St Mirren posted two of their biggest attendances of the season over the past 10 days – pushing their home crowds against Rangers and Celtic down to mid-table as far as their gate receipts go.
And the Paisley club have also seen their average attendance shoot up by nearly 50 per cent amid a strong campaign under Stephen Robinson. The Buddies sparked fury from both sides of the Glasgow divide earlier in the season when they announced plans to cut visiting crowds in order to keep as much of the SMiSA Stadium as possible available to home fans.
Celtic and Rangers were previously handed both stands behind the goals when they visited Paisley but they launched a campaign asking fans to donate £30 where possible as a "voluntary three-stand retention levy" – effectively halving the tickets available to away fans. They were ridiculed for this by some elements who felt the club were shooting themselves in the foot by limiting their own income – particularly after they posted a £1.6million loss on their annual accounts.
But they have repeatedly insisted it was a decision taken after consulting fans with CEO Keith Lasley a staunch defender of the scheme as a way of putting St Mirren fans first. The Saints loyal have largely applauded the club for doing what is best for them and have voted with their feet and with their wallets. Numbers shared on Twitter by fan site Cairters Corner show that prior to last Saturday, their home crowds of 6,358 against Rangers and 6,331 against Celtic were their fourth and fifth biggest home gates of the season. But they attracted 6,424 against Motherwell on January 28 which was topped by 7,253 against Hibs a week later.
That was only their second largest of the season after 7,394 attended the Christmas Eve clash with Aberdeen and the numbers mean their crowds against the Old Firm are down to sixth and seventh respectively – with clashes against Hearts (7,249) and Kilmarnock (6,785) also attracting more fans than their home games against the Glasgow giants. Their average crowd has shot up from 4,259 last season to 6,184 this campaign - partially down to improved performances on the pitch.
Speaking about the scheme over the weekend, CEO Lasley told The Herald: "When I think back to that time, the first thing we did was consult the fans. We gave the fans a say by putting a survey out the fanbase. As far as we are concerned, it is our fans’ stadium. It is The SMiSA Stadium, but it belongs to them, essentially.
“We want every strategic decision moving forward, particularly a big one like that, to have our supporters at the heart of those decisions and they have a say. Personally, I would almost like to take the Old Firm out of that issue. All home matches, whoever it is we play - whether it be Real Madrid, Barcelona, the Old Firm or Greenock Morton – our supporters are our first concern when they come to our home stadium.
“For me, that’s what it’s about. We want to turn our family stand into something that we can encourage families from Renfrewshire and beyond to come to for every home game, and for them to have an enjoyable experience.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying for a minute it’s easy to make that call, and that there isn’t a financial consideration in the short term. Of course there is. Anyone who is involved in any business has to have those considerations, particularly when there are financial pressures for Scottish football clubs, which is obviously the case for every club of our size.
“But at the heart of all these big strategic decisions for the club has got to be doing what is right by our supporters, and if we feel that something is going to be to the detriment of that, then we’ve got to seriously consider that.
"It is about the experience. That no matter what section of the support you are in – whether you are coming to your first game as a young kid or if you’ve been following St Mirren for 50, 60 years and everyone in between – it is about looking after them first and foremost. That is the primary consideration for us.”
READ NEXT
