Scottish Premiership football club Rangers have begun a wide-ranging feasibility study that the club says will help shape the future of Ibrox Stadium.
The Sun said the study will assess various improvements that could be made to Ibrox and the general matchday experience, while expansion for the historic stadium is also on the cards.
Rangers Football Club is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland (UK). The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football.
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the South side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland (UK). The home of the Scottish Premiership team Rangers, the Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland with an all-seated capacity of 51,587.
The work is designed to give the club a clear understanding of what is possible across the full stadium campus in the years ahead.
It will also explore how Rangers can improve matchday life for fans, from bar and social spaces to general facilities across the stadium and surrounding areas.
As part of this, the review will consider the future use of Edmiston House presented by Park’s Motor Group, the G51 site and existing office spaces, and how these areas might be better used on matchdays.
Opportunities in hospitality, retail and other supporter areas will also be examined.
Protecting and celebrating the club’s heritage will remain central to the process.
Supporters will play a major role throughout. Consultation will take place through focus groups, interviews and a full fan survey launching later this year.
The Fan Advisory Board will be involved, along with the Rangers Supporters Association, the Disability Matters group, the Copland Collective and Club 1872. All of this will feed directly into the recommendations that follow.
Fraser Thornton, Rangers interim Chief Executive, said: “This is an important project for the club.
“We want to build for the future in a way that is sustainable and ambitious, while also identifying the steps we can take right now to improve the matchday experience and what we offer our fans. Supporter input will guide that work.
“The outcome of this process will give us a clear set of choices for both the short and long term. We’re fiercely proud of the club’s roots in the Ibrox and Govan communities, and we know our role in Glasgow is significant.
“While this phase focuses on our fans, we fully recognise that local residents, community groups and elected representatives will have an important part to play as the project develops. Our aim is to keep investing in this part of the city and to play a positive role in its future.
“We encourage all supporters to take part in the survey when it opens.”
The club will share updates as the work progresses.
The Sun further stated that Rangers heralded in a new era in May when the US consortium led by businessman Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises took control of the club.
Almost as soon as they took control of the Ibrox club, chairman Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe – the 49ers Enterprises supremo – floated the potential of making major improvements and upgrades to Ibrox Stadium.
An update from the club’s Fan Advisory Board revealed that plans to expand the capacity of the stadium were being discussed.
That update revealed that a ‘preferred’ option would see an extra 4,000 seats added to the overall capacity of the stadium, with the pitch dropped to make space for expansion.
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