Stephen McGowan has delivered an ominous warning that the season ticket model of Scottish football is in crisis.
Since the start of the season just two ‘crowds’ of 300 have watched matches live inside stadiums with no plans yet for further Test Events.
With a new £25m a year Sky Sports deal and the enthusiasm of fans to help out their club the current season has got underway but earlier this week Dundee United sounded an ominous warning with talks over 20% pay cuts.
There was some sort of expectation that fans would be returning before Christmas but with new Lockdown measures coming into force across Europe those claims are being revisited.
If there is only a very limited return of fans this season the guarantees over Season Ticket sales next year will need to be scaled down alongside the fears of punters demanding refunds on £500/head on tickets bought for the current season.
In his Daily Mail column McGowan explains:
One Celtic fan got in touch to report that he stumped up nearly £3,000 for five Parkhead season tickets for his wife and family all of whom live in the same house. They don’t need five subscriptions to Celtic TV. One log-in would save them a fortune and do just fine.
The column concludes:
But for supporters fretting over their jobs, charity has its limits. And the real problems will start of the fans are locked out and clubs ask them to renew their books for next season.
Some won’t be able to do it any more. Others will ask why they should bother shelling out another £500 if all it buys them is a ropey, unreliable TV stream.
The season-ticket business model is now in serios crisis. And there isn’t a club TV channel anywhere which can put a positive spin on the financial catastrophe coming down the tracks for football as we know it.
Celtic’s next home SPFL match is on December 6 when St Johnstone visit.
‘With fans locked out and season tickets in crisis there’s a financial catastrophe coming down the tracks for football as we know it.’
Read ?@mcgowan_stephen? in today’s ?@ScotMailSport? pic.twitter.com/v33SxfgkvU
— Sportsmail (@ScotMailSport) October 31, 2020
