James Bisgrove teases Ibrox expansion alongside Rangers training ground development
James Bisgrove has teased that Rangers could begin work to expand Ibrox in the near future as they continue to develop their ground and training facility.
The Light Blues have started the season in mixed fashion on the pitch after a heavy summer of investment on the blue side of Glasgow, which saw nine new senior arrivals, but defeats in Champions League qualifying and the first Old Firm of the season have left a sour taste.
While most Rangers fans spent much of the September international break frustrated by the manner of their defeat to Celtic, England trained at the Ibrox club’s base ahead of their clash with Scotland, with Bisgrove keen to take the already elite training ground to the next level.
Writing in his programme notes ahead of the clash with Motherwell, as reported by The Herald (25 September) he said: “Plans to further enhance both the Rangers Training Centre and Ibrox, by way of stadium expansion and upgrades to facilities, remain high on our agenda, and we look forward to detailing further plans in the near future.
“It was very pleasing to welcome England to our training ground ahead of their recent match with Scotland. For them to recognise the Rangers Training Centre as the preferred location to prepare for a match they evidently took very seriously is a massive compliment to us as a club.
“The current board and investors have provided significant funds to ensure what was already the best training facility in the country was taken to a whole new level.”
Expansion
There haven’t been many times in recent years that Rangers have felt like one of the best sides in Europe for many reasons, but their facilities are undoubtedly some of the best on the continent and some of the best in Scotland and that is shown by England’s decision to train there.
Previously, Bisgrove has spoken about three potential options that could see the Gers expand their stadium, with 10,000 fans currently sitting on the season ticket waiting list at Ibrox and one potential way would be to remove the TV screens in the ground and replace them with seats with a £20-25 million outlay [Glasgow World, 22 June].
Any such expansion is going to take such a huge amount of money from those in charge above Beale at Ibrox, but with a guarantee that the new capacity would be filled by fans who are already waiting for season tickets, it will likely be cost-effective in the long term.
Rangers want to topple Celtic in every possible way they can and at the moment Celtic Park is a bigger ground than Rangers’ home. Expanding Ibrox will not only be beneficial in a business sense but will also allow the already great atmosphere to become even more intimidating for visiting teams.
In other Rangers news, Sam Lammers has accepted that the Light Blues must do better to stop the boos at Ibrox