Rangers CEO, James Bisgrove, has revealed the Scottish Premiership football club is assessing three “medium to long term” options to expand Ibrox stadium.
The latest revelations come after Rangers last month detailed plans to increase the capacity of Ibrox from the current 50,817 to 51,500, as part of a wider project that will provide improved facilities for disabled fans at the Glasgow venue.
Speaking at a fans forum event, Bisgrove disclosed how the club is seeking to address the challenges of having a 10,000-strong season ticket waiting list, with a 99% renewal rate. According to The National, Bisgrove outlined three potential options of how Ibrox could be further enhanced.
The cheapest option would be to add 1,300 seats to each corner of Ibrox at which a big screen is located, at a cost of between £3m (€3.51m/$3.81m) to £4m per area. Alternatively, Bisgrove said the big screens could be removed entirely, filling in the corners of the stadium adjacent to the Sandy Jardine Stand. This is expected to add around 3,000 to 4,000 seats at a cost of between £20m and £25m.
Finally, the potential of lowering the pitch, adding 4,500 seats, was outlined. This would cost between £15m to £20m, but would be logistically challenging. The work would need more than a close season to carry out, meaning that Rangers would potentially need to explore playing at another stadium while the project is conducted.
Under last month’s announcement, a phased series of works was agreed by the club’s board, with the project aiming to provide Ibrox with the best disabled facilities of any stadium in Scotland and become one of the most accessible sports venues in Europe.
The work begins this summer, with further construction scheduled for the summers of 2024 and 2025. The summer periods have been chosen to ensure Rangers matches during the season are not disrupted by the work.
Earlier in May, Gordon Ramsay rekindled his association with Rangers through a new partnership between his restaurant group and the club.
The collaboration is Gordon Ramsay Restaurants’ first in sports and will include the opening of a new hospitality lounge, ‘Menu by Gordon Ramsay’, at Ibrox stadium. The newly opened Blue Sky Lounge restaurant at the Glasgow stadium is also set to transform its menu, welcoming a range of Gordon Ramsay signature dishes.
Meanwhile, the club’s new multi-purpose Edmiston House facility opened its doors in February.
