Kilmarnock have referenced the decision to halve the Celtic allocation for games at Rugby Park in a fresh report.
On Thursday the Ayrshire side released their ‘A Vision For Our Future’ report — looking at their most recent campaign, the club’s progression and objectives for the next five years.
For years, Celtic supporters would be housed in two end stands at Rugby Park. But that 9,000 allocation was reduced at the start of 2020.
Last season, Celtic received under 4,000 tickets for both of our visits to Kilmarnock while large swathes of the stadium lay empty for emphatic away wins.
But the move has been a positive one according to Killie Managing Director Phyllis McLeish in the report. (page 20)
McLeish: “The decision taken to prioritise our own family support by cutting a second away stand for Old Firm games has been successful and we are very proud of the outcome.”
“We have since witnessed an improved atmosphere for players, fans and townspeople in relation to these games.
“Meanwhile, the potential loss of income has not materialised, with an increasing number of families coming back each week.
“The family fanzone behind the stand is also becoming increasingly popular and we have plans for this to evolve further in coming months.”
So it’s pretty clear that Kilmarnock will not be increasing Celtic’s allocation back to 9,000 any time soon. That is disappointing from a Celtic point of view with thousands of match-going supporters kept out while seats lie empty.
From a Scottish football stand point it isn’t a great look either when thousands of blue seats are on show for live televised matches.
To be totally fair to Kilmarnock, it’s their stadium and they are free to do what they see fit. There has undoubtedly been progress made at the club in recent years, and they have plans to continue the growth.
It just seems a little easy to put it down to Celtic and Rangers having their away allocation slashed.
Surely this growth of Killie supporters could continue and we could try to get Rugby Park as full as possible when the champions come to town.
In other news, Celtic transfer target Maik Nawrocki has been asked about his future already this summer
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