CELTIC TICKET PRICE REDUCTION: A START BUT STILL NOT ENOUGH
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Slowly but surely, fan pressure continues to impact Celtic in positive, if small ways.
It’s been announced today, after fan uproar at the lack of available tickets for concessions and children for the upcoming Europa League ties.
Well, Celtic have addressed this, to some extent today. But as the headline says, it’s a start, but no more than that. Let’s discuss.
Celtic Ticket Prices for Concessions and Under 13s Introduced Amid Fan Backlash
Celtic tickets, like stadium catering, jerseys and other merchandise are still massively overpriced. However, in a small concession to fan demands, Celtic announced today that while the £45 ticket price for adults remains in place, concessions are now available for £32, whilst under 13s are priced at ￡27.
Now, I welcome any reduction in Celtic ticket prices, but these are still ridiculous rates for what is very much Europe’s 2nd string competition.
I might pay ￡45 to watch us play Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. But with the greatest of respect, I have no interest in paying that much to watch us play teams like Sturm Graz.
I think what’s needed here is for UEFA to step in and impose uniform pricing across the entire competition. It’s been that way here in Japan for years, and it has ensured that ticket prices never get out of hand, unless of course European teams come over for friendlies.
I mentioned previously that Celtic’s two bounce games in Japan back in 2023 were the most expensive football tickets I’ve ever bought, costing about 3 times what I would pay for the same seats at a J-League match.
Anyway, back on topic, even with these minor price reductions a family of 4 are still looking at close to £200, when you factor in travel costs, food etc, to go to a midweek game that is already struggling to sell its allocation.
So many of the recent actions from the Celtic Board, the rolling back of the pay-walling of YouTube content, the slight step back from the aggressive pushing of new merchandise, seem like the bare minimum.
Media coverage from Celtic is still a joke, with Celtic TV offering almost nothing of value beyond the match itself. Fan media does a far better job of keeping us all informed about the day-to-day events at the club than the clubs own media channels could even dream of.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that’s the case, otherwise no-one would be reading this!
However, it’s also a sad indictment of Celtic’s alleged 30 strong media team that individual fans with a computer can output exponentially more news about the club each week than the club does.
This also feeds back to the ticket issue. Perhaps if Celtic’s current custodians actually engaged with real fans more regularly, they might better understand why 45 quid for a match ticket, and 75 quid for a replica shirt seems ridiculously expensive during a cost-of-living crisis.
But then again, what do I know? I’m just a fan with a computer after all...
A Note from the Writer:
Friends, thank you all for reading the ACSOM Blog. If it’s not too much of an imposition, I have a favor to ask of your all.
This year, as I have done for the past 3 years, I am taking part in the “One Foot Forward Charitable Challenge. I will walk 500km during the month of October to raise money for Mental Health research.
If anyone would like contribute, you can do so at this link: https://www.onefootforward.org.au/fundraisers/LiamCarrigan/one-foot-forward
Thank you everyone. Even the smallest donation could make a massive difference.