The safest and most dangerous football grounds to visit in the country

Attending a football match should be a fun experience, but with football-related arrests hitting a nine-year peak in the 2022/2023 season, fan safety at games is on everyone’s radar.

So which stadiums pose the greatest risk across the UK?

Intrigued, experts at Live Football Tickets compared the average number of spectators at each football ground yearly with the reported incidences of crime within a 1 km radius of each venue, to unveil which stadiums provide the safest and least safe matchday experience.

Encouragingly for SW football, Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park was ranked the tenth safest stadium.

The most dangerous football stadiums in the UK

For the complete data of all 86 stadiums, please click here.

At the top of the crime table is Victoria Park, home of Hartlepool United, with around 18 crime events per 100 spectators in a season. Despite drawing a substantial 88% fewer spectators on average (76,774 yearly) than Stadium of Light (683,340 attendees) in its neighbouring county, Victoria Park experiences nearly double the amount of crime incidents (13,907) than in the vicinity of the Sunderland venue, which registered around only 7,000 crimes over the last three years.

Aldershot Town’s Recreation Ground comes second, with violence and sexual offences (2,656 incidents) being the most common reason for arrests within 1 km of the venue, followed by anti-social behaviour (802 incidents). Hosting an average of 44,150 fans per annum, a relatively high crime rate of 14.91 incidents per 100 attendees signals a red flag for visitors.

In third place is Field Mill, the world’s oldest professional football ground, attracting approximately 14.47 crimes per 100 spectators. Despite hosting a significant 87% fewer spectators annually (71,394 attendees on average) compared to another East Midlands venue - King Power Stadium (which draws 560,351 attendees) - it’s concerning to see crime figures at Field Mill (10,330) surprisingly close to those at Leicester City’s home ground (11,327) -  only 8% lower.

Rounding off the top five ‘roughest’ venues are Broadfield Stadium and Priestfield Stadium, witnessing 11.94 and 11.84 crimes per 100 spectators, respectively. Crawley Road’s Broadfield Stadium, with the fourth lowest attendance (37,608) year round, tallies an alarming 4,489 incidents, while Priestfield Stadium sees twice the amount at 9,954.

The safest football stadiums in the UK 

For the complete data of all 86 stadiums, please click here.

At the other end of the scale, Old Trafford has been crowned the safest football stadium nationwide, with an impressive 0.0003 crimes per 100 spectators. Pride of the Red Devils, the Manchester United stadium hosts the largest number of attendees, welcoming an average of 1,249,353 fans annually, yet attracts the least crime within its 1 km radius.

Coming in at a close second, rival club Manchester City’s home ground, the Etihad Stadium, boasts an exceptionally low average crime rate of 0.0008 per 100 attendees, despite drawing a substantial 831,099 visitors yearly.

Home to the Wigan Athletic, DW Stadium, experiences a mere 0.002 crimes per 100 spectators each season despite a notable 225,230 attendees year round. Greater Manchester stadiums can be seen to dominate the top rankings with Oldham’s Boundary Park and Bolton’s University of Bolton Park completing the top five safest venues, earning an applaudable crime rate of 0.008 and 0.009 per 100 spectators, respectively.