St Johnstone to 'review' Old Firm ticket allocations with three-stand McDiarmid Park solution floated

St Johnstone have confirmed they will undertake an end-of-season review of the club’s policy around Celtic and Rangers tickets for match at McDiarmid Park.

Perth Saints fans had boycotted a Scottish Cup clash with Rangers in January of last year when the club opted to give the visiting fans three stands inside the ground but never consulted the home fans about the move. Now, CEO Fran Smith has confirmed it is a possibility that this move, to give Old Firm fans three stands, is a possibility in seasons to come.

The move, as stated in a club statement, would be in order for St Johnstone to potentially try and ‘maximise income’ from all fans to the tune of £75,000 per game, a sum that could make a difference to boss Simo Valakari, or other areas of the club. However, this isn’t the only solution being proposed for the review to look at, another involves season tickets that don’t include Old Firm team games, or a different split in the ground that would see an increase in income but not as much as a three-stand offering.

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Smith said: “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.

“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.”

The differing season ticket options is also something Smith floated.

“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.”