Partick Thistle consult fans before deciding on Celtic allocation | OneFootball

Partick Thistle is asking their own supporters for input in the allocation that should be given to Celtic supporters for the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Firhill next month…

Illustrating this article we’re using some magical photos from The Celtic Star archive which were taken by Vagelis Georgariou of this parish in May 2017 as we prepared to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Celtic winning the European Cup in Lisbon.  That was a wonderful evening at Firhill.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

Thistle is a fan owned club and with money tight the chance to maximise their revenue from a home-tie against Celtic is difficult to ignore. However the club has today outlined a range of transparent options available to the club in determining which stand to house the away Celtic support and should they opt for the larger away support then they explain the financial benefits on offer to the Championship side.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

Our view has always been consistent, clubs of course must look after their own supporters so that they get access to matches, but everything should be done to maximise the attendance and avoid empty seats.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

The option that would work best for Thistle financially is to give Celtic the larger allocation in the Jackie Husband stand. This would see around 5900 tickets being available for Celtic supporters and these would of course be snapped up quickly by our fans.

The other option would see Thistle trying to entice a somewhat unrealistic size of hime support to the game and restricting Celtic’s allocation to just 2000 tickets.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

Thistle has asked for feedback from supporters and it will be interesting to see how this goes. Hopefully it’s the larger allocation as that’s the one that guarantees the stadium will be close to capacity and make for a great cup-tie atmosphere. It’s also allowing Thistle to make the most of the visit from Celtic financially.

Here’s the communiqué from Partick Thistle (which was published on their official website today) to their supporters asking for input in their decision making process.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

Our forthcoming Premier Sports Cup quarter-final with Celtic in September presents us with an exciting home fixture against Premiership opposition. But it also requires us, as a fan-owned club, to work together to decide on how to maximise the potential opportunities it provides us, both in sporting and financial terms.

The excellent work of Mark Wilson and his squad in getting to this stage puts us within one match of the semi-finals, 50 years on from our last one in this competition, and in our 150th anniversary season.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

The Wyre Stadium at Firhill is our home, and ideally we’d want to see all three stands full of red and yellow. The recent play-offs in particular, have shown the numbers you can turn out in. However, we must also strike a balance between that and the pragmatic financial opportunity that facing Celtic presents us.

Previous games against Celtic have seen us house their supporters in the Jackie Husband Stand, and on occasion, also the John Lambie Stand. These decisions were taken to maximise ticket sales and to reduce stewarding and policing challenges.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

This time, we are canvassing the views of the club’s owners, the beneficiaries of the PTFC Trust. If you are a Season Ticket holder, 71 Club member, or a member of either The Jags Foundation or The Jags Trust, you will be contacted shortly by email to take part in a fan survey. While there is no formal requirement for a beneficiary vote, your voice will shape our decision on this important issue.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

We will also be engaging in the coming days with representatives from the Disabled Supporters’ Association, Ultras Thistle, Proud Jags, and Her Game Too. We want a noisy and colourful Red and Yellow Army, but we also want our solution to be open and inclusive.

If other supporters or groups wish to make representations about the ticketing arrangements for this fixture, please get in touch via media@ptfc.co.uk.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

Division of allocation

In our view, there are two clear options for supporters to consider.

Option One would see us offer circa 7,850 tickets to home supporters hosted in the Jackie Husband and John Lambie Stands. Celtic fans would be housed in the Colin Weir Stand, with an allocation of circa 2,000.

Option Two would see us offer circa 3,950 tickets for home fans in the Colin Weir and John Lambie Stands. Celtic would be given the full Jackie Husband Stand, with circa 5,900 tickets.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

As a club, with the endorsement of the Trustees, we firmly believe that the John Lambie Stand should be retained for our supporters. In the summer of 2024, our fans voted overwhelmingly to introduce the singing section, which is now a permanent feature. As the home of Ultras Thistle, and given the atmosphere they and others in the stand generate, we have ruled out any solutions that involve giving this stand to visiting supporters.

To give additional recent context, an average of 4,900 Thistle fans were in attendance across our two play-off matches last season.

For clarity, the approximate sellable capacity of each stand using allocated seating is:

Colin Weir Stand – 2,000 John Lambie Stand – 1,950 Jackie Husband Stand – 5,900

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

Revenue impact

While pricing for this fixture has not yet been set, we can make some key assumptions to assist with supporters’ decision making.

Under Option Two, allocating the maximum 3,950 tickets to our fans in the Colin Weir and John Lambie Stands allows us to sell out the Jackie Husband Stand to visiting supporters, maximising revenue while giving us a target to fill our home sections.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

By contrast, if we used both the Jackie Husband and John Lambie Stands for home fans but still sold only 3,950 home tickets, revenue would fall by around 40%, leaving just under 2,000 empty seats in home sections. Each additional unsold home seat would further increase the revenue gap between the two options.

The consideration, therefore, is whether we believe we can sell 7,850 tickets ourselves, and be comfortable with making less money if there are unsold seats, or if the best option is to target 3,950 home sales and still have two stands full of our supporters.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

Future measures

This consultation will shape our decision for this specific cup fixture. It is clear, however, that the club needs to develop a policy for future games of this kind, be they cup or league fixtures. We intend to carry out a further consultation with fans about ticketing arrangements in the summer of 2026.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

Key dates

The consultation period will run until Thursday August 28. Due to Celtic’s participation in UEFA club competition, we do not anticipate confirmation of the kick-off date and time from the SPFL before 1 September 2025.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou