Caley Thistle season-ticket holders will be able to buy tickets for next month’s Scottish Cup final against Celtic – but top prices have hit the £45 mark.
The Scottish Championship club will lock horns with Ange Postecoglou’s newly-crowned back-to-back Scottish Premiership winners on June 3, with the Hoops on the hunt for a domestic treble, having also lifted the League Cup.
Billy Dodds’ Inverness team rounded off their injury-hit season last Friday with a 2-1 home loss against Ayr United, which condemned them to a sixth-placed finish and now the prospect of a seventh successive year in tier two.
The club can confirm that tickets for the Scottish Cup Final v Celtic will go on sale to Season Ticket Holders ONLY tomorrow, Thursday 11th May from 10am and purchases can be made both in-store at Caledonian Stadium and via https://t.co/6z5nBMn9qE
Info👉 https://t.co/ZnGi0qNqpv pic.twitter.com/LKYo8WeNfT
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) May 10, 2023
Caley Thistle won the Scottish Cup under the guidance of John Hughes in 2015 when the defeated Celtic in the semi-final and Falkirk in the final.
They beat Falkirk 3-0 in last month’s semi, while Celtic edged past Rangers 1-0.
Tickets for the semis reached £38 each at the highest level, but the final demands a higher top price.
Eight tickets per person available
ICT, who are set for an allocation of 10,000 tickets, released a statement on Wednesday, with a note of caution attached for any non-Caley Jags supporters.
It said: “The club can confirm that tickets for the Scottish Cup final v Celtic will go on sale to season ticket holders only tomorrow, Thursday, May 11 from 10am and purchases can be made both in-store at Caledonian Stadium and online via ictfc.tickethour.co.uk
“Season ticket holders will have first priority to buy up to eight tickets per person until Tuesday, May 16 at 10am when tickets will be made available on general release, again with up to eight tickets per person available.
“It is important to note that sections A2 and A3 in the West Stand is the defined singing section for those who want to join in with Section 94 and other ICT fan groups.
“These tickets are strictly for ICTFC fans and anyone attempting to sell any tickets to outside parties will have all of the tickets they bought cancelled and rendered unusable on the day.
“Similarly, any non-ICTFC fans found in the Caley Thistle section of the stadium will be removed by stewards immediately.”
The prices are as follows: South Stand – adults: £45, concession (over-65s/U16s): £25, accessible: £20, accessible concession: £12; West Stand: adult: £35, concession (over-65s/U16s): £20, accessible: £15, accessible concession: £12. Wheelchair and ambulant seating is available directly from the club’s ticket office.
Deal struck with Citylink for final
There has been anger from Inverness and Celtic after the Scottish FA set the kick-off time for 5.30pm to avoid clashing with the 3pm-start of the FA Cup final down south.
Politicians including MSP Emma Roddick, an ICT season ticket holder, have written to the SFA to plead for a change to the time of the final.
The club have also announced a special deal they have agreed with Scottish Citylink and Megabus to help allow fans to stay until the end of the game – even if it goes to extra-time and penalties.
It means as well as official travel being put on by D&E Coaches, fans can opt to book on dedicated Scottish Citylink and Megabus coaches., leaving Inverness at noon and arriving at Hampden at 4pm.
The buses will leave at 8.15pm or 9pm depending on whether the tie goes all the way.
Pre-booking is essential to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to carry all attending fans on the service after the match. Supporters should visit megabus.com or citylink.co.uk to book their tickets on the journey planner with the destination of Hampden Park. It is essential that passengers purchase their tickets in advance as travel cannot be guaranteed without a prior reservation.
Caley Thistle chief executive Scot Gardiner was delighted to help offer alternatives for fans.
He said: “Once the game was confirmed as being moved from the traditional 3pm kick-off to 5.30pm, we knew the additional massive logistical challenges that would throw up for our fans in the Highlands.
“Due to the cruise ship industry being in full swing and the summer holiday season in general, we knew that our own reach for buses would be severely limited and this was therefore a massive problem, especially with the new later kick-off time.
“Within a few days we had spoken to a number of people to try and come up with solutions and I could not be happier to be able to have worked with Robert Andrew of Scottish Citylink and his team to be able to provide an additional service to and from Hampden on the big day.
“It is very refreshing when a brilliant company steps into the breach to help the club like this for what is such a historic occasion for the club and the city.”
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