St Johnstone chief in Celtic and Rangers ticket confession as McDiarmid Park takeover back on the table
Saints CEO Fran Smith admits that the Old Firm could go back to three stands in Perth if home fans don’t show up in greater numbers
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Chief executive Fran Smith says St Johnstone could be ready to open the McDiarmid Park gates for more Celtic and Rangers fans next season.
Saints infuriated supporters by handing their East Stand to Rangers for a Scottish Cup tie in January of last year. And Smith has admitted that Celtic or Rangers getting three stands again IS a possibility from 2024/25. Visiting fans from the Glasgow giants will stay in two stands behind the goals plus a section of the Geoff Brown Stand for the rest of this Premiership campaign.
Smith hopes Saints punters turn out in force to fill their seats against Gers a week on Sunday then for Celtic in April.
But he admits more Old Firm footfall could be used to give Simo Valakari’s spending power a boost if there’s an unsatisfactory turnout from Perth on those days. Smith explained: “Our current policy is our fans will be in the East Stand – and that will remain through to the end of the season.
“We’ve Rangers in a couple of weeks and Celtic again later in the season. Hopefully there will be another game against Rangers in the top six after that.
“We were always going to review this at the end of the season. We’ll discuss it as a board and discuss it with fans’ groups again. There are a few options.
“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. One option 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.
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Fran Smith
“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.”
Smith stressed that he and owner Adam Webb will engage with supporters before any call is made on future ticket plans. He said: “A bad decision was made without any fan consultation for that Scottish Cup game against Rangers which caused the whole stooshie in the first place.
“It was a sleeping conversation until that happened. Rangers got three stands for that cup game but every other game has been the two ends and 900 in the Geoff Brown.
“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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