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Celtic fans debate whether Waiting List justifies increasing stadium capacity

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News that Celtic have a Season Ticket waiting list of 17,000 fans has prompted some supporters to debate whether the stadium capacity should be increased.

At the moment Celtic Park hosts 60,000 fans with just over 50,000 Season Ticket holders which allows a decent amount of supporters to attend on a match by match basis. Non Season Ticket holders are also more likely to spend money on club merchandise.

When Fergus McCann took over in 1994 stadium redevelopment was essential. The club had 9,000 seats in the Main Stand with three quarters of the stadium a concrete bowl with the Taylor Report a year away.

Within months the terraces had been flattened with the North Stand making a spectacular arrival on the east end sky-line.

In July 1995 Newcastle opened the new look stadium in front of 32,000 fans with an open-air temporary stand soon added hosting a few thousand behind the goal where the Jock Stein Stand now sits.

By 1998 Celtic Park hosted 60,000 seats with only the older Main Stand, built in 1971 pre-dating McCann’s reign.

Over the years there has been suggestions that the bowl shape could be completed, taking capacity to 80,000 but that would require a new league set up. With the best will in the world the club couldn’t sell 65-70,000 season tickets for matches against St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Motherwell.

The numbers revealed by the Waiting List provide food for thought but an increase in capacity to 80,000 could reduce the demand for Season Tickets if supporters knew that for 95% of matches they could buy individual tickets.

Like it or not a large percentage of Season Tickets are sold ensuring supporters of tickets for the Glasgow derby, overwhelming evidence would be needed to alter the current supply and demand model.

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