As a club, Celtic might have been founded on charitable foundations but we’re a business first and foremost now, and a business that does very well. This is very likely to be an exceptional year in terms of turnover and profitability.
The Champions League is going to net us a small fortune.
When those games come around, fans will clamour to buy the ticket packages no matter who we’re up against.
Those nights are special at Celtic. Full houses are just about guaranteed.
We are a club which does have a charitable ethos at its core.
And sometimes charity begins at home.
Those Champions League games are going to come slap bang in the midst of the worst rise in energy prices that this generation has ever seen. It is going to be quite literally devastating to many families and households. Celtic cannot change that.
But this club can help mitigate the suffering of its own fans by not charging them premium rates for tickets whilst this crisis is ongoing. We can charge £120 for that three ticket package. We should be pitching it at £75.
This could cost us as much as £3 million.
A lot of fans will still consider £75 high … the club itself may see it as far too low.
But a pricing strategy like this will be a huge help to many fans.
As far as I’m concerned, in a £100 million turnover year – and this will be that regardless – they can afford to give back to the supporters that relatively modest sum, simply by keeping it real with the price of those tickets.
Our footballers do not have to worry about the cost of living.
Our directors perhaps have even less to be concerned about on that score.
But to our fans, this would be a show of support and solidarity. It would be a great gesture.
Knowing our board, they will not care.
Instead of pricing those tickets at £25 each, they are more likely to price them closer to £50, meaning that instead of keeping it real they would think only of the bank balance.
At most times that would merely be frustrating.
To do so now would be obscene.