Victory Park Board has improved access way to the embankment and erected crush bars to form races or channels through which spectators can get on to the bank, it is clear that something more will have to be done if all spectators are to be accommodated in the future. With room for 7000 more spectators on the bank on Saturday, the Victory Park Board and New . Zealand Rugby Union lost about £2lOO in gate money. It is therefore in the interest of both payee and payer to improve methods of filling the bank. At Hampden Park, in Glasgow, where 90,000 of crowds of more than 150.000 have watched soccer international matches from the embankment, the crowd control is done by the police at the invitation of the park authorities. The bank is sold on an allticket basis before the match. The bank is divided into sections by twin crush barriers extending from top to bottom of the bank and access from the top of the bank only by a race running along the top. The crowd is packed into the sections, and the sections closed off by the police when filled. Access way between the twin crush barriers is kept free until each section is packed evenly and,accommodates the calculated number of spectators it can contain.

From the stands opposite, policemen view the embankment through binoculars and, by walkie-talkie radios, direct their colleagues in the races on the bank to filter certain numbers of spectators into the sections where loose pockets appear. This system works extremely well, and when the crowd is evenly packed there is less danger from crowd sway, a danger reduced to the minimum by the horizontal crush barriers. It is obvious that some similar system will have to be introduced at Lancaster Park if the bank is to be used to its maximum capacity. Access way from the top of the stairs leading to the top of the bank should be widened considerably to prevent bottlenecks immediately below the entrances on to the bank, and a race leading round below the scoring box is needed to get persons to this portion of the bank. In this area, on Saturday, thousands of spectators were able to sit down at half-time, proving that the area could have comfortably held double the number it did.