Rangers Launch Feasibility Study as Capacity Pressure Prompts Next Phase of Ibrox Planning | OneFootball

Rangers launch Ibrox Stadium feasibility study

Rangers have confirmed that a wide-ranging feasibility study is underway to define what the future of Ibrox Stadium could look like, following the official announcement made on 25 November. The club said the project will examine how the stadium is currently configured, review infrastructure and capacity, and identify areas where the matchday experience could improve for supporters. The intention is to use this review to understand what can be changed immediately and how the full campus can evolve in the years ahead.

Ibrox demand and supporter access

Ibrox is listed as a stadium holding almost 52,000, which in recent seasons has already placed pressure on access for supporters who are not within the existing season-ticket group. With limited capacity and high demand, leaving many supporters unable to access tickets directly, a significant portion of fans now follow matches from home, comparing options through reliable features such as Esportsinsider’s list of the best GamStop free betting sites, rather than experiencing the game inside the stadium.

This tension around demand and seat availability is an important part of the feasibility discussion.

Season-ticket renewal and limited availability

For the 2025–26 season, Rangers confirmed that all available seats are sold, with more than 98 per cent of existing season-ticket holders renewing and roughly one thousand new seats taken up, which leaves almost no spare allocation for supporters outside the membership queue. This pattern matters for the study because it highlights the practical reality the club faces: annual demand exceeds the space available, and matchday attendance is already fully committed before a ball is kicked.

LASGOW, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: A general view of the stadium as Rangers return home for the first time this season during the Rangers v Dundee – Premier Sports Cup Quarter Final match at Ibrox Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Past upgrades and current proposals

Back in January 2024, the club announced the increase of Ibrox’s capacity, outlining plans for roughly 600 new places including expanded wheelchair-accessible areas within the Copland section, and that earlier upgrade now sits in contrast to the preferred longer-term proposal discussed through the Fan Advisory Board, where around 4,000 additional seats are being explored by lowering the pitch to create space. That earlier plan also included a new cantilever and changes to wheelchair-accessible platforms, showing that accessibility is not new to the agenda but part of an ongoing sequence of work.

A broader structural and community review

The current feasibility programme goes wider than that earlier stage. The club has said it will evaluate how the stadium operates structurally, review existing infrastructure and assess capacity needs over different time horizons. Alongside this, the study includes bar and social areas, concourse facilities and general spaces around the stadium. The review also extends to Edmiston House, the G51 site and existing office use, with the club stating that heritage will remain central to any recommendation.

Supporter consultation and next steps

Supporters will be asked to participate through focus groups, interviews and a full fan survey later in the year, with formal involvement from the Fan Advisory Board, Rangers Supporters Association, Disability Matters, the Copland Collective and Club 1872. The survey that will follow later this year is meant to formalise a process that supporters have already tested in smaller ways, such as the January 2024 Ibrox Noise poll, where, with almost 3,900 votes, fans made the decision to back the return of away allocations. These numbers underline how strongly fans feel about matchday conditions and provide a meaningful backdrop for structured consultation.

Long-term vision for Ibrox Stadium

The outcome of this feasibility work is expected to present the club with short-term options and much larger redevelopment decisions involving Ibrox and the surrounding campus. Rangers have said that further updates will come as the study progresses, and the upcoming survey will give supporters a direct way to influence priorities. With demand already exceeding available seats, some structural work already initiated, and clear supporter sentiment on how matchdays should evolve, whatever decisions are taken will extend well beyond a technical exercise and influence the experience of tens of thousands of supporters each season.