When should the first annual inspection and structural appraisal be undertaken at a new, or recently completed, stadium?

It is usual that the safety certificate or operations manual will require ground management to obtain every 12 months , a report from a competent person that the structural elements have been inspected and found to be adequate.

For recently completed stadia it would be expected that the annual inspection process as described in the Green Guide would become due some 12 months after the safety certificate was first issued.

For the structural appraisal, as covered by the Green Guide, a period of between 6 and 10 years is seen as appropriate and it would be considered reasonable, provided the annual inspection process has been thorough, for the structural appraisal to take place at or towards the end of the first 10 year period.

However it would be expected that the club’s consulting engineers would take the lead on determining both the frequency and detail of the inspection and appraisal process.