Calculating safe capacity

The safe capacity is the maximum number of people who can be safely accommodated within a venue whilst it is hosting an event.

Calculating the safe capacity is the most important step towards achieving reasonable safety. 

The Green Guide’s principal objective is the assessment of how many people can be safely accommodated within a venue whilst it is hosting an event. Chapter 2 of the Green Guide outlines the full details on how to calculate a safe capacity.

The safe capacity should be conducted by a competent person – that is someone who has the sufficient training and experience to conduct the assessment. However, it is important for those involved in the safety management of a venue to understand how the safe capacity is calculated.

The safe capacity is not the number of seats or standing spaces available.  Instead, it is based on the following elements:

• Entry capacity 
• Holding capacity, including (P) and (S) Factors
• Exit capacity 
• Emergency exit capacity

The final capacity is then the lowest of these calculations.

Once the final capacity of a section, or of the whole ground, is determined, in no circumstances should a larger number of spectators be admitted.

If that final capacity is lower than the level management ideally requires, it can only be raised after the necessary remedial work has been completed, and/or the quality of safety management improved, and after the area in question has been re-assessed by a competent person.

The entry capacity is the number of spectators who can pass through all the entry points or turnstiles serving the sports ground, or a section of the sports ground, within a period of one hour.

The holding capacity is the number of spectators that can be safely accommodated in the viewing accommodation of the sports ground, or in a specific section.

This includes:

Seated accommodation

In the case of seats, this will be determined by the actual number of seats, less any that cannot be used safely owing to seriously restricted views or inadequate condition.

Standing accommodation

In the case of a standing area, this will be determined by several factors, including an assessment of the space available and the appropriate density measure, crush barrier strengths and layouts and any seriously restricted views.

(P) and (S) Factor assessment

The holding capacity is then assessed according to its physical condition (also known as the (P) Factor and the safety management of that area (the (S) Factor).

The emergency exit capacity is the number of people (that is, spectators and all other people present) that can safely exit from the sports ground, or section within it, under emergency conditions to a place of safety within a set time. The determination of that set time is based on an assessment of the levels of fire risk present throughout the exit route.

Similar to the exit capacity outlined above, the calculation for exiting under emergency conditions should take into account whether it is a flat or stepped route, along with the consideration of any parts of the exit route where narrowing of widths are found.