Ibrox stadium, what's it going to be like in ten years time

[JorgAlbertz]

So you think we get 73,000 for a home game against Ross County in November?

Even if we don't, we could still sell more season tickets than we are able to now. The big thing is more frequent European competition - imagine Leipzig atmosphere but with an extra 15-20k people in the stadium and the revenue those fixtures bring. Imagine everyone who needs a ticket being able to get one. Imagine being able to offer a lower cost [season] ticket which is affordable for bears on no/low incomes? Imagine having a redesigned stand with safe standing area for the UB and the atmosphere. Imagine having a true family section. Imagine an affordable hospitality option so you can get into the stadium and get a beer before the game. Simply saying "but we might not have a full house in some games" isn't a strong enough argument to counter all the positives a rebuild would bring.

 

[Chris the Bandito]

Finding ways to make use of Ibrox and the foot print around the stadium all year round, should be the long term aim imo.

I think we are a while off a complete structural revamp of the stands and massive capacity increases. Although little changes could happen.

Rangers is a way of life for many people, for both people who live in Glasgow and people who don't. Finding ways to make the stadium and it's surrounds a more engaging place to be all year round and on non match days, should be the priority in the here in now. I'm not just talking a bigger and better stocked store, a museum, stadium tours and a venue like Edmiston House. Adding bars, restaurants and cafes etc. Make it a vibrant hub that you could realistically spend the entire day in. Make Ibrox a self contained mini Town almost.

As far as improving the interiors and the experience with the walls of Ibrox, that should be a priority in the here and now imo. Upgrade the toilets. Upgrade the catering. Upgrade the concourses. Upgrade the screens. The outer facades of the other stands are due a sprucing up also.

I've been saying this for years. Apart from anything else that's the way you pay for significant expansion by building this stuff in - hotels, casino, gymn, conference facilties, etc.

Lease out the bars/ restaurants or apply for franchises so you get a variety of "proper" venues

Tied to this and any re-design, look at ways to increase non-matchday utilisation of the stadium i.e. what else can you use a stadium for on non-matchdays and how do you fill suites and boxes?

I'd hire out (or tack on as an option to season tickets) for meeting or office spaces just to increase footfall and aim for the ancillary revenue streams of catering, paid parking, merchandising, event management etc. Essentially provide workers free/ cheap space in the community and then provide ways for them to spend money. My aim wouldn't be somewhere to spend a day but somewhere to spend large chunks of your working life.

I'd also build luxury apartments into the actual fabric of the stands. I bet there are a load of sad cases like me who would pay anything to live inside Ibrox Stadium, and even more for a view of the pitch.

 

[Bluebeard]

Even if we don't, we could still sell more season tickets than we are able to now. The big thing is more frequent European competition - imagine Leipzig atmosphere but with an extra 15-20k people in the stadium and the revenue those fixtures bring. Imagine everyone who needs a ticket being able to get one. Imagine being able to offer a lower cost [season] ticket which is affordable for bears on no/low incomes? Imagine having a redesigned stand with safe standing area for the UB and the atmosphere. Imagine having a true family section. Imagine an affordable hospitality option so you can get into the stadium and get a beer before the game. Simply saying "but we might not have a full house in some games" isn't a strong enough argument to counter all the positives a rebuild would bring.

We would sell less season tickets than we do now as people know they could just pick and choose games. Tickets would be available for every single match.

The club know this which is why there’s no great desire to hugely increase capacity .

Look out for a small increase to perhaps 55,000 , much more VIP and hospitality packages as fans move more towards the day out model instead of rushing to Ibrox at 2.59pm and sprinting for the subway at 4.45pm.

 

[Chris the Bandito]

So you think we get 73,000 for a home game against Ross County in November?

I just don’t see it. The club have said in the last of the stadium was too big season ticket sales would plummet. It’s common sense.

Name a club where this has happened. As far as I'm aware each ground redevelopment by a major club in the UK within the last 30 years has seen demand for season tickets increase.

 

[Hurricane Run]

When we talk about increasing capacity people seem to be labouring under the impression prices would need to stay the same. If you struggled to sell 60k season tickets - reduce the price in certain sections and make areas "affordable ticketing". Guarantee with our fanbase we could sell 80k tickets every week if they were affordable enough. (Im not suggesting we increase capacity to 80k, just making a point about the economics of the situation)

For me, in a league where tv money is near non-existent, we need to maximise the other revenue streams. That means modern stands (main stand aside) to reduce maintenance costs. Office space, better catering, more retail, etc in the new stands. It has to happen once we become more financially stable.

 

[Bluebeard]

Name a club where this has happened. As far as I'm aware each ground redevelopment by a major club in the UK within the last 30 years has seen demand for season tickets increase.

Yeh in the EPL. Demand will increase when you are playing spurs, Man City, Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea.

Not playing Ross county, hamilton accies and Kilmarnock four, five sometimes six times a season.

 

[Chris the Bandito]

Yeh in the EPL. Demand will increase when you are playing spurs, Man City, Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea.

Not playing Ross county, hamilton accies and Kilmarnock four, five sometimes six times a season.

IMO Season ticket holders buy season tickets to see their team, not the opposition - certainly at Rangers.

Your premise suggests more fans turn up to see the opposition or to see the novelty of their team getting thrashed than to see them win. I think those would generally be more casual fans. Ideally I'd love to aim the capacity big enough that there is some availability for one off tickets as those are the precursor to season ticket holders.

However, since 1986 the capacity at Ibrox has never been big enough, and it's been a continual process to find ways to add to it. The only constant is that whatever has been added has never been enough - even when there has been no season ticket waiting list. Also, each increase has seen a rise in season ticket sales - the capacity increases haven't needed casual fans to sell the extra tickets even when we've also squeezed visiting supports.

Until you get to the point where Ibrox is pay at the gate for a league game (for the first time since August 1986) I'd suggest the capacity isn't too big.

 

[Bluebeard]

IMO Season ticket holders buy season tickets to see their team, not the opposition - certainly at Rangers.

Your premise suggests more fans turn up to see the opposition or to see the novelty of their team getting thrashed than to see them win. I think those would generally be more casual fans. Ideally I'd love to aim the capacity big enough that there is some availability for one off tickets as those are the precursor to season ticket holders.

However, since 1986 the capacity at Ibrox has never been big enough, and it's been a continual process to find ways to add to it. The only constant is that whatever has been added has never been enough - even when there has been no season ticket waiting list. Also, each increase has seen a rise in season ticket sales - the capacity increases haven't needed casual fans to sell the extra tickets even when we've also squeezed visiting supports.

Until you get to the point where Ibrox is pay at the gate for a league game (for the first time since August 1986) I'd suggest the capacity isn't too big.

You may have a point however any increase would literally be up to perhaps 55,000 which would probably be optimal ( and achievable cost wise) . Looking to increase to over 70,000 just isn’t feasible in terms of cost, logistics, and as I say allowing fans to ditch their season tickets in favour of picking and choosing games. It is never, ever going to happen while we play in the Scottish league.

If in the future we end up in a European league set up or the far fetched dream of the English EPL then of course it could be looked at.

Until then we need to make the very best of what we have. And there’s a load of work needing done before we even get to that point.

 

[RangersForever]

You may have a point however any increase would literally be up to perhaps 55,000 which would probably be optimal ( and achievable cost wise) . Looking to increase to over 70,000 just isn’t feasible in terms of cost, logistics, and as I say allowing fans to ditch their season tickets in favour of picking and choosing games. It is never, ever going to happen while we play in the Scottish league.

If in the future we end up in a European league set up or the far fetched dream of the English EPL then of course it could be looked at.

Until then we need to make the very best of what we have. And there’s a load of work needing done before we even get to that point.

I understand why the board may not see the point in increasing capacity as it might have the effect of reducing season ticket money, as people just decide to only go to games they want.

Some would let their season ticket lapse but if the club offer the appropriate inducements then I would expect they could increase the overall season ticket numbers. And more importantly, in a bigger stadium we have more chance to get the next generation of fans in without their parents having to buy them season tickets.

The % of season tickets at Ibrox is too big in my opinion. We need more space for people that can't afford or don't have the time to go every second weekend. Wouldn't want to see season ticket numbers reduced significantly so the only answer is to increase capacity.

 

[strathavenbear]

Can't see there being a massive change unless a European league comes into play. Even then we don't have much scope for a massive expansion without spending millions.
I do hope there is some plan to improve and increase the disabled facilities although that won't be cheap either.

 

[William Cutting]

We can't build up, pretty sure we can't dig down further due to the water table and legislation around that.

Filling in the corners would see us need an increase in facilities but surely this is easily covered. If the board want supporter money, this is the answer.

They also have the ability to try and expand in the stadium use for concerts, the hospitality and conference room for functions.....I just don't think we have staff at the moment pushing these things externally, it all seems to be aimed at taking supporters money only.

I give it 5 years before we start to see and hear "Ibrox Stadium, sponsored by <insert brand name here>", it's about the only thing I imagine the board are considering given we hear nothing from them about expansion or indeed expanding our brand.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

I'd love the concourses modernised, get people into the ground early with some good eateries. Hopefully one day in Scotlands stadiums we will be aloud a drink on the concourse

Would be good aye though some of the utter gunk on sale in England in stadiums like Chang and Singha is utterly rotten and I'd rather do without

 

[Bounty Hunter]

For the average punter, very little difference.

 

[Bluebeard]

We can't build up, pretty sure we can't dig down further due to the water table and legislation around that.

Filling in the corners would see us need an increase in facilities but surely this is easily covered. If the board want supporter money, this is the answer.

They also have the ability to try and expand in the stadium use for concerts, the hospitality and conference room for functions.....I just don't think we have staff at the moment pushing these things externally, it all seems to be aimed at taking supporters money only.

I give it 5 years before we start to see and hear "Ibrox Stadium, sponsored by <insert brand name here>", it's about the only thing I imagine the board are considering given we hear nothing from them about expansion or indeed expanding our brand.

Why wait 5 years?

I don’t think fans would mind if we had a stadium sponsor these days. Pepsi, Coke, Apple, any big company happy to give us a million a year or similar. Free money Ibrox will always be Ibrox

 

[RfcIbrox]

need to re clad the 3 stands to modernise them and need to try and add 10K seats somehow.

There is a horrendous amount of empty office space in the stadium. These should all become premium bars and available as a bolt on to your season ticket.

Does my head in seeing boxes and clart stacked up in front of windows. Office manager needs to be spoken to.

 

[RfcIbrox]

This. For a reasonable amount of money we could and really must smarten up the outside of the ground.

1-Finally get rid of the awful portakabins which make it look like you are approaching a prison rather than an iconic ground

2-Purchase the complex across from the main stand-that stand is what makes Ibrox a world icon in football. Run the complex properly, fan zone, kids etc.

3- pedestrianise/put walkways in place around the ground where it can be done- not just concrete/tarmacadam flung down with potholes everywhere and the odd poster flung up. Put trees, make the place feel modern and welcoming.

4- A better tribute to the 66 is required. The one we have is incredibly unsuitable, tired and old looking as is the Greig statue. Fund a new one with Grieg holding aloft the CWC from 72 , with an eternal flame and proper protected names of the 66

5- finally finish off Edmiston house/museum , and use current club shop as restaurant/bar/cafe and possible small but efficient ticket office

All of the above could be achieved with a bit of foresight and hard work and not huge amounts of cash.

It’s realistic and it would make a massive difference to the impression people get walking around and approaching the ground.

If we want to be a top consistent fixture in Europe we need to show our club the next we can.

Finally as for people wanting stands demolished and rebuilt-forget it. Honestly please stop. It will never happen , the key is to make the best of what we have, and their is still huge scope for improvements in that regard.

Christ I hope it doesn't take 10 years to finish Edmiston House.

 

[Ciro]

Quick question about the screens. Isn’t the company who supply those digital advertising boards that we have not specialist in the field of these big screens too? You would think it wouldn’t be too hard to get bigger screens and have it all integrated with the advertising boards

Agree and it’s appears a viable fix to modernise the corners which look dated by modern standards. Should be no need for any grey panels to be on display in 2022. The whole areas should be a flat screen.

 

[Bluebeard]

Christ I hope it doesn't take 10 years to finish Edmiston House.

I know. I’m Fcking dreaming mate truth be told.

I’d probably settle for just the stale smell of urine from 1982 to be removed from the broomie toilets. And maybe a pothole filled in outside the stadium.

 

[Bluebeard]

Quick question about the screens. Isn’t the company who supply those digital advertising boards that we have not specialist in the field of these big screens too? You would think it wouldn’t be too hard to get bigger screens and have it all integrated with the advertising boards

Great point.

There’s no need for us still to have those embarrassing portable TVs surrounded by huge grey panels and call them “ big screens “. They aren’t big at all unless it’s 1992

 

[deBoersHeader]

Just say we did somehow raise enough money to do up Ibrox I'd hate for it to lose its identity. You just need to look at the new soulless stadiums in England as an example.

Liverpool and Manchester United have upgraded their stadiums and kept the atmosphere whereas the Emirates and Etihad are lifeless tourist venues.

 

[Garrison Defender]

Maybe for big games turn the Albion Carpark into a gigantic pop-up Louden Tavern for an extra 15,000 - 20,000 with beamback. Tongue in cheek but influenced by Seville (and the fact that a fair proportion of our fans seem to like a fag and a pint with their fitba). Also if the Club could get revenue and with light speed transmission the team would also hear the crowd outside. I'm not sure there will be extra demand for stadium capacity in the decades to come but the demand to see Rangers will continue and am also sure the whole firestick thing will come to an end with more sophisticated encryption.

 

[Robbie]

something like this ?

 

[Torque_87]

Just say we did somehow raise enough money to do up Ibrox I'd hate for it to lose its identity. You just need to look at the new soulless stadiums in England as an example.

Liverpool and Manchester United have upgraded their stadiums and kept the atmosphere whereas the Emirates and Etihad are lifeless tourist venues.

Think that's as much to do with their shite fans as well mate. Arsenal fans are famous for lack of atmosphere and don't even get me started on the joke that is Man City as a club and 'fan base'.

Spurs ground for example, is incredible, very cleverly designed to allow a tremendous atmosphere whilst also state of the art. It's comfortably the best stadium I've ever been to.

 

[wabmcfarlane]

15 storys high, Sky-brox

 

[Thor]

I honestly think we’ll have the corners filled in where the screens are, extra rows and have capacity around the 55k mark.

 

[Velvet Underground]

For capacity I think it's perfect.

First thing should be clean and repaint the white structure on top of the main stand. It's manky as fu*k.

 

[Chas]

A fully equipped modern stadium, retaining heritage and still the best atmosphere in Europe.

 

[jigster]

im guessing NFL teams rent out their stadiums they only have maybe 10 home games a season

 

[tazzabear]

Have we though? Outwith Celtic and later stages in Europe tickets are readily available

You’ve then got to question how high could the capacity get to before people can stop buying season tickets knowing they can get in on the day.

 

[lumbear1872]

Have we though? Outwith Celtic and later stages in Europe tickets are readily available

Always. Come out the subway and you will see tickets being held aloft.

 

[Maxgers]

If we make standing section, how much it will increase the capacity ?

I think we need only about 5-8000.

 

[Growler]

Anybody else read this thread title in an Alan Partridge voice?

 

[Nyrmetros]

im guessing NFL teams rent out their stadiums they only have maybe 10 home games a season

NFL stadiums are the biggest wastes of $$$ to be honest. 95% of them are paid by tax payers who will never get any use out of it.

 

[Barca Bear]

Driving in at the broomie and around the govan. The place is a tip

 

[Treble Kings]

Even if we don't, we could still sell more season tickets than we are able to now. The big thing is more frequent European competition - imagine Leipzig atmosphere but with an extra 15-20k people in the stadium and the revenue those fixtures bring. Imagine everyone who needs a ticket being able to get one. Imagine being able to offer a lower cost [season] ticket which is affordable for bears on no/low incomes? Imagine having a redesigned stand with safe standing area for the UB and the atmosphere. Imagine having a true family section. Imagine an affordable hospitality option so you can get into the stadium and get a beer before the game. Simply saying "but we might not have a full house in some games" isn't a strong enough argument to counter all the positives a rebuild would bring.

Great post. Imagine a crunch game versus the tims with 75,000 raucous supporters causing bedlam...

 

[Rt. Hon. Bearman]

Andy Cameron and Tina Turner need brought back pronto.

 

[CambyGers90]

Would love Ibrox to be expanded all said and done comes down to cold hard cash and we don't have it readily available. What I will say there is at least attempts at improvements with the shop and the museum when complete and even the blue sky lounge as well. Definitely think we should try and take over the training facility at the main stand and create a concourse to the main stand and make edminston drive a pedestrian only. Biggest problem with that is the council. Some of that land has been undeveloped for years.Maybe even a statue of Ally McCoist!

 

[tottie beck]

Hope it stays the same.

 

[OnTheWay]

Do away with the screens, add seats and I think that'll be about right.

Anything more for games mostly against the shite in Scotland isn't worth doing imo. 50-55k would be just right.

 

[Bluebeard]

Driving in at the broomie and around the govan. The place is a tip

People won’t want to say it but for 2022 the surrounds of Ibrox are a total embarrassment.

It wouldn’t take a huge amount of money, but a bit of time, and negotiation with the council, to have the outside and immediate footprint around our stadium at least up at an acceptable level.

 

[Mosesmcneil]

Just wondering what people's thoughts are for our stadium going forward ,it's fantastic iconic stadium and it has had deserved europe wide acclaim and plaudits,especially this season .
But there is a lot could be done in and around the stadium to improve it money permitting .
what would you like to see done to the place over the next decade .

Excellent question mate.

1st thing Is maintenance, then modernisation.

We are criminally incapable of taking care of our supporters on matchday and it needs a massive improvement.

 

[Blu_ultra]

if we'd beaten malmo last summer and gained 5 extra points in the league, we would be most of the way there with with two consecutive years of champions league group stage cash.

we would also likely have strengthened the squad enough to make winning the league next year almost a certainty, guaranteeing a third consecutive year of CL cash.

this will always be a "what could have been" season for me...

That’s so far from the truth, unfortunately. We’ve lost close to 80 million in 5 years. We need to plug that gap before we even start to talk about capacity increase.

 

[vicbex]

Safe standing with a ratio greater than 1 to 1 would enable a capacity increase with minimal cost. At the moment this isnt allowed in the UK but there's no reason this couldnt change in the future. If they can do it in Germany and elsewhere then why not?

Another option would be to copy what Liverpool did at Anfield though with much less cost as we dont have to revamp the interiors. Liverpool built a new stand from scratch. We dont need to do this. Just remove the roofs of the 3 stands and replace them with cantilevered ones.

Expensive of course but it would enable us to fill in the corners and add rows at the back of the 3 stands. This would easily take us over 60k.

 

[DarthVader]

Always. Come out the subway and you will see tickets being held aloft.

A parent taking his kids to an occasional game doesn't want to be relying on picking up tickets at the subway.

 

[Super-Swally]

I know it's not realistic at the moment but somehow would love to see it redesigned as a 70k or 80k stadium.

We'd fill it every week if we had the chance!

 

[Nyrmetros]

Hopefully consistent Champions League playing will help with the $ for any upgrades or expansions.

 

[The Bonnie Blue]

I can't see the capacity increasing significantly until we rebuild the stadium. That is unlikely to happen within the next 10 years. I fear the cost of living crisis is going to be with us for a while so increasing capacity in the next few years won't make economic sense even if we did have the money. If there is a deep recession soon then it will definitely reduce demand for tickets.

The priority should be to improve what we have.

 

[BlueBear1972]

Would people accept a company buying Ibrox naming rights for a significant sum to expand and refurbish? I think most of us would still call it Ibrox no matter what but if lifetime naming rights were sold to allow expansion it could be a means to fund it.

 

[Amity75]

Ideally I'd like any expansion to include a massive structure, similar to the Wembley arch, that would dominate the Glasgow skyline. Don't worry fellow fans, when I win the Euro millions this will happen.

 

[pollokparkloyal]

They need to start with making the disabled facilities much much better!

Hard to believe in the modern day world they get away with it!