03 Sep 2024 08:27:05
The chat about the stadium makes sense, as everyone points out we’ve £100m in the bank. We can’t use it for player transfers or wages - as I’ve tried to explain before to people money in the bank means nothing in a P&L statement, your accounts will still show a loss for the year.
But FFP regs does allow for spending on things like, stadium, infrastructure, non-playing activities basically.
So the best thing we can do with that money is put another 20k seats in the stadium surely, that could generate up to another £20m pa in match day revenue.
{Ed001's Note - are you referring to UEFA's financial regs? Or is this something Scottish only you are talking about? If you are talking about UEFA's PSR, that is based on revenue, nothing to do with P&L statements, losses or profits. It has been simplified to simply limiting spending to a percentage (IIRC this season it will be 70%) of revenue on transfer fees, agent fees and salaries of all staff. It doesn't matter if the club overall makes a loss or profit, so long as you spend less than the %age allowable on those things.
FFP has gone now as UEFA level. Though, as you can probable tell, spending on things other than wages, agent fees and transfer fees, is outside of the remit and is allowed. So your idea is still relevant, but just your understanding of why is incorrect if you are talking about UEFA regulations.
Sorry, I know I am being pedantic, but sometimes I can't help myself!}
03 Sep 2024 10:19:32
Hi all hope you are well
I agree Gerry, we should be upgrading the stadium. We could even do that in a gradual way. The south west corner could have an upper tier bringing it round to the south stand. I'm not sure how many seats we would increase by, but would be a few thousand and help stave off the waiting list a bit. It would pay for itself over a few years.
03 Sep 2024 13:46:43
Another 20k seats? I don't think we could fill them, another 10k more realistic.
{Ed007's Note - We can't fill the stadium as it is apart from the Derby and CL games.}
03 Sep 2024 14:34:00
We could easily seell them, we have upwards of 10k already on waiting list for season tickets. Wether we fill it or not depends on other things.
Part of the problem is the amount of Sunday and midweek games, I've got a season ticket but like 1000s of other I live in England, it's not always possible to make non-Saturday games. People travelling from Ireland have the same issue.
we had average attendances of 20-30k over the 80s/ 90s but upped the capacity to 60k. If you build it they will come.
{Ed007's Note - But they aren't coming, for whatever reason it's still empty seats and the atmosphere is bad enough without extending the stadium and expect 2 groups of fans to try and create any atmosphere.
Until there is a system in place where supporters can resell their tickets for games the can't make there's no point in even considering any extension, let's concentrate on getting the seats we already have filled at every game.}
03 Sep 2024 15:28:07
Agree with that Ed, always put it on my fan survey. Most English teams do it so absolutely no excuse.
{Ed007's Note - Them 'uns at Ibrox do it.}
03 Sep 2024 16:05:34
My seat is in the main stand and the facilities are atrocious and antiquated. We should be looking to redevelop the seating area in some way. I’m obviously not an architect but if front needs to stay then would creating a steeper seated area be an option? Personally I doubt raising capacity is a priority as club could set up a resale site and generate extra revenue after all seats are sold on initial release then resell season ticket seats.
{Ed007's Note - My ST was in there as well and it was rough 12 years ago when I gave it up.}
03 Sep 2024 16:32:51
The Celtic Directors have never cared that there’s empty seats because those empty seats have already been paid for.
That’s why the Attendance is Officially recorded as 58,000 but only about 53,000 is actually in the Stadium.
Celtic could accommodate another 10,000 season tickets at least because that’s what’s on the waiting list.
But that will probably mean more empty seats that’s already been paid for.
03 Sep 2024 18:01:36
If it wasn't for the GB, the atmosphere would be terrible. Imagine the atmosphere with a 70-80k stadium with loads more empty seats. Tbh, it would be embarrassing. That said, a bit of me thinks Celtic are keeping money aside to increase the capacity should the Crumbledomes capacity be increased in say 5 or 10 years down the line.
{Ed007's Note - Michael Nicholson said at the 2022 AGM that "The South Stand is a historic asset and previous feasibility studies suggest more than £100m to expand it – there is limited capital to invest and we need to invest on the pitch. Long term we’d like to look at it but not at moment."
03 Sep 2024 19:26:42
I can't see us ever expanding the stadium whilst in Scottish football and I don't think we need to, Maybe if there ever was an European league we might do it.
I think the money is maybe being kept for refurbishments and possibly the museum and hotel.
{Ed007's Note - One of the things I always said they should look at is putting another standing section in the opposite corner of the North Stand from the NC but the plans are in for adding 455 safe standing seats at the corner diagonally across from the NC in the BHOYS CELTIC new section.}
04 Sep 2024 15:27:33
That would be a very good idea, it would enhance the atmosphere even more.