Celtic season ticket renewal campaign launch now imminent; what's expected

By John McGinley

April 29, 2023

Celtic fans will soon be asked to renew their season tickets and again invest in the Ange Postecoglou era.

Last year, Celtic launched their season ticket renewal advertising at the end of March and set the deadline for purchase to mid-May. With cash reserves strong, the season ending later than normal, the feeling so good amongst the support right now and the club’s entire focus on current challenges – there has been no need to rush things this time around.

However, now we’re truly reaching the business end of Postecoglou’s second season, the 2023/24 launch is imminent, a full month beyond the timeline of 2022.

Next week looks to be the perfect time to hit supporters with details, pricing and deadlines. If the Bhoys win against Rangers in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final then it’s done so at a time of peak optimism and joy. If the team falls short, everyone will be quickly looking ahead to clinching the title and next season, regardless.

If the club follow the trend of last year, current holders will have until after the next monthly pay cycle to purchase before they are put on general sale. That means an early to mid-June deadline is likely. As is normal, options to purchase in instalments of four or ten payments are expected, too.

One of the biggest questions fans will have right now is whether there’s a price increase. After a freeze for the 2021/22 campaign, Celtic did raise the cost of tickets for 2022/23. As always, when making a decision on that front, it’ll be a balancing act for the club to ensure they don’t alienate supporters by putting prices up by too large a percentage – if there is an increase at all.

Opponents of any increase would likely point to Celtic’s incredible financial position and road towards record revenue as a reason not to pass on any of the club’s increasing costs to fans. Nonetheless, Celtic are not immune to societal issues at the moment such as significant inflation and sky-high energy costs. It’s a tightrope walk that the club must consider carefully.

For 14 seasons in a row, the club have at least kept kids’ season tickets at a very reasonable rate with a consistent freeze. Last year, U13 tickets were priced from just £50. Even if there is a general increase for adults, which I hope would be modest, it’d be fantastic to see Celtic keep that streak up.

Ultimately, Celtic again selling out their season ticket allocation this summer would be no surprise. The demand for tickets is massive at the moment.

So much so that chunks of supporters are now calling on the club to introduce a ticket exchange scheme to ensure that season ticket holders unable to attend a match can more easily pass their seats on to someone else. The club have suggested that this is being looked into but that it’s a complicated scene to navigate – so I wouldn’t expect something on that for the coming season, but perhaps the next one.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that supporters’ money underpins a lot of what Celtic are able to achieve on and off the pitch. Yes, Champions League riches are a huge boost and take things to another level, but fans have consistently provided a solid footing for the club to build on. That should be applauded and it’ll be great to see it repeated over the coming weeks as we prepare for season three of the Postecoglou reign. He’s earned the backing being received.

In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou brilliantly dismisses the latest bizarre outburst from Rangers.