NafisaSt Johnstone owner Adam Webb has issued an apology to supporters after the club’s season ticket controversy, while also promising fans will not lose the East Stand if an important ticket target is achieved.
The Perth side faced heavy criticism after unveiling plans to hand three stands at McDiarmid Park over to Celtic and Rangers supporters for Scottish Premiership fixtures.
Webb has now revealed the club are prepared to backtrack on that proposal if Saints manage to sell 3,800 season tickets, meaning the East Stand would remain reserved for home supporters.
He also reassured fans that the safe standing section, which was partially financed by supporters themselves, would not be given to away fans unless the club falls short of the required target. 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.
“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.
“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.”
The backlash from supporters over the past week had been intense, with many unhappy at the idea of away supporters taking over such a large portion of McDiarmid Park for visits from the Glasgow clubs.
Webb’s latest statement now appears to be an attempt to rebuild trust with the fanbase while also encouraging supporters to rally behind the season ticket campaign ahead of the new season.
Nafisa
