# Is there going to be a fan zone at Oakwell?

Topic: Fan Zone and Pre-match

Not in the form that was planned. A fan zone was the single largest item in the capital programme funded through the council, and in [November 2024](https://images.gc.barnsleyfcservices.co.uk/8fdc9f60-bd62-11ef-9962-afabe92d70b0.pdf) the club presented two designs to the FAB, a stacked shipping-container scheme and a tepee-style structure, sited in the corner between the East Stand and the Ponty End, with some car parking lost to it. Planning constraints limited its capacity and a phased test-event opening was envisaged.

The planning process ran through spring 2025 ([minutes of 18 March 2025](https://images.gc.barnsleyfcservices.co.uk/9b135860-2a72-11f0-b316-3d917fca0cba.pdf)), objections were received and the matter was headed for a planning hearing ([minutes of 13 May 2025](https://images.gc.barnsleyfcservices.co.uk/fdc313a0-503e-11f0-b295-8907a4100178.pdf)). By [August 2026](https://images.gc.barnsleyfcservices.co.uk/a65debd0-ac45-11f1-a0bc-9359ad8c111a.pdf) the club had re-costed a smaller, more affordable structure but explained that the groundworks, power and security are the main cost, not the structure, and that a roofed year-round fan zone remains expensive. The Chief Executive said the harder question is what actually happens inside a fan zone for two hours on a matchday, and asked staff for a full business case including running costs and expected sales before any decision.

In [September 2026](https://images.gc.barnsleyfcservices.co.uk/74ab62d0-b04f-11f1-92c1-33d9855aa291.pdf) the club confirmed the fan zone has been removed from its planning documents and customer charter; the only remaining reference, on an access map, is being removed to avoid confusion. Dominic Wood proposed an alternative: moving turnstiles so that the covered lower East Stand concourse, which already has screens and food and drink, could be used as a pre-match fan area. The club raised an emergency-egress consideration but agreed the idea was worth exploring, and a walk-through with the Head of Ticketing and Fan Engagement was arranged, subject to a safety review. The same concourse idea had been raised in [March 2025](https://images.gc.barnsleyfcservices.co.uk/9b135860-2a72-11f0-b316-3d917fca0cba.pdf) and was then thought too exposed; the position has softened now that the original scheme is off the table.

## Related minutes

- https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/minutes/2024-11-20.md
- https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/minutes/2025-03-18.md
- https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/minutes/2025-05-13.md
- https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/minutes/2026-08-04.md
- https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/minutes/2026-09-08.md

Source: https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/faq/fan-zone-status