Martyn’s Law for stadiums and sports grounds.

Sports grounds are a listed use. Gyms, swimming pools and leisure facilities may qualify through other listed uses. Membership or ticketed entry does not automatically take premises outside scope.

Qualifying premises must include a building, part of a building or group of buildings. Associated land can count with the building. An outdoor pitch without a building does not qualify as premises under that test, although an event there may qualify separately.

A club with a clubhouse may be standard tier where the relevant premises meet all the tests and reasonably expect 200–799 people together. Do not assume that either the clubhouse alone or the whole sports site is necessarily the correct boundary.

What Martyn’s Law coversStandard-tier requirements for sports clubs

Schedule 2, paragraph 3 covers parks, gardens, recreation grounds, sports grounds that are not designated sports grounds, and other open-air premises used for recreation or leisure. The exclusion applies where there are no measures securing or checking payment, tickets or passes, or club membership or guest status for public access.

For that premises test, disregard controls applying only to particular events where access is otherwise unrestricted, and controls for particular facilities that do not restrict access generally. Charging to hire a pitch does not necessarily make the surrounding public ground qualifying premises.

The exclusion does not prevent a separate clubhouse or other premises within the site from qualifying. It also does not prevent an event on an otherwise excluded recreation ground from being a qualifying event. Designated sports grounds do not receive this particular sports-ground exclusion.

Qualifying-event rules for outdoor events

Use the greatest number reasonably expected together from time to time, rather than average attendance or everyone passing through during the day. Include spectators, participants, employees, contractors, stewards and volunteers in the qualifying use areas.

Attendance history, ticket records, seating and standing arrangements, and relevant restrictions can inform the method. Add staff where the starting figure excludes them. For leisure centres, consider overlapping classes, pool sessions and spectators.

A stadium’s conference use between fixtures does not necessarily change its principal sports use. Predictable large events can affect the tier, while a genuine one-off needs a separate event assessment.

How to count people at a sports groundEnhanced-tier requirements for stadiums

The Sports Grounds Safety Authority’s certification guidance explains the local authority’s role in issuing safety certificates, including safe capacity and conditions for reasonable safety. Relevant regimes include designated sports grounds and regulated stands.

An existing safety certificate does not replace the Martyn’s Law scope assessment, procedures or enhanced duties. Equally, Martyn’s Law does not replace sports-ground safety, fire safety or licensing obligations. Check the certification arrangements that apply in your part of the UK.

Use existing operations manuals, steward briefings and emergency arrangements as starting points, then review them for terrorism on the site or nearby. A certified spectator capacity is useful evidence, but the Martyn’s Law assessment concerns reasonably expected people and includes relevant staff.

The future SIA notification requires information about relevant sports-ground safety certificates. Keep certificate details and the issuing authority available.

The responsible person is whoever controls the premises for their relevant use, often the club or operating company. A stewarding contractor does not take over that responsibility. Separate qualifying premises may have separate responsible people and co-ordination duties; nested premises with the same responsible person are treated together.

Standard tier requires SIA notification and appropriate procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, so far as reasonably practicable. A written plan and formal terrorism risk assessment are not required at that tier, although recording and practising arrangements is recommended.

Enhanced-tier stadiums also need appropriate protection measures, assessment and review, a document for the SIA and a designated senior individual where the responsible person is an organisation. Consider monitoring, entrances and crowd movement, physical security and information security.

A concert or tournament at enhanced-tier premises does not need a separate qualifying-event notification. Elsewhere, check every event criterion and exclusion. Regularly expected large occasions may mean the premises themselves are enhanced tier.

Who is responsible for a sports venue?The four public protection proceduresMartyn’s Law for concerts and events

Agree the premises boundary, check designation and access arrangements, gather expected attendance evidence and identify the responsible organisation. Compare ordinary fixtures with tournaments, concerts and other predictable uses.

Buying software or specialist services is not a standard-tier requirement. Wardcote offers optional standard-tier software and arranges enhanced-tier help through external partners (anyone carrying out licensable security work must hold an SIA licence). Where security staff are needed, the security company contracts with the client directly.

This page is general guidance, not legal advice.

The standard-tier preparation checklistEnhanced-tier assessment supportCheck your sports venue’s tier