THE IN CROWD
Celtic Park to hold 30,000 supporters by end of August EXCLUSIVE
CELTIC are drawing up plans to accommodate attendances of 30,000 at Parkhead by the end of August.
And the anticipated reduction of the twometre rule by the Scottish Government next month could see the Scottish Rugby Union host Murrayfield gates of up to 34,000 by September.
The SPFL Premiership has scheduled a provisional kick-off date of August 1 for the new football season, with games set to begin behind closed doors.
With the Scottish Government confirming plans to allow live outdoor events with social distancing as early as July 23, however, hopes are rising that fans could return to Scottish stadia in significant numbers within weeks.
‘This is a vital step everyone in Scottish football has been waiting for,’ said SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster. ‘We are not taking anything for granted and are committed to adhering to all relevant medical and
government guidelines, but clubs and supporters can definitely now see light at the end of the tunnel.’ Hibernian chief executive Leeann Dempster remained cautious last night, saying: ‘Certainly things like how the stadium would work and that thinking is well forward now. ‘It is just the timing element now that keeps moving, continually and quickly. ‘So, there has been more positivity in the last seven days concerning normality and social distancing and how that impacts on us. It does give us hope. ‘I still anticipate we will have Hibs fans in the stadium next season and I hope that it will be this side of the year. A few days ago, I might have thought January onwards and a really limited amount, but I am more hopeful now. I think they will get in this year, whether October, November... who knows?’ Celtic and the SRU teamed up to employ outside consultants to examine how fans back in stadia might work and, with the relaxation of the two-metre rule, the best-case scenario would see fans back in bio-secure arenas within nine weeks. In a statement welcoming yesterday’s government announcements on behalf of the Joint Response Group, SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: ‘Today’s news is welcome by the JRG and I am sure everyone involved in Scottish football from professional to grassroots level. ‘While we must proceed with caution and respect the government’s current public health advice, nonetheless the First Minister’s announcement today gives confidence that, as the virus diminishes in Scotland, we can prepare for the gradual return of fans into stadia.’
Sportsmail revealed previously that the SRU have held talks with Hearts and Hibs over hosting socially-distanced football games at Murrayfield. Last night, Dempster said: ‘We are still having discussions with the guys at Murrayfield and we still like the idea and the possibility of using Murrayfield but the barrier for us is the real, physical cost of putting a match on there because the stadium is so big and we could have to use virtually all of it from a social-distancing perspective. ‘The associated cost of opening up all of Murrayfield, even with reduced stewarding is still significantly more than we could probably bear. We have not given up hope yet but if you had asked me a couple of weeks ago I was probably 70-30 or 6040 in favour of it happening but I am probably about 50-50 now.’ Grassroots football is also on the way back, Maxwell adding: ‘Today’s announcement is also hugely encouraging on the timeline for the reintroduction of football to the hundreds of thousands of recreational players in the country. ‘This will obviously be dependent on adhering to the current guidelines, whilst seeking more detail on the phasing and scaling of phases two and three.’