Rangers have launched a consultation process with supporters to gauge opinions on a potential expansion of Ibrox. Fans will also be given a say on the proposed creation of new hospitality lounges and a safe standing area, as well as the general matchday experience.
The findings will be collated and used to shape the direction of the club in a number of areas. Here, the Rangers Review breaks down the key questions and what the outcomes could be in the seasons ahead.
Will the capacity of Ibrox increase?
Speaking on the day that he and Andrew Cavenagh assumed power at Ibrox, Paraag Marathe, the vice-chairman, stated that Rangers could fill a 200,000-seater stadium if they had it.
Expansion has always been in mind, but this survey will allow the board to decipher what that could look like and whether the supply and demand will correlate alongside the return and the investment.
The business case will be at the heart of any decisions. The board and financial backers will not shy away from capital investments, but Cavenagh will not open his wallet for the sake of it. Payback on any project will need to come within a handful of years rather than a couple of decades, for example.
This is a feasibility study, not a blueprint or a promise of what is to come over the next couple of seasons, or longer. Various options have been looked at by different regimes over the years, but there is no set-in-stone path to a potential finish line at present.
Rangers will crunch the numbers - once a survey that has been sent to hundreds of thousands of supporters on their databases has been finalised - and assess the data before going back to supporters with more formal ideas and plans further down the line. The Rangers Review understands the club have an open mind on potential improvements and will be guided by the feelings of the fanbase before progressing with a jigsaw puzzle that has many pieces still to be finalised.
Matchday income of £45million was recognised in the accounts that were released last month. That is almost half of the total revenue of £94million, which was a seven per cent increase on the previous 12 months. Both of those figures will take a hit in 2026, given the lower attendances, both domestically and in European competition, that have been posted so far.
This is not a vanity project for the American consortium. Those numbers will need to rise if these proposals are to get off the ground. As Cavenagh has stated, his work at Rangers is being done with the fans as well as for the fans.
On day one, Cavenagh stated that the expansion of Ibrox was something that was of interest but stressed it was not the priority as he focused on improving on-pitch performance and club infrastructure. Both of those issues still need to be addressed.
Do Rangers need more seats to sell?
In purely financial terms, the answer is yes. Every ticket sold has a material impact on the bottom line at Ibrox and the funds that are allocated to the transfer budget to improve the chances of on-field success. Rangers start each campaign at a disadvantage to Celtic in that regard due to the larger capacity of Parkhead and an increase in the number of seats would allow for some of that deficit to be clawed back every matchday.
The season ticket waiting list is currently in the low five figures. A few hundred seats become available – for a variety of reasons, such as fans passing away or personal circumstances changing – every summer and those spaces are filled as Rangers work through the demand. This process will be a stress test on that list, if you like. If, for example, 4000 seats became available, how many would be in a position to part with their cash straight away?
The core support rarely fluctuates in number, at home or away, but the trials and tribulations on the park naturally have an impact on attendances. If Rangers were to be in a position where they win titles and trophies more often, the demand would surge. The data will guide the direction as much as the fan opinion here and the analysis on crowd patterns and potential will aim to take into account all the variables.
The subject of seat moves will be one of the most emotive ones for supporters. It is one thing to give your online approval to an expansion plan, but another to be willing to give up your spot at Ibrox. Rangers are aware of the sensitivities around that area, as well as the topic of safe standing.
The Union Bears were moved into the Copland Front when Rangers returned to Ibrox after a period at Hampden last term. Views will be sought and considered on the potential growth of the section and the installation of rail seating, which has become increasingly common in British football. A safe standing section has been on the agenda for fans for some time, with the question asked of previous boards for the last decade and no real progress being made.
Will there be more corporate seats to raise revenues?
One idea that has been floated – but is still very much in its infancy – is that of a ‘Tunnel Club’ area, like the spaces used by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur to give fans a behind-the-scenes experience on matchday. The San Francisco 49ers have a similar offering at Levi's Stadium.
No feasibility study has been done on the area in the Main Stand that would need to be converted as yet. Supporters can view examples of what a Tunnel Club or a hospitality area could look like, but Rangers are some way from even commissioning drawings on any potential developments.
Around 4.5 per cent of the seats on any matchday are currently used for hospitality purposes. The trend in the game and the market suggests that Rangers are on the low side with that figure – some stadia can be as high as 10 per cent - and an increase would naturally come with financial benefits given the higher prices that could be charged. It is understood that a rise to a double-digit percentage is not on the table at present.
It is believed that there is a gap between a general admission ticket and a hospitality package - termed as ‘General Admission Plus’ - that could be filled, offering fans the chance to have food and drink before the match but not necessarily sit down for a three-course meal. The high-end experiences that allow supporters to be suited and booted and climb the Marble Staircase will remain and it is often the case that the more expensive packages are the most attractive.
Office spaces in the Copland Stand, for example, have been earmarked as potential areas that could be utilised to enhance the matchday experience. Comparisons between hypothetical packages will be undertaken and financial feasibility studies, as well as looking at the practicalities of crowd control, will be for down the line should there be an appetite for new lounges to be added to the Ibrox experience.
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The G51 Project to transform the former Megastore into a sports bar has been mothballed while this study is conducted. In July, Rangers reported a profit of £545,000 for the first full year of trading at New Edmiston House. Douglas Park has a commercial deal with the venue and revenue of £250,000 was recognised over the course of the financial year, with £1.8million held in deferred income.
Another former chairman, John Bennett, remains the single largest loan provider at Ibrox and has security over NEH. It is understood Bennett is still owed an eight-figure sum that is repayable on hugely beneficial terms to the club.
Is finance available and will funds be diverted away from the transfer budget?
Rangers will adopt short, medium and long-term views once the supporters have had their say. Some projects could be completed with a relatively quick turnaround time, while others – such as the expansion of Ibrox – will naturally be larger-scale undertakings and timings have to be considered to minimise the on-field impact.
Some supporters will perhaps be sceptical given the issues with the work to enhance the disabled facilities in the Copland Stand last summer. That project was overseen by former chief executive officer James Bisgrove and the failings – so costly and so damaging – will not be repeated this time around after Bennett was left to clean up the financial and reputational mess. That saga should not mean that further work can never be commissioned in the future.
The ownership at Ibrox use the term ‘smart investment’ and funding for any blueprint will be separate from what can be committed to the playing budget as they look for sustained winning, while winning sustainably. There needs to be a sharp commercial benefit for the board to sign it off and Cavenagh – who is preparing to go again in the transfer market to support Danny Rohl following a near £40million spend in the summer – will judge each potential project on its own merits once fan feeling is collected and assessed.
Funds could be sought from existing investors or could be borrowed. It is understood that a naming rights deal for Ibrox has not been discussed to this point, and it is not part of this study.
A steering group at the executive level is driving the project at the consultation stage. Support has been given from 49ers Enterprises, who unveiled plans for a regeneration of Elland Road – which would take the capacity from 37,645 to 56,000 – earlier this year. Marathe has previously spoken of how sports clubs are no longer run as 'lemonade stands' and for the need to have an arena - in his case, the $1.3bn Levi's Stadium - that can generate funds to invest on the field.
Redevelopment of Ibrox has been a talking point for fans for some time, with discussions over the lowering of the pitch or filling in the corners regularly repeating. The iconic and listed Main Stand will, of course, be preserved.
The Sandy Jardine Stand and Broomloan and Copland Stands will not be demolished and the configuration from the rebuild in the 1970s will remain regardless of the scope of any potential works. Rangers will naturally remain cognisant of supporter views regarding tributes to the Ibrox Disaster.
What else will Rangers learn from the consultation survey?
Fan engagement has been one of the areas that can be classed as a success of late. Despite the challenges on and off the park, there has been a willingness to be up front and accountable and lessons have been learned by those new to Ibrox.
Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell, the former CEO and sporting director, met with the Fan Advisory Board alongside other executive heads, with the group empowered to influence strategic decisions rather than simply be a vehicle for moans and groans about pies and parking. The FAB have held conversations around the modernisation of facilities such as Wi-Fi provision, the roadways in the stadium footprint and public transport.
Cavenagh and Co. are not pitching plans of hotels, casinos and retractable roofs. Discussions have been held with Club 1872 as part of a new working relationship and investment could come from the shareholder group for specific heritage projects to give Ibrox back some of its iconic lustre and class.
The hierarchy are mindful of the importance of history and recent months have allowed them to understand the club, the city and the support to a far greater degree, with the acknowledgement that mistakes have been made on and off the park.
The survey will target different cross-sections of the support, giving those who are season ticket holders a different say, for example, than those who are MyGers members or non-match-going fans. Feedback is being sought on catering, toilets and facilities and staffing to paint a picture of what fans think of Ibrox as a venue. Those details will be benchmarked and areas of improvement pinpointed.
The easiest way to keep the punters happy will always, of course, be the sight of silverware in the Trophy Room. That will require a blueprint all of its own.
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