Safety at Sports Grounds

By law, if you operate a sports ground or stadium or hold a special event within a stadium you must have a safety certificate from the Council.

There are two types of safety certificate:

You must have a General Safety Certificate if you operate:

  • A sports ground or stadium which holds designated sporting events and provides accommodation for more than 10,000 spectators (more than 5,000 for Premier or Football League) or
  • A stand at any sports ground or stadium which provides covered accommodation for 500 or more spectators that is not already covered within a designated sports ground/stadium as in a) above. This is known as a regulated stand.

You must have a Special Safety Certificate to hold a one-off event or series of events at a sports ground if the events are not already included within a General Safety Certificate for a designated sports ground/stadium.

You must be a person of good character who is authorised to represent the sports ground/stadium.

In the case of a Special Safety Certificate, the event promoter can apply.

Apply for a sports ground safety certificate.

For details of the legislation see:

Last updated on 28/10/2021