Celtic would need to pay out at least £250,000 to stage an SPFL at an English ground according to a report in the Daily Mail.
Ahead of the First Minister’s recent update on the impact of the pandemic it was suggested that SPFL clubs were looking at taking their matches to England if the 500 fans cap was retained.
Since the report emerged it seems likely that decent numbers of fans or even full stadiums will be allowed when the Premiership season resumes on January 17.
Looking deeper into the issue, the Daily Mail reports:
Sportsmail understands English clubs would be happy to stage games, if they could obtain a financial windfall that would bolster transfer plans. Sums of £250,000 or more for the host club would be considered highly attractive to teams outside the English top flight.
‘The matches would have to attract a lot of fans to make it work,’ one club executive in the north of England told Sportsmail.
‘Clubs would need to think about the impact on their pitch, but if it was one match and it made enough difference to transfer plans you would have to consider it. £250k to £300k would make a difference.’
In reality, the matches would have to involve Celtic and Rangers in order to generate sufficient attendance and therefore revenues for all of the clubs involved. The rivals play each other on Wednesday February 2.
Even the Edinburgh derby between Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian only attracts around 20,000 fans. However, any game involving the Old Firm would be considered, regardless of the opposition, because the clubs have such huge fan bases.
That sort of price wouldn’t make shifting matches viable with the overwhelming number of fans attending certain to be Season Ticket holders.
The logistics of issuing tickets for a different stadium plus police and stewarding costs would result in considerable extra costs.
Celtic are still waiting on the green light to prepare for fans back for the Hibs match with the next update expected on Wednesday January 12.
Nope. This is the stupidest idea since David Murray thought an S&M porn producer was a good source of tax advice.
Thinks its a call my bluff option.