St Johnstone owner Adam Webb has apologised to supporters following the club’s season ticket controversy, and pledged fans won’t be moved from the East Stand if a key sales target is met.
The Perth club sparked backlash after announcing plans to allocate three stands at McDiarmid Park to Celtic and Rangers supporters for Scottish Premiership clashes.
Reversing the Decision
Webb has now confirmed Saints will reverse that decision if they sell 3,800 season tickets, allowing the East Stand to remain for home fans.
He also assured supporters that the safe standing section, partly funded by fans, will not be opened to away supporters unless the sales target is missed. Webb said: “In my two years at the club, I’ve had a steep learning curve, but never steeper than the past week.
“The knowledge and passion of our fans have been on display as I have communicated with dozens of supporters about our season ticket launch. Most, but by no means all, of the comments have been negative. As always, we endeavour to communicate frequently with supporters and to be transparent about our plans.
Owner’s Apology for ‘Missteps’
“We failed to maintain these standards leading up to the recent launch. For this, I want to apologise. As I’ve stated to many over the past week, it was our eagerness to advance the club that led to these missteps, but they were missteps nonetheless, and we will learn from them.
“In light of the general displeasure with the prospect of giving Celtic and Rangers three stands, we have analysed the numbers to determine how many season tickets we would need to sell to be able to make the financial decision to keep the East Stand as a home stand for those matches, which we would much prefer to do.
The Sales Target Challenge
“We have agreed that if we sell 3,800 season tickets, we will give Celtic and Rangers only two stands. This will not equal the profit to be made from selling three stands, but it is close enough to warrant reserving the East Stand for Saints fans.
“We acknowledge this should have been communicated to fans from day one. We should have announced this as a challenge to our fans and made every effort to achieve it. Hopefully, this statement is deemed as better late than never. The safe standing area will be covered for Celtic and Rangers fixtures (unless opened for Saints fans as noted above).
“We understand the importance of this new area to our fans and accept the feedback we have received that only Saints fans should occupy it.”