Ibrox Stadium
Encyclopedia
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium
located on the south side of the River Clyde
, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow
. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League
club Rangers
and has an all-seated
capacity of 51,082. Ibrox is presently the third largest football stadium in Scotland and tenth largest stadium in the United Kingdom.
It was opened as Ibrox Park in 1899, but suffered a major disaster in 1902 when a wooden terrace collapsed. Vast earthen terraces were built in its place, while a Main Stand that it is now a listed building was built in 1928. A British record crowd of 118,567 gathered in January 1939 for a league match with Celtic
. After the second Ibrox disaster
of 1971, Ibrox was largely rebuilt. The vast bowl-shaped terracing was removed and replaced by three rectangular, all-seated stands by 1981. After renovations were completed in 1997, the ground was renamed Ibrox Stadium.
Beside being the home of Rangers since 1899, Ibrox has also hosted the Scotland national football team
, particularly when the national stadium Hampden Park
was redeveloped in the 1990s. Ibrox also hosted three Scottish domestic cup finals in the same period. It has also been the venue for concerts by major performers, including Frank Sinatra
.
played its first match in 1872, on Glasgow Green
. The club then played home matches on public pitches across Glasgow, first moving to a regular home ground at Burnbank
in 1875. A year later, Rangers played at the Clydesdale
cricket ground in Kinning Park
. This ground was improved to give a capacity of 7,000, but it was not owned by Rangers. After hints by the landlords that they wished to develop the site, Rangers left in February 1887. The club shared Cathkin Park with Third Lanark
for the remainder of the 1886–87 season.
Rangers first moved to the Ibrox
area later in 1887, playing on a site immediately to the east of the current stadium. The first match at this stadium was an 8–1 defeat to English side Preston North End
on 20 August 1887, watched by a capacity crowd of over 15,000. This inauguaral match had to be abandoned after 70 minutes due to a pitch invasion. The first Ibrox Park was a success in the short term, as three Scotland
international matches and the 1890 Scottish Cup Final were played at the ground. Celtic Park
, built in 1892, was more advanced, however. Rangers opted to construct a new stadium, raising funds by forming a limited company. The last match at the old ground was played on 9 December 1899. The new Ibrox Park was formally opened with a 3–1 victory over Hearts
on 30 December.
all competed with each other to host Scottish Cup Finals and Scotland matches, one of which could generate up to £1,000 in revenue for the host club. To aid their chances of gaining that revenue, Rangers constructed a large terracing, holding 36,000 people, behind the western goalmouth. The terracing, designed by Archibald Leitch
, was formed by wooden planks bolted onto a framework made of iron. A similar wooden terracing was constructed at the eastern end, giving a total capacity of 75,000.
The structure was passed by the Govan Burgh Surveyor in March 1902, but there were newspaper reports that it was unstable. A crowd of 68,114 assembled for a Scotland v England
match on 5 April 1902, but shortly after the kick-off one section of the terracing "collapsed like a trap door". A gap of 20 square yards appeared, causing about 125 people to fall to the ground, 50 feet below the terracing. Most survived due to the fact they fell on top of other bodies, but 25 people were killed. 517 people were injured, some due to being crushed in the panic caused by the collapse.
Strangely, most people in the stadium were unaware that the (first) Ibrox disaster
had happened. People even re-occupied the damaged area, despite the danger of further collapse. A definite reason for the disaster was not agreed upon, partly because there was no public inquiry
held. Some experts blamed the quality of wood and the supplier was tried for culpable homicide
, but was acquitted. The design was also cited as a possible cause. Generally, wooden structures of that size were not trusted. Rangers removed the wooden terraces, reducing capacity to 25,000. The criticism of the design did not deter Rangers from hiring Leitch in the future. He designed an expansion of Ibrox to a 63,000 capacity by 1910, using slopes made of earth. By this point, the city of Glasgow had the three largest purpose-built football grounds in the world.
The next major redevelopment occurred in 1928, after Rangers had won their first double. A new Main Stand, to the south side of the ground, was opened on 1 January 1929. The Main Stand, which has the familiar Leitch style criss-cross balcony and a red-brick facade, seated 10,000 people and provided standing accomodation in an enclosure. Simon Inglis
, a writer on football stadia, commented in 2005 that the Main Stand is Leitch's "greatest work" and is "still resplendent today in its red brick glory under a modern mantle of glass and steel". The architectural significance of the Main Stand was reflected when it became a Category B listed building in 1987. Original seats in the Main Stand were made of cast iron and oak. When one was auctioned in 2011, it raised a sale price of £1,080.
The banking of the terracing continued to increase in the 1930s. On 2 January 1939, the Old Firm
game against Celtic attracted a crowd of 118,567, the record attendance for any league match played in Britain. At this point, Ibrox was the second largest stadium in Britain. Floodlights were first used at Ibrox in December 1953, for a friendly match against Arsenal
. The first floodlit Scottish league match was played at Ibrox, in March 1956. Covers were built over the north and east terracing during the 1960s. No structural changes were made to Ibrox, but capacity was cut to approximately 80,000 by safety legislation.
Ibrox had the worst safety record in Britain. Two fans died in September 1961 when a barrier collapsed on Stairway 13. After this incident, Rangers installed safety measures, but further injuries were sustained in both 1967 and 1969. The worst disaster to yet affect football in Britain happened two years later, after the Old Firm game on 2 January 1971. 66 people died of asphyxiation due to a crush on Stairway 13. The game itself ended in a 1–1 draw, with Colin Stein
scoring a late equalising goal for Rangers. This led to a persistent myth that the crush had been caused by fans who had left the game early, but had turned back when they heard the roar that greeted the Rangers goal. A public inquiry discounted this initial story. It established that the crowd had been travelling in the same direction when the crush happened, with it perhaps being precipitated by some bending over to pick up items that had been discarded during the goal celebrations. The downward force of the crowd leaving the stadium meant that when people started to fall there was no means of preventing a crush.
The inquiry and subsequent compensation cases found that Rangers had been inept in their administration and complacent after the incidents in the 1960s. The disaster also highlighted, however, the fact that there were no established safety standards that should be adhered to, let alone any means of enforcing such standards. This had been first recommended nearly 50 years earlier, after the 1923 FA Cup Final
. The Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds was published in 1973, and legislation was encated with the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975. This law cut the capacity of Ibrox to 65,000. In the short term, Rangers took the stopgap measure of installing benches in the North Stand, which was renamed the Centenary Stand.
of 1971 led to the club developing a modern, safe stadium. Willie Waddell
visited modern grounds in West Germany during the 1974 World Cup
and believed that steep terracing and exits, such as Stairway 13, had to be replaced. The cut in capacity and boardroom changes led to radical plans by architects The Miller Partnership, which were published in November 1977. The plans were modelled on the Westfalenstadion
, home ground of Borussia Dortmund
. They involved a radical reshaping of the stadium, with the old bowl-shaped terracing to be replaced by three new all-seated structures. Only the old Main Stand would remain, with its enclosure providing the only standing room in the ground.
Although later events, such as the Hillsborough disaster
and the subsequent Taylor Report
, vindicated this plan, Rangers were taking a significant risk. The whole plan was estimated to cost £6 million, which no other club could have afforded in a short space of time. The development was funded by the Rangers football pools operation, which was the largest club-based scheme in Britain and several times larger than the Celtic
equivalent. The first phase of the plan, which began in 1978, was the removal of the east terracing and its replacement with the Copland Road stand. The same process was repeated on the west side of the ground a year later, with the two identical stands each holding 7,500 seats. The redevelopment was completed in 1981 with the replacement of the Centenary Stand by the 10,300 capacity Govan Stand.
The new Ibrox had a capacity of 44,000 and was opened with an Old Firm game played on 19 September 1981. By this time, however, the development cost had risen to £10 million, which depleted the club financially. This resulted in a difficult period in the history of Rangers, as the average attendance fell to 17,500 in the 1981–82 season, including a crowd of only 4,500 for a game against St. Mirren
. The redeveloped stadium was partly blamed for this, as some fans felt that the new ground lacked atmosphere due to the spaces between the stands.
This all changed when a new regime, chaired by David Holmes
, took control of Rangers in 1986. Graeme Souness
was appointed player–manager, while several English stars, including Terry Butcher
and Chris Woods
, were signed. Season ticket sales rose from 7,000 in 1986 to over 30,000 in the 1990s, while commercial income increased from £239,000 in 1986 to over £2 million in 1989. The introduction of computerised ticketing, zonal public address
systems and CCTV
for monitoring turnstile areas meant that Ibrox was at the forefront of stadium management. Rangers also adopted the American technique of analysing the types of fans in each area of the stadium and adjusted their food stalls accordingly. Greater success on the pitch meant that Ibrox demonstrated that seated stadiums would be welcomed by most fans, if designed and fitted well.
David Murray
acquired control of Rangers in November 1988. Argyle House, a £4 million extension behind the Govan Stand, was opened in 1990. This added executive boxes, office space and hospitality suites. A further series of developments was started in the early 1990s to increase capacity to over 50,000. Murray commissioned architect Gareth Hutchison to find a way of adding a third tier to the Main Stand. This was a highly complex process, as the Main Stand facade had become a listed building and Murray wanted the existing structure to remain open during construction. The contractors removed the original roof and added a temporary cover while the work carried on above. The Club Deck, which cost approximately £20 million, was opened with a league match against Dundee United
in December 1991. The redevelopment of the Main Stand was part financed by a Football Trust
grant of £2 million and a debenture issue that raised £8.5 million. Ordinary fans bought debentures for between £1,000 and £1,650 each, which guaranteed the right to buy season tickets for at least 30 years, along with some other minor benefits.
Four columns were built through the existing Main Stand to support the Club Deck, which resulted in approximately 1,000 seats having a restricted view. After opening the Club Deck, Ibrox had a capacity of 44,500. When a new playing surface was installed in 1992, Rangers were able to add a further 1,300 seats to the front of three stands by lowering the pitch slightly. The only standing area of the ground, the enclosure of the Main Stand, was seated in 1994 to comply with the Taylor Report
and UEFA
regulations. The multi-coloured seats were replaced in 1995 with uniform blue seats. A further 1,200 seats was added in this process by reconfiguring passageways, giving a total capacity of 47,998.
The two spaces between the Govan, Copland and Broomloan Stands were filled in with seats and JumboTron
screens. The ground was officially renamed Ibrox Stadium after renovations were completed in 1997, when Ibrox had a capacity of just over 50,000. Three rows of seating were added to the front of the Govan Stand upper tier in 2006, linked to a new 'Bar 72' area, increasing the capacity to its present figure of 51,082. The Main Stand was renamed the Bill Struth
Main Stand in September 2006, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death. The JumboTron screens were replaced in 2011.
Main (South), Broomloan (West), Govan
(North) and Copland Road (East) Stands. Each stand has two tiers, with the exception of the Bill Struth Main Stand, which has had three tiers since the Club Deck was added in 1991. The two corner areas, known as the West and East areas of the Govan Stand, have one tier of seating below a JumboTron
screen.
The Bill Struth
Main Stand, formerly known as the Main Stand, faces onto Edmiston Drive (A8 road). The red-brick facade, designed by Archibald Leitch
, is a Category B listed building. Simon Inglis
, writing in 1996, described it as an "imposing red-brick facade, with its mock neo-classical
arched, square and pedimented windows, exudes prestige and power." On each end wall the club crest is depicted in a blue and gold mosaic. Stairtowers leading to the Club Deck (third tier) stand at each end of the Main Stand. These towers are also framed in red-brick, but deliberately contrast with the main body of the stand. The two stairtowers also support a 146 metre long and 540 tonne truss, which claimed to be the longest and heaviest clear span girder in the world.
Through the main doors of the Main Stand is a wood-panelled hallway. A staircase leads to the boardroom and trophy room. Inglis compared Ibrox to Highbury
, in that it combined corporate power with a sense of tradition and solidity. It was originally constructed as a 10,000-seat stand above a standing enclosure. It was redeveloped in the early 1990s with the addition of the Club Deck and seating in the enclosure. It is now a three-tier all-seated structure, accommodating approximately 21,000 spectators. The front wall of the middle tier is one of the last surviving examples of the Leitch style of criss-cross detailing. The middle tier is split into front and rear sections, while the enclosure is split into east and west sections, either side of the retractable tunnel cover.
Opposite the Bill Struth Main Stand is the Govan Stand. It is a two-tier stand, similar in style to the two end stands, which was completed in 1981. To the rear of the Govan Stand is the Argyle House extension, completed in 1990, which provides executive boxes, hospitality areas and office space. The Bar 72 area was added to the rear section of the Govan Stand in 2006. The Copland Road Stand, at the east end of the stadium, was completed in 1979 and now accommodates just over 8,000 fans. It is traditionally the 'Rangers end' of the ground and the team normally chooses to attack that end in the second half of matches. The western Broomloan Road Stand, which was completed in 1980, is identical to the opposite end. Although constructed as separate structures, the three stands have been linked since the mid-1990s, when two additional areas of seating were added to the corner areas. All of the stands are designed using the 'goalpost' structure, in which a large portal frame supports perpendicular beams on which roof cladding is secured. A Rangers Megastore is located in the corner between the Copland Road and Govan Stands.
Away fans are normally accommodated in the corner of the ground between the Broomloan and Govan Stands. For bigger games, such as the Old Firm
derbies, the whole of the Broomloan Stand can be used by the away support. Ibrox is seen as being an intimidating ground for visiting supporters. Rangers banned Celtic
fans in 1994 from attending games at Ibrox, citing the damage caused to the Broomloan Stand by the visitors in previous derbies. The ban was lifted after one game, as the Scottish Football League
passed a resolution preventing clubs from taking that action. Before the corners were filled in, away fans were accommodated in the lower tier of the Broomloan Stand. Rangers had to take action in 1996 to prevent their fans in the upper deck from throwing items at visitors.
said that the scheme could be replicated in the Copland Stand. A report in the Daily Record
in April 2007 claimed that Rangers were planning to increase capacity to 57,000, principally by removing the JumboTron
screens and lowering the pitch to accommodate more seating. These plans were said to be dependent for finance upon improved performance by the team. In January 2008, Rangers announced that they were investigating three options to further develop Ibrox. One of the proposals would have resulted in a capacity of 70,000, by replacing three of the stands with a bowl-type structure. These plans were shelved by October 2008, however, due to the late-2000s financial crisis
.
Alongside changes to the stadium itself, Rangers have also sought to develop land around Ibrox. In partnership with the Las Vegas Sands
corporation, the club received outline planning permission from Glasgow City Council for the development of land adjoining Ibrox as the home of a super casino. The casino was planned to be accompanied by a Rangers-themed leisure complex. Britain's Casino Advisory Panel reviewed bids from eight short-listed cities, including Glasgow, and in 2007 awarded the first license to Manchester
. There is no immediate prospect of the Ibrox proposal being resurrected, as Gordon Brown
dropped the plans for super casinos soon after becoming Prime Minister
. Rangers were given approval by Glasgow City Council in October 2008 to purchase land around Ibrox and redevelop the area with hotel and retail outlets. This scheme stalled, however, as regulations constrained what could be built in the area.
17 times, the third most of any ground. The first Ibrox Park (1887–99) hosted three internationals, giving an overall Ibrox total of 20. The ground most recently hosted a Scotland game in October 1999. It hosted several internationals during the 1990s, particularly when Hampden was being redeveloped. Hampden was redeveloped in two phases. Ibrox hosted four Scotland games in the first phase, starting with a 1994 World Cup qualifier
against Portugal
in October 1992. It was not a happy interlude for Scotland fans, however, as the team failed to qualify for the World Cup
for the first time since 1970
. Although the attendances at Ibrox were higher than at Hampden, some fans resented the fact that they were helping the finances of Rangers, the most powerful club in Scotland. Fans also complained that the ticket prices were too high. During the second period of redevelopment, however, Scotland won an important 1998 World Cup qualifier
against Sweden
at Ibrox.
During these periods of redevelopment to Hampden, Ibrox also hosted the 1997 Scottish Cup Final
and the 1994
and 1997
Scottish League Cup
Finals. When Ibrox was used for the 1994 Scottish League Cup Final, its blue perimeter track had to be covered by red matting. This was apparently because the tournament was sponsored by Coca-Cola
, whereas blue is the corporate colour of its arch-rival Pepsi
. Ibrox was on the approved UEFA
list to host major European finals in the 1990s, but it lost out in a bid to host the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
because a convention threatened a shortage of hotel rooms in Glasgow. Ibrox continues to hold the top UEFA rating, but the Scottish Football Association
put forward the redeveloped Hampden for European finals in the 2000s.
King George V
visited Ibrox Park in 1917, to thank Rangers for its efforts in the First World War. His son, King George VI, opened the 1938 Empire Exhibition
with a speech at Ibrox. This was used as source material by Colin Firth
for his performance in The King's Speech movie. Ibrox has been used for concerts, including performances by Frank Sinatra
(1990), Rod Stewart
(1995), Elton John
and Billy Joel
(1998). Ibrox will host the rugby sevens
event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
.
, are both approximately two miles from Ibrox. The Ibrox
and Cessnock
stations on the Glasgow Subway
both serve Ibrox. It is also served by First Glasgow
buses on Paisley Road West. Ibrox sits near to the M8 motorway, with junction 23 being the closest exit, but the roads around Ibrox become congested on matchdays.
Soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
located on the south side of the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
club Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and has an all-seated
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
capacity of 51,082. Ibrox is presently the third largest football stadium in Scotland and tenth largest stadium in the United Kingdom.
It was opened as Ibrox Park in 1899, but suffered a major disaster in 1902 when a wooden terrace collapsed. Vast earthen terraces were built in its place, while a Main Stand that it is now a listed building was built in 1928. A British record crowd of 118,567 gathered in January 1939 for a league match with Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
. After the second Ibrox disaster
Ibrox disaster
The Ibrox disaster refers to two accidents, in 1902 and 1971, which led to major loss of life at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.-First Ibrox disaster:...
of 1971, Ibrox was largely rebuilt. The vast bowl-shaped terracing was removed and replaced by three rectangular, all-seated stands by 1981. After renovations were completed in 1997, the ground was renamed Ibrox Stadium.
Beside being the home of Rangers since 1899, Ibrox has also hosted the Scotland national football team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, particularly when the national stadium Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
was redeveloped in the 1990s. Ibrox also hosted three Scottish domestic cup finals in the same period. It has also been the venue for concerts by major performers, including Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
.
History
RangersRangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
played its first match in 1872, on Glasgow Green
Glasgow Green
Glasgow Green is a park situated in the east end of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde. It is the oldest park in the city dating back to the 15th century.In 1450, King James II granted the land to Bishop William Turnbull and the people of Glasgow...
. The club then played home matches on public pitches across Glasgow, first moving to a regular home ground at Burnbank
Burnbank
-Location & governance:Burnbank, previously an independent settlement, then part of Hamilton Burgh and then Hamilton District is now a district of Hamilton within the South Lanarkshire Unitary Council...
in 1875. A year later, Rangers played at the Clydesdale
Clydesdale Cricket Club
Clydesdale Cricket Club is a sporting club situated at Titwood on the periphery of Pollokshields in the south of Glasgow. Founded in Kinning Park in 1848 by Archibald Campbell, it was formed by members of two previous clubs which played on Glasgow Green, to cater for the burgeoning residential...
cricket ground in Kinning Park
Kinning Park
Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. In 1897 it had a population of 14326.-Political history:Originally a separate police burgh founded in 1871, it became part of Glasgow in 1905. It was the smallest such burgh in Scotland at just...
. This ground was improved to give a capacity of 7,000, but it was not owned by Rangers. After hints by the landlords that they wished to develop the site, Rangers left in February 1887. The club shared Cathkin Park with Third Lanark
Third Lanark A.C.
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a football club that originally existed between 1872 and 1967, 95 years in existence, based in Glasgow, Scotland. Third Lanark were known as Thirds, the Warriors, the Redcoats and the Hi Hi's...
for the remainder of the 1886–87 season.
Rangers first moved to the Ibrox
Ibrox
Ibrox is a district of the city of Glasgow in western Scotland. It is located to the south of the River Clyde next to the district of Govan....
area later in 1887, playing on a site immediately to the east of the current stadium. The first match at this stadium was an 8–1 defeat to English side Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
on 20 August 1887, watched by a capacity crowd of over 15,000. This inauguaral match had to be abandoned after 70 minutes due to a pitch invasion. The first Ibrox Park was a success in the short term, as three Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
international matches and the 1890 Scottish Cup Final were played at the ground. Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, built in 1892, was more advanced, however. Rangers opted to construct a new stadium, raising funds by forming a limited company. The last match at the old ground was played on 9 December 1899. The new Ibrox Park was formally opened with a 3–1 victory over Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
on 30 December.
Ibrox Park
Ibrox Park, as it was known between 1899 and 1997, is almost completely different to the Ibrox Stadium of today. It followed the model of most Scottish stadiums of the time, comprising an oval track around the pitch, with a pavilion and one stand along one side. The ground had a capacity of 40,000. Celtic Park, Ibrox and Hampden ParkHampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
all competed with each other to host Scottish Cup Finals and Scotland matches, one of which could generate up to £1,000 in revenue for the host club. To aid their chances of gaining that revenue, Rangers constructed a large terracing, holding 36,000 people, behind the western goalmouth. The terracing, designed by Archibald Leitch
Archibald Leitch
Archibald "Offside Archie" Leitch was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadia throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-Early work:...
, was formed by wooden planks bolted onto a framework made of iron. A similar wooden terracing was constructed at the eastern end, giving a total capacity of 75,000.
The structure was passed by the Govan Burgh Surveyor in March 1902, but there were newspaper reports that it was unstable. A crowd of 68,114 assembled for a Scotland v England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
match on 5 April 1902, but shortly after the kick-off one section of the terracing "collapsed like a trap door". A gap of 20 square yards appeared, causing about 125 people to fall to the ground, 50 feet below the terracing. Most survived due to the fact they fell on top of other bodies, but 25 people were killed. 517 people were injured, some due to being crushed in the panic caused by the collapse.
Strangely, most people in the stadium were unaware that the (first) Ibrox disaster
Ibrox disaster
The Ibrox disaster refers to two accidents, in 1902 and 1971, which led to major loss of life at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.-First Ibrox disaster:...
had happened. People even re-occupied the damaged area, despite the danger of further collapse. A definite reason for the disaster was not agreed upon, partly because there was no public inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
held. Some experts blamed the quality of wood and the supplier was tried for culpable homicide
Culpable homicide
Culpable homicide is a specific offence in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the illegal killing of a person either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a particular jurisdiction has defined the offence...
, but was acquitted. The design was also cited as a possible cause. Generally, wooden structures of that size were not trusted. Rangers removed the wooden terraces, reducing capacity to 25,000. The criticism of the design did not deter Rangers from hiring Leitch in the future. He designed an expansion of Ibrox to a 63,000 capacity by 1910, using slopes made of earth. By this point, the city of Glasgow had the three largest purpose-built football grounds in the world.
Simon Inglis
Simon Inglis is a British architectural historian, writer and broadcaster, most notably about football and stadiums.Inglis was born in Sparkhill, Birmingham and is currently editor of the Played in Britain series on sporting heritage, published by English Heritage...
, a writer on football stadia, commented in 2005 that the Main Stand is Leitch's "greatest work" and is "still resplendent today in its red brick glory under a modern mantle of glass and steel". The architectural significance of the Main Stand was reflected when it became a Category B listed building in 1987. Original seats in the Main Stand were made of cast iron and oak. When one was auctioned in 2011, it raised a sale price of £1,080.
The banking of the terracing continued to increase in the 1930s. On 2 January 1939, the Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
game against Celtic attracted a crowd of 118,567, the record attendance for any league match played in Britain. At this point, Ibrox was the second largest stadium in Britain. Floodlights were first used at Ibrox in December 1953, for a friendly match against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
. The first floodlit Scottish league match was played at Ibrox, in March 1956. Covers were built over the north and east terracing during the 1960s. No structural changes were made to Ibrox, but capacity was cut to approximately 80,000 by safety legislation.
Ibrox had the worst safety record in Britain. Two fans died in September 1961 when a barrier collapsed on Stairway 13. After this incident, Rangers installed safety measures, but further injuries were sustained in both 1967 and 1969. The worst disaster to yet affect football in Britain happened two years later, after the Old Firm game on 2 January 1971. 66 people died of asphyxiation due to a crush on Stairway 13. The game itself ended in a 1–1 draw, with Colin Stein
Colin Stein
Colin Stein is a former Scottish football player.-Career:Stein began his career with Armadale Thistle, and went on to play for Hibernian, Rangers and the Scottish national team during the 1960s and 1970s. He also had a spell in England with Coventry City...
scoring a late equalising goal for Rangers. This led to a persistent myth that the crush had been caused by fans who had left the game early, but had turned back when they heard the roar that greeted the Rangers goal. A public inquiry discounted this initial story. It established that the crowd had been travelling in the same direction when the crush happened, with it perhaps being precipitated by some bending over to pick up items that had been discarded during the goal celebrations. The downward force of the crowd leaving the stadium meant that when people started to fall there was no means of preventing a crush.
The inquiry and subsequent compensation cases found that Rangers had been inept in their administration and complacent after the incidents in the 1960s. The disaster also highlighted, however, the fact that there were no established safety standards that should be adhered to, let alone any means of enforcing such standards. This had been first recommended nearly 50 years earlier, after the 1923 FA Cup Final
1923 FA Cup Final
The 1923 FA Cup Final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the first football match to be...
. The Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds was published in 1973, and legislation was encated with the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975. This law cut the capacity of Ibrox to 65,000. In the short term, Rangers took the stopgap measure of installing benches in the North Stand, which was renamed the Centenary Stand.
Ibrox Stadium
The Ibrox disasterIbrox disaster
The Ibrox disaster refers to two accidents, in 1902 and 1971, which led to major loss of life at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.-First Ibrox disaster:...
of 1971 led to the club developing a modern, safe stadium. Willie Waddell
Willie Waddell
Willie Waddell is a former professional footballer who played as a defender for Aberdeen and Kettering Town. Waddell played for Aberdeen in the 1947 Scottish Cup Final victory against Hibernian.- Notes :...
visited modern grounds in West Germany during the 1974 World Cup
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
and believed that steep terracing and exits, such as Stairway 13, had to be replaced. The cut in capacity and boardroom changes led to radical plans by architects The Miller Partnership, which were published in November 1977. The plans were modelled on the Westfalenstadion
Westfalenstadion
Westfalenstadion is an association football stadium in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the home stadium of the Borussia Dortmund football team playing in the German Bundesliga....
, home ground of Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
. They involved a radical reshaping of the stadium, with the old bowl-shaped terracing to be replaced by three new all-seated structures. Only the old Main Stand would remain, with its enclosure providing the only standing room in the ground.
Although later events, such as the Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
and the subsequent Taylor Report
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
, vindicated this plan, Rangers were taking a significant risk. The whole plan was estimated to cost £6 million, which no other club could have afforded in a short space of time. The development was funded by the Rangers football pools operation, which was the largest club-based scheme in Britain and several times larger than the Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
equivalent. The first phase of the plan, which began in 1978, was the removal of the east terracing and its replacement with the Copland Road stand. The same process was repeated on the west side of the ground a year later, with the two identical stands each holding 7,500 seats. The redevelopment was completed in 1981 with the replacement of the Centenary Stand by the 10,300 capacity Govan Stand.
The new Ibrox had a capacity of 44,000 and was opened with an Old Firm game played on 19 September 1981. By this time, however, the development cost had risen to £10 million, which depleted the club financially. This resulted in a difficult period in the history of Rangers, as the average attendance fell to 17,500 in the 1981–82 season, including a crowd of only 4,500 for a game against St. Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
. The redeveloped stadium was partly blamed for this, as some fans felt that the new ground lacked atmosphere due to the spaces between the stands.
This all changed when a new regime, chaired by David Holmes
David Holmes (businessman)
David Holmes is a Scottish businessman. He is best known as a former chairman and chief executive of Rangers football club.Holmes was appointed a director of Rangers in November 1985 by the club's then majority shareholder, the Nevada-based businessman Lawrence Marlborough, head of the Lawrence...
, took control of Rangers in 1986. Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
was appointed player–manager, while several English stars, including Terry Butcher
Terry Butcher
Terence Ian "Terry" Butcher is an English football manager and former player. He was a highly successful football player and made his name as an uncompromising defender with Ipswich Town and Rangers in the 1980s. He was also a captain of England and won 77 caps in a ten-year international career...
and Chris Woods
Chris Woods
Christopher 'Chris' Charles Eric Woods is a former England international football goalkeeper, who played in the Football League and Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading, Southampton and Burnley, in the Scottish Football League for Rangers, and in Major...
, were signed. Season ticket sales rose from 7,000 in 1986 to over 30,000 in the 1990s, while commercial income increased from £239,000 in 1986 to over £2 million in 1989. The introduction of computerised ticketing, zonal public address
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
systems and CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
for monitoring turnstile areas meant that Ibrox was at the forefront of stadium management. Rangers also adopted the American technique of analysing the types of fans in each area of the stadium and adjusted their food stalls accordingly. Greater success on the pitch meant that Ibrox demonstrated that seated stadiums would be welcomed by most fans, if designed and fitted well.
David Murray
David Murray (Scottish businessman)
Sir David Edward Murray is a Scottish entrepreneur, businessman and former owner and chairman of Rangers Football Club....
acquired control of Rangers in November 1988. Argyle House, a £4 million extension behind the Govan Stand, was opened in 1990. This added executive boxes, office space and hospitality suites. A further series of developments was started in the early 1990s to increase capacity to over 50,000. Murray commissioned architect Gareth Hutchison to find a way of adding a third tier to the Main Stand. This was a highly complex process, as the Main Stand facade had become a listed building and Murray wanted the existing structure to remain open during construction. The contractors removed the original roof and added a temporary cover while the work carried on above. The Club Deck, which cost approximately £20 million, was opened with a league match against Dundee United
Dundee United F.C.
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...
in December 1991. The redevelopment of the Main Stand was part financed by a Football Trust
Football Trust
The Football Trust was a Government funded body to improve the safety of sports stadiums in the United Kingdom.It was set up by the Labour Government in 1975, with the assistance of the pools companies and the Football League...
grant of £2 million and a debenture issue that raised £8.5 million. Ordinary fans bought debentures for between £1,000 and £1,650 each, which guaranteed the right to buy season tickets for at least 30 years, along with some other minor benefits.
Four columns were built through the existing Main Stand to support the Club Deck, which resulted in approximately 1,000 seats having a restricted view. After opening the Club Deck, Ibrox had a capacity of 44,500. When a new playing surface was installed in 1992, Rangers were able to add a further 1,300 seats to the front of three stands by lowering the pitch slightly. The only standing area of the ground, the enclosure of the Main Stand, was seated in 1994 to comply with the Taylor Report
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
and UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
regulations. The multi-coloured seats were replaced in 1995 with uniform blue seats. A further 1,200 seats was added in this process by reconfiguring passageways, giving a total capacity of 47,998.
The two spaces between the Govan, Copland and Broomloan Stands were filled in with seats and JumboTron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
screens. The ground was officially renamed Ibrox Stadium after renovations were completed in 1997, when Ibrox had a capacity of just over 50,000. Three rows of seating were added to the front of the Govan Stand upper tier in 2006, linked to a new 'Bar 72' area, increasing the capacity to its present figure of 51,082. The Main Stand was renamed the Bill Struth
Bill Struth
Bill Struth was the second manager of Rangers Football Club, leading the Club for 34 years between 1920 and 1954, as well as the holder of a number of other positions, including director...
Main Stand in September 2006, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death. The JumboTron screens were replaced in 2011.
Structure and facilities
The Ibrox pitch is surrounded by four covered all-seater stands, officially known as the Bill StruthBill Struth
Bill Struth was the second manager of Rangers Football Club, leading the Club for 34 years between 1920 and 1954, as well as the holder of a number of other positions, including director...
Main (South), Broomloan (West), Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
(North) and Copland Road (East) Stands. Each stand has two tiers, with the exception of the Bill Struth Main Stand, which has had three tiers since the Club Deck was added in 1991. The two corner areas, known as the West and East areas of the Govan Stand, have one tier of seating below a JumboTron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
screen.
The Bill Struth
Bill Struth
Bill Struth was the second manager of Rangers Football Club, leading the Club for 34 years between 1920 and 1954, as well as the holder of a number of other positions, including director...
Main Stand, formerly known as the Main Stand, faces onto Edmiston Drive (A8 road). The red-brick facade, designed by Archibald Leitch
Archibald Leitch
Archibald "Offside Archie" Leitch was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadia throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-Early work:...
, is a Category B listed building. Simon Inglis
Simon Inglis
Simon Inglis is a British architectural historian, writer and broadcaster, most notably about football and stadiums.Inglis was born in Sparkhill, Birmingham and is currently editor of the Played in Britain series on sporting heritage, published by English Heritage...
, writing in 1996, described it as an "imposing red-brick facade, with its mock neo-classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
arched, square and pedimented windows, exudes prestige and power." On each end wall the club crest is depicted in a blue and gold mosaic. Stairtowers leading to the Club Deck (third tier) stand at each end of the Main Stand. These towers are also framed in red-brick, but deliberately contrast with the main body of the stand. The two stairtowers also support a 146 metre long and 540 tonne truss, which claimed to be the longest and heaviest clear span girder in the world.
Through the main doors of the Main Stand is a wood-panelled hallway. A staircase leads to the boardroom and trophy room. Inglis compared Ibrox to Highbury
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
, in that it combined corporate power with a sense of tradition and solidity. It was originally constructed as a 10,000-seat stand above a standing enclosure. It was redeveloped in the early 1990s with the addition of the Club Deck and seating in the enclosure. It is now a three-tier all-seated structure, accommodating approximately 21,000 spectators. The front wall of the middle tier is one of the last surviving examples of the Leitch style of criss-cross detailing. The middle tier is split into front and rear sections, while the enclosure is split into east and west sections, either side of the retractable tunnel cover.
Opposite the Bill Struth Main Stand is the Govan Stand. It is a two-tier stand, similar in style to the two end stands, which was completed in 1981. To the rear of the Govan Stand is the Argyle House extension, completed in 1990, which provides executive boxes, hospitality areas and office space. The Bar 72 area was added to the rear section of the Govan Stand in 2006. The Copland Road Stand, at the east end of the stadium, was completed in 1979 and now accommodates just over 8,000 fans. It is traditionally the 'Rangers end' of the ground and the team normally chooses to attack that end in the second half of matches. The western Broomloan Road Stand, which was completed in 1980, is identical to the opposite end. Although constructed as separate structures, the three stands have been linked since the mid-1990s, when two additional areas of seating were added to the corner areas. All of the stands are designed using the 'goalpost' structure, in which a large portal frame supports perpendicular beams on which roof cladding is secured. A Rangers Megastore is located in the corner between the Copland Road and Govan Stands.
Away fans are normally accommodated in the corner of the ground between the Broomloan and Govan Stands. For bigger games, such as the Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
derbies, the whole of the Broomloan Stand can be used by the away support. Ibrox is seen as being an intimidating ground for visiting supporters. Rangers banned Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
fans in 1994 from attending games at Ibrox, citing the damage caused to the Broomloan Stand by the visitors in previous derbies. The ban was lifted after one game, as the Scottish Football League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
passed a resolution preventing clubs from taking that action. Before the corners were filled in, away fans were accommodated in the lower tier of the Broomloan Stand. Rangers had to take action in 1996 to prevent their fans in the upper deck from throwing items at visitors.
Future developments
Since the redevelopments to Celtic Park and Hampden Park were completed in the late 1990s, Ibrox has had the smallest capacity of the three major stadiums in Glasgow. Rangers have since explored options to increase capacity. After opening the Bar 72 area in 2006, chief executive Martin BainMartin Bain
Martin Bain is the former chief executive of Scottish Premier League football club Rangers.He was appointed chief executive by Sir David Murray on 11 February 2005, having been at Rangers since 1996 and a board member from 2000...
said that the scheme could be replicated in the Copland Stand. A report in the Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
in April 2007 claimed that Rangers were planning to increase capacity to 57,000, principally by removing the JumboTron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
screens and lowering the pitch to accommodate more seating. These plans were said to be dependent for finance upon improved performance by the team. In January 2008, Rangers announced that they were investigating three options to further develop Ibrox. One of the proposals would have resulted in a capacity of 70,000, by replacing three of the stands with a bowl-type structure. These plans were shelved by October 2008, however, due to the late-2000s financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
.
Alongside changes to the stadium itself, Rangers have also sought to develop land around Ibrox. In partnership with the Las Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an integrated resort company based in Paradise, Nevada, USA.-History:Founded in 1988, the company was the owner and operator of the Sands Hotel, which was demolished in 1996 to make room for The Venetian, which opened in 1999....
corporation, the club received outline planning permission from Glasgow City Council for the development of land adjoining Ibrox as the home of a super casino. The casino was planned to be accompanied by a Rangers-themed leisure complex. Britain's Casino Advisory Panel reviewed bids from eight short-listed cities, including Glasgow, and in 2007 awarded the first license to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. There is no immediate prospect of the Ibrox proposal being resurrected, as Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
dropped the plans for super casinos soon after becoming Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. Rangers were given approval by Glasgow City Council in October 2008 to purchase land around Ibrox and redevelop the area with hotel and retail outlets. This scheme stalled, however, as regulations constrained what could be built in the area.
Other uses
Ibrox has been a home venue for the Scotland national football teamScotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
17 times, the third most of any ground. The first Ibrox Park (1887–99) hosted three internationals, giving an overall Ibrox total of 20. The ground most recently hosted a Scotland game in October 1999. It hosted several internationals during the 1990s, particularly when Hampden was being redeveloped. Hampden was redeveloped in two phases. Ibrox hosted four Scotland games in the first phase, starting with a 1994 World Cup qualifier
1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
-Qualified teams:The following 24 teams qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup: - qualified automatically as hosts - qualified automatically as defending champions-Notes:...
against Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
in October 1992. It was not a happy interlude for Scotland fans, however, as the team failed to qualify for the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
for the first time since 1970
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by...
. Although the attendances at Ibrox were higher than at Hampden, some fans resented the fact that they were helping the finances of Rangers, the most powerful club in Scotland. Fans also complained that the ticket prices were too high. During the second period of redevelopment, however, Scotland won an important 1998 World Cup qualifier
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
-Qualified teams:The following 32 teams qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup: - qualified automatically as hosts - qualified automatically as defending champions-Notes:...
against Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
at Ibrox.
During these periods of redevelopment to Hampden, Ibrox also hosted the 1997 Scottish Cup Final
1997 Scottish Cup Final
The 1997 Scottish Cup Final was played on May 24, 1997 at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow and was the final of the 112th Scottish Cup. Kilmarnock and Falkirk contested the match, Kilmarnock won the match 1–0, thanks to Paul Wright's goal.-Match details:...
and the 1994
1994 Scottish League Cup Final
The 1994 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 27 November 1994, at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow and was the final of the 49th Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Raith Rovers and Celtic. Raith Rovers won the final on a penalty shootout after the match ended in a 2–2...
and 1997
1997 Scottish League Cup Final
The 1997 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 30 November 1997, at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow and was the final of the 52nd Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Celtic and Dundee United. Celtic won the match 3–0 thanks to goals by Marc Rieper, Henrik Larsson and Craig...
Scottish League Cup
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
Finals. When Ibrox was used for the 1994 Scottish League Cup Final, its blue perimeter track had to be covered by red matting. This was apparently because the tournament was sponsored by Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, whereas blue is the corporate colour of its arch-rival Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
. Ibrox was on the approved UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
list to host major European finals in the 1990s, but it lost out in a bid to host the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
The 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match contested between Paris Saint-Germain of France and Rapid Wien of Astria. It was the final match of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1995–96 and the 36th Cup Winners' Cup Final. The final was held at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on 8 May 1996...
because a convention threatened a shortage of hotel rooms in Glasgow. Ibrox continues to hold the top UEFA rating, but the Scottish Football Association
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...
put forward the redeveloped Hampden for European finals in the 2000s.
King George V
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...
visited Ibrox Park in 1917, to thank Rangers for its efforts in the First World War. His son, King George VI, opened the 1938 Empire Exhibition
Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938
Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 was an international exposition held at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, from May to December 1938....
with a speech at Ibrox. This was used as source material by Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
for his performance in The King's Speech movie. Ibrox has been used for concerts, including performances by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
(1990), Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
(1995), Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
(1998). Ibrox will host the rugby sevens
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 20th Commonwealth Games in 2014 will be held in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The winning city was announced by the Commonwealth Games Federation on 9 November 2007 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Games will run over 11 days of competition from 24 July to 3 August 2014...
.
Transport
The main railway stations in Glasgow, Central and Queen StreetGlasgow Queen Street railway station
Glasgow Queen Street is a railway station in Glasgow, Scotland, the smaller of the city's two main line railway termini and the third-busiest station in Scotland. It is between George Street to the south and Cathedral Street Bridge to the north, at the northern end of Queen Street adjacent to...
, are both approximately two miles from Ibrox. The Ibrox
Ibrox subway station
Ibrox subway station is a station serving the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The station was known as Copland Road until 1977. The station's surface buildings were replaced during the Subway's modernisation programme, with the main entrance still located on Copland Road...
and Cessnock
Cessnock subway station
Cessnock subway station is a station on the Glasgow Subway that serves the eastern part of Ibrox and the Cessnock area of the city. It is also the nearest station to Festival Park. Along with Kelvinhall, it is one of only two stations to retain its pre-modernisation surface buildings and entryway...
stations on the Glasgow Subway
Glasgow Subway
The Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...
both serve Ibrox. It is also served by First Glasgow
First Glasgow
First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in, Scotland. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
buses on Paisley Road West. Ibrox sits near to the M8 motorway, with junction 23 being the closest exit, but the roads around Ibrox become congested on matchdays.