£5 tickets for Ibrox are set to cost SPFL
REFUSING to allow Rangers to give free entry to season-ticket holders at play-off matches could potentially end up costing the SPFL a six-figure sum. The Ibrox club announced yesterday that they would charge £5 across the board for their quarter-final second leg against Queen of the South on Sunday week, with a similar pricing structure retained should they progress. Rangers stated last week that it was ‘fundamentally wrong’ to ask season-ticket holders to stump up for more matches, claiming that a precedent had been set by Hibs last season. That was firmly rejected by the SPFL, who believe the situation at Easter Road was exceptional because Hibs had started selling season tickets in 2013 before the play-off concept was introduced. League chairman Ralph Topping insisted their rule book was not a ‘pick and mix’ and that all 42 clubs had agreed to the play-off levy, which
sees 50 per cent of ticketing income from those games redistributed to other sides throughout the leagues. There is, however, no minimum price laid down, meaning Rangers are acting within the rules by offering the £5 rate. If a 50,000 sell-out is achieved against Queens, it would generate around £250,000. After VAT is deducted, the SPFL would receive approximately £100,000, with Rangers retaining the same to cover costs. However, the Ibrox side were considering a pricing range of £20, £15 and £5 for public sale tickets had their 24,000 season-ticket holders been allowed in for free. Taking £15 as a rough average for the 26,000 paying in, a 50,000 crowd would have generated a gross figure in the region of £390,000, with the SPFL pocketing around £155,000 — £55,000 more. If Rangers were to progress all the way to the final, the total potential difference from three home ties could therefore be around £165,000. Going to war with the SPFL and pressing ahead with free entry regardless may, it is believed, have seen the Ibrox club being told to cough up a 50-per-cent fee for their 24,000 seasonticket holders as if they had paid in. Based on a £15 average, that could have seen a demand for around an extra £145,000 for each game played — and raised the prospect of future central monies being withheld if Rangers refused to pay. ‘Several pricing structures, including allowing seasonticket holders free admission with other fans paying between £5 and £20, were studied but it is believed the most favourable option for the club and its supporters is a flat price of £5,’ said a Rangers statement. ‘This means the club can cover the costs of staging the match — between £70,000 and £80,000 — and at the same time comply with the SPFL rule, which demands a 50-per-cent levy from gate receipts after VAT (but not the club’s costs) has been deducted. ‘The cost to the club of allowing season-ticket holders free admission would have been substantial after accounting for the levy that would be due to the SPFL. ‘Despite media speculation, never at any time did Rangers state it would not adhere to SPFL rules and the club believes that setting this flat fee should meet with the approval of all concerned. ‘The £5 ticket price for all will ensure as many supporters as possible can back the team and, should we progress to the next stage of the play-offs, our pricing policy will not change.’ Queen of the South will charge their standard £16 for an adult ticket for tomorrow’s first leg at Palmerston Park. Motherwell have also previously stated plans to let season-ticket holders in for free if they end up in the play-offs, but no further comment from Fir Park is likely until their fate is confirmed.