Scotland's top-flight football clubs given cash boost as season ticket sales rise

Craig McDonald

WITH a week to go before the SPL kicks off, Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs and Partick Thistle have all recorded increases on last year.

SCOTLAND'S top-flight football clubs have been given a cash boost by an increase in season ticket sales.

Figures were also up last season – as fans rallied to offset gate revenue lost by Rangers' demotion to Division Three.

With a week to go before the SPL kicks off, Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs and Partick Thistle all report increases on last year.

Inverness CT, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren said levels were much the same as last season.

But the Paisley side expect to surge past last year's figure as they will wait almost three weeks until their first home league game.

Only Dundee United reported a decrease – although sales were at a record level last season with Dundee derbies played in the SPL for the first time in seven years.

Neil Patey, from accountants Ernst and Young, said the bounce could be due to league restructuring – or a feelgood factor returning to the economy.

He said: "Any increases are a positive message for Scottish football.

"For Hearts, there has been an appeal to fans to buy season tickets and Partick got a boost from promotion. But for all the other clubs, the football situation is pretty much the same as the season before.

"Given all that has gone on in Scottish football, there could have been a concern that season ticket sales could have fallen.

"That doesn't appear to be the case – despite negative predictions when Rangers went down to the Third Division.

"Maybe it's a sign league reconstruction is being viewed positively and the economy generally is better now."

Champions Celtic said sales were up on last season's campaign.

They sold more than 42,500 standard season tickets for 2011/12, according to their annual report. These are the most recent figures available for the club.

Sales at Hearts were up by more than 1000 on the same time last year.

Hearts supporters pack out East End Park Hearts supporters pack out East End Park
SNS

Approximate figures for other SPL clubs were: Hibs 8000, Partick Thistle 1500, Aberdeen 7000, St Mirren 2600,
Ross County 2000, St Johnstone 1550 and Dundee United 4200.

Inverness CT said sales were around the same as last year but did not give an exact figure and Kilmarnock and Motherwell had not responded by the time we went to press.

Taken from the Daily Record