St Johnstone CEO, Fran Smith, has confirmed an end-of-season review will take place into the club’s ticketing policy for Celtic and Rangers games at McDiarmid Park.
There was a Perth boycott of a Scottish Cup tie in January last year after Saints decided to give three stands to Rangers without fan consultation.
Following his takeover, new owner, Adam Webb, put out an open letter in September, confirming the ticket split for the 2024/25 campaign.
This was misinterpreted by many as a cut, with the truth being there was no change at all from the previous year.
That change could be coming in the summer, however.
Smith pointed out that Saints would bank an extra £75,000 per home match if they move their own supporters out of the East Stand and into the Geoff Brown Stand – which would be a significant boost to Simo Valakari’s transfer budget.
If the club do decide to go down that route, though, it won’t be before supporters get their chance to have their say.
Bad decision
“A bad decision was made without any fan consultation for the Scottish Cup game against Rangers that caused the whole stooshie in the first place,” said Smith.
“It was a sleeping conversation until that happened.
“At the start of this season there was no cut for Celtic and Rangers fans. They’re getting exactly the same as the league games before.
“Rangers got three stands for that cup game but every other game has been the two ends and 900 in the Geoff Brown Stand.
“Our current ticket policy is that our fans will be in the East Stand and that will remain the policy through to the end of the season.
“We were always going to review this at the end of the season.
“We’ve got Rangers in a couple of weeks and Celtic again later in the season.
“Economically, if we’re not going to fill the East Stand, why wouldn’t we think about maximising income?
“You’re probably talking about being £75k better off for one game, which is a player.
“Of course, the rest of the board might not agree with me.
“That’s the important thing.
“We’ll discuss it as a board and discuss it with fans’ groups again.”
Options
Smith stressed that shades of grey solutions will be on the table in the summer.
“There are a few options,” he said.
“One of them is giving St Johnstone fans the Geoff Brown Stand and the Ormond.
“We’d make £35k more doing it that way.
“There’s the possibility of season tickets with and without Old Firm games.
“I’ve got to think economically about the club.
“If people want a better product on the park, we need to bring income in. That could, potentially, include extra Old Firm income.
“It’s always going to be a contentious one for the club but it’s one we have to speak about again as a board and a club. And we need to involve the fans to make sure we make the right decision.
“My leadership is all about one club, one city, one community.
“We’re not saying we’ll give fans full autonomy to make decisions but we want them to feel part of it.
“They are the club.
“I want more of our fans to come out and support us in the games against Rangers and Celtic.”
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