St Johnstone owner Adam Webb has apologised to supporters after a week of anger over the club’s season ticket launch and its plan to give Celtic and Rangers fans three stands at McDiarmid Park for Scottish Premiership matches.
Webb said Saints would reverse that decision if the club sells 3,800 season tickets. If that target is reached, the East Stand will stay for home fans and Celtic and Rangers will be given only two stands. He also said the safe standing section, partly funded by supporters, will not be opened to away fans unless the sales target is missed.
The owner said the club had fallen short of the standards it should have kept ahead of the recent launch. “In my two years at the club, I’ve had a steep learning curve, but never steeper than the past week,” Webb said. He added that the club had failed to maintain those standards and that he wanted to apologise for it.
Webb said the issue was made worse because the club should have told fans from the start that 3,800 season tickets was the line that would decide whether the East Stand could remain a home section for those fixtures. He said the club had been too eager to push ahead and that the result was a series of missteps it would learn from.
The controversy began after St Johnstone announced plans to allocate three stands at McDiarmid Park to Celtic and Rangers supporters for Scottish Premiership matches, prompting a strong negative reaction from supporters. Webb said the club had now analysed the numbers and would prefer to keep the East Stand for home fans when those teams visit. “We have agreed that if we sell 3,800 season tickets, we will give Celtic and Rangers only two stands,” he said.
He also addressed the safe standing area, which was partly paid for by fans, saying it would be covered for Celtic and Rangers fixtures unless it was opened for Saints fans because the sales target is not met. “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,” Webb said. For St Johnstone, the next step is clear: sell the tickets, or the original plan for Celtic tickets and Rangers support at McDiarmid Park stays alive.
