STIRLING ALBION ARE TO CEASE HANDING OUT COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS AT FORTHBANK

CASH-STRAPPED Stirling Albion are to scrap the tradition of providing complimentary tickets to visiting clubs in a bid to boost the Forthbank coffers.

Albion bosses hope to raise an extra £10,000 each year by asking all visitors to their ground - other than official representatives of the visiting club - to pay for admission on matchday.

In return, the First Division club will no longer seek complimentary tickets from opposing clubs.

Albion, who recently became the first senior Scottish club to be owned by its Supporters' Trust, made the decision after a financial analysis of the potential cost to the club over a full season.

Spokesman Paul Goodwin said: "In some cases, we have been asked for 75 complimentary tickets for games at Forthbank by opposition clubs.

"Based on 20 home games a season we are talking about giving away over £20,000 a year.

"We fully appreciate that we are challenging the traditional way that football clubs have operated in the past.

"But we've always said that football needs to look forward and in certain situations adopt a different approach instead of continuing to do the same things 'because that's the way it's always been done'.

"Like most football clubs we are operating on very tight budgets and have an obligation to the club to continue to reduce costs and look to increase revenues at every source to provide the strongest possible playing budgets to our manager while working towards a more sustainable financial position for the club.