Terrace (stadium)

A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. A terrace is a series of concrete steps which are erected for spectators to stand on.

Its significance carries particular importance in football where terraces were located in the areas behind the two goals as a cheaper alternative to sitting in the stands, which were traditionally located at the sides of the field. Naturally standing in the terraces was much cheaper than a seat, with the result that over the decades they became the most popular spectators' area for younger working class men and teenage boys to watch the game.

Due to safety concerns related to terraces, they have fallen out of favour in many places. Terraces were banned from major football grounds in England in the early 1990s, as a result of the Hillsborough disaster, are currently not used during major tournaments, and for a long time were generally not included in new stadium designs. There is currently a growing demand for a reintroduction of terracing, based on the modern stadia designs in Germany and other European countries, dubbed "safe-standing" areas.

In Ireland, terraces are still a common feature in gaelic football, hurling, camogie, rugby union, soccer and other sports. Terraces in Ireland were generally not subject to the same level of violence as those in the United Kingdom, nor were they subject to crowd segregation (with the exception of, occasionally, football) or the Taylor Report as British terraces were, so terraces remained a common feature in Irish stadia. Hill 16 in Croke Park is one of the most notable terraces in Ireland.

Terraces have been built or refurbished in ground improvements at many stadia in recent years, including Thomond Park, Croke Park and Flancare Park (since converted to all-seater); although all new League of Ireland stands built since Flancare's redevelopment have happened to be all-seater. Also GAA stadiums have terracing including Fitzgerald Stadium and Pearse Park

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