Cost of Empty Seats: How Much SPFL Clubs Lose Every Matchday Due to Unsold Tickets

Dan Tracey Your Data Guide

Your data guide to football betting, Dan Tracey shows you where the numbers point before the market catches up.

A few months ago, OLBG took a look at how much every Premier League club is losing this season because of unsold tickets. The findings showed that Fulham were losing the most with an extra £90,000 of revenue going out of the window every time they play at Craven Cottage.

While any football club would baulk at losing such a high sum every home game, Premier League clubs' income is so high that even these kinds of losses incurred can easily be made up for by other revenue streams. The further down the footballing pyramid you venture though, the more important income from matchdays becomes.

That’s why we decided to conduct the same research on all SPFL teams, who bring in far fewer finances from TV deals, sponsorship and various other means than clubs in England’s top tier. Here’s a full breakdown of how many clubs in these respective divisions are losing out on this season…

Cost of Empty Seats - SPFL

spfl clubs losses from unsold seats 2025 infographic

Rank	Club	Capacity	Average Capacity	Unsold Seats	% Unsold	Cheapest Ticket	Average Matchday Lost Revenue
1	Kilmarnock	18128	6541	11587	63.92%	£23	£262,232
2	Motherwell	13677	5901	7776	56.85%	£20	£153,474
3	Dundee	11850	7166	4684	39.53%	£23	£106,006
4	St Johnstone	10696	5579	5117	47.84%	£18	£90,221
5	Rangers	50987	47954	3033	5.95%	£25	£77,102
6	Hibs	20250	17157	3093	15.27%	£20	£60,883
7	Dundee United	14223	10849	3374	23.72%	£18	£60,199
8	Celtic	60832	58972	1860	3.06%	£30	£56,681
9	Aberdeen	20866	17777	3089	14.80%	£17	£51,538
10	Ross County	6541	4353	2188	33.45%	£15	£31,784
11	Hearts	19852	18634	1218	6.14%	£15	£17,949
12	St Mirren	7937	7512	425	5.35%	£18	£7,493

Although it is Celtic and Rangers who are most used to winning league titles in Scotland, they find themselves neither top nor bottom of this particular league ladder.

At the top of the table when it comes to the highest amount of lost revenue per home league match, it is Kilmarnock who top the Scottish standings.

The Rugby Park outfit play in front of an average of 63% of their ground being empty and with their cheapest ticket coming in at £23, this means a loss of £262,232 per home game.

Nearly £110k more than Motherwell who find themselves second on the list with £153,474 worth of lost revenue per home game at Fir Park.

The Steelemen had an average of 56.85% worth of unsold seats last season at Fir Park as the average capacity was recorded at 5,901 for the 2024/25 Scottish Premiership season.

Kilmarnock and Motherwell are two of three teams that exceed £100k in terms of lost matchday revenue and the third of that trio is Dundee.

The Dens Park outfit had 39.53% worth of unsold tickets at a cost of £23 per ticket, it means they were giving up £106,006 per game.

With 12 teams in the division it is St Johnstone who round the first third of clubs when ranked by average revenue lost at £90,221 but drop a further place and things become far more interesting.

That's because it is Rangers who suffered for their woeful campaign and with fan satisfaction at its lowest for quite some time, the Ibrox outfit saw 5.95% of the ground empty - a ground where usually home tickets are as rare as hen's teeth.

Rangers yearning for the good times once again and yearning for a full house. Every time the house wasn't full last season, it cost them an average of £77,102.

Cross over to the other half of Glasgow and the story is far different. The Hoops once again the best in the land and the only reason they were not selling out each home game is because they were winning the league at an absolute canter.

Just 3.06% of Celtic Park was unfilled on average. When added to the £30 cheapest ticket, this equates to £56,681 of lost revenue per home game.

Which brings us to the bottom three and the teams that lose the least on matchday.

With that being said, every penny still counts and Ross County will bemoan the fact that over a third of their Victoria Park ground goes unsold - meaning that the Dingwall-based outfit lost £31,784 per home game last season.

Nearly as much as the bottom two clubs combined and the team that has the honour of sitting second bottom is Hearts.

Their Tynecastle home had an average of 6.14% seats unsold during the 2024/25 Premier League season - equating to 1,218 seats per game on average.

When considering their cheapest ticket equates to £15, that also means the Jam Tarts lost just £17,949 per home league outing.

A figure that is only slightly higher than St Mirren who find themselves bottom of the lost revenue table.

Their SMISA Stadium gave up 5.35 % in terms of average unsold seats but considering the ground capacity is only 7,937 in total, it means the lost revenue stands at just £7,943.

Regardless of where each of the 12 teams ranked, it must also be noted that Scottish football is one of the most watched leagues in Europe on a per capita basis and out of 255,839 total available seats, an average total attendance of 208,395 was recorded in 2024/25.

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