Away Day Ticket Price Hike – ‘At some point there has to be a ceiling’

ONE of the few St Johnstone supporters who would travel to Celtic Park to support the Perth side has complained that the price for the away end has increased to £30 this season. He also makes the very valid point that there has to be a ceiling on this at some point.

You may remember toward the end of last season that we pointed out that both Celtic and Motherwell were due to play at Rugby Park within a few days of each other but that they price charged for away tickets was considerably higher for the Celtic fans that those following Motherwell.

The St Johnstone supporter complaining about his £30 is right and we should have sympathy for his point of view particularly as it signals that this will be the price that Saints will charge the travelling Celtic support this season when we visit McDiarmid Park.

Talking of Kilmarnock, they would traditionally give Celtic and indeed the Rangers both stands behind the goals but decided at the end of last season to restrict the away stands to one rather than two. This was to encourage more Kilmarnock supporters to attend the games with the club on a high after Steve Clarke’s fine work as their manager. They won that game against the Rangers to qualify for Europe.

Maybe after their exit from Europe against the Welsh minnow, the Kilmarnock board will have to review this decision to reduce the tickets for the travelling Celtic and the Rangers supporters?

This policy of reducing away support last season worked for the Rangers who instead of having 7000 Celtic Supporters in the Free Broomloan restricted this to 800 in the corner and turned their two defeats from the previous season when Celtic visited into two wins.

Celtic cut their numbers too and won both their games against the Rangers last season – again showing an improvement on the previous season as the new Ibrox club got themselves a goalless draw the previous season when the away support was larger.

The ticket price for away supporters at Celtic Park or Ibrox for Glasgow Derbies has been £49 for a considerable time. Is this the season when the £50 ailing will be broken through? Certainly by cutting supply drastically the demand increases from this looking for tickets.

A few years ago the Affiliation were part of a campaign on away ticket prices under the heading Twenty’s Plenty. Celtic buses are currently taking names for the trip to Motherwell but will the ticket price reach £30 at Fir Park?

Going back to the St Johnstone supporter who complained about the £30 he’s being charged to visit Celtic Park to support his team. Some of the comments to his post on social media are worth noting.

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor David Faulds has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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