So, how long CAN Scottish clubs survive without fans?
Kilmarnock chairman Billy Bowie could have been forgiven for wincing when the First minister held her daily briefing at Holyrood yesterday.
nicola Sturgeon confirmed that additional lockdown restrictions will ‘almost certainly’ be applied throughout the country by tomorrow in an attempt to reverse the increase in the number of people testing positive for covid-19.
Unfortunately for those tasked with keeping football clubs afloat, further infringements on the population’s rights to leave their homes and mingle with people from other households will have an immediate impact.
The prospect of supporters being allowed inside football grounds this year has diminished. originally scheduled for September 14 and then pushed back until october 5, a fresh set of limitations on the right to roam will mean that any decision on when clubs can expect to hear turnstiles clicking again will also be held in abeyance.
it’s distressing news for all 42 of Scotland’s senior clubs but the wage bills in the Premiership make its members more vulnerable than most.
like the others, kilmarnock have been affected by playing matches behind closed doors but Bowie insists that the lights will be kept on at Scotland’s oldest professional club.
‘We’ve actually done our cash projection for the year and there is a fair old financial black hole — a six-figure one — which needs to be filled,’ he said.
‘To be honest, it’s a tough situation to deal with. We need the fans to come back but it’s not looking too good for football right now.
‘Will there come a point when we just can’t carry on? a lot of clubs will be saying that, especially with the money it’s costing us all to test everyone twice a week.
‘at the moment, we’re doing everything that’s been asked of us and, right now, a football ground is the safest place to be in this country. Which it needs to be because we train here every day as well as hosting matches.’
Bowie, though, believes that the cost-cutting measures he and his board introduced when the pandemic first hit will at least provide them with some breathing space.
‘We reduced our budget as far as we possibly could against that projected income,’ he said. ‘Where we’ve been lucky is that so many of our fans have bought season tickets, knowing there’s a chance they won’t be allowed inside the stadium.
‘There’s also been a little revenue from away fans buying our pay-per-view matches but you just have to cut your cloth to suit and that’s more or less what we’ve done at kilmarnock.
‘We’re working away with the funds we know that we’ll have and we’ll carry on like that until the end of the season. We’ll get by until then.
‘one unexpected bonus for us came when we changed our kit supplier to Hummel this summer.
‘The sales of the new kit have been our best ever and that’s maybe down to the fact that people who can’t come to the games want to make a contribution to the club.
‘it could also be that they’re saving money by not buying killie pies at the ground, so they’re spending it in the club shop instead.
‘We’ve tried to be a bit more inventive with our merchandising and it seems to be working. kilmarnock has always been a community club and we’ve always tried to do our bit for them.
‘it might sound hard but now’s the time for local people to help us if they can and we’ve been quite taken aback by the level of support we’ve had up until now.
‘People thought that the virus had gone away but the harsh reality is that it hasn’t and we’re now approaching the time of the year where the weather is at its worst, so we’re going to have to be very vigilant.
‘all we can do is tighten our belts and hope for the best and every other club will be feeling the same way.’