Inverness Caley Thistle fans fear they will be priced out attending Scottish Cup final against Celtic due to ticket prices and travel costs of getting to Hampden
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INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle fans fear they will be priced out of going to the Scottish Cup final due to the price of tickets, combined with travel costs and time of kick-off.
The Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust feel their calls for discounted tickets for the Scottish Cup final between Caley Thistle and Celtic have been 'ignored'.
It was revealed tickets for adults to sit in the South Section at Hampden will be £45 with concessions for over 65s and under-16s at £25, tickets for supporters with access issues at £20 with accessible concession tickets available at £12.
West Stand tickets for adults are available at £35, with concessions for over 65s and under-16s at £20, tickets for supporters with access issues at £15 with accessible concession available at £12.
Tickets went on sale to season ticket holders yesterday (Thursday), with tickets set to go on general sale from Tuesday.
It has also been confirmed dedicated bus services from Inverness to Hampden are also being provided on the day by megabus.com and citylink.co.uk.
Prices on the Citylink website yesterday were charging £65.80 return for the dedicated bus from Inverness to Hampden on Saturday, June 3.
Megabus were charging £25 a ticket from Inverness to Hampden, but no tickets were available online to return from Hampden Park on a dedicated service.
The Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust previously called for discounted tickets to compensate for the 5.30pm kick-off time, which rules out return rail travel for fans from Glasgow to Inverness on the same day.
Trust spokesman John West has accused the Scottish FA of ignoring the concerns of fans and fear the price tag of attending the match will put off a lot of supporters.
Speaking about their call for discounted tickets: "We felt it would have been a recognition by the authorities in regard to the disadvantage they are imposing on the Inverness fans.
"That is another reason why the review should have taken place, it is disappointing our appeal in reduction in the price of the ticket has been ignored, but we are not surprised.
"The history of this matter has never given us encouragement that our views have ever been taken into account.
"It is a disincentive for people from Inverness as the price of the ticket is significant.
"On top of that there are costs getting from Inverness to Hampden.
"The £45 price for the ticket is steep enough in itself, taking into conjunction with the costs of getting there, for a significant amount of fans, it may mean they reluctantly forego the opportunity of going to the cup final.
"There were a number of fans considering the viability of the situation due to the time.
"This is an added disincentive with the cost and time of the match will be a serious impediment to a number of people going.
"The Scottish FA have been short sighted in the sense that the £45 ticket will increase their income per seat, but the problem could be the number of seats they can sell will be diminished."
Fans also took to social media about their concerns how much it will cost them to attend the cup final.
One person wrote: "Only £140 to take the family down and have decent seats. That's near half the cost of a season ticket. Some difficult decisions to be made.
Another person wrote: "That's me priced out of attending."
Another supporter wrote: "Many people are really struggling to get by at the moment and the costs are simply going to be too high to take themselves and their families down to the final, especially with the change of time."
Both Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Celtic previously announced their disappointment at the kick-off time being switched to 5.30pm, with both clubs calling for the kick-off to be at 3pm.
