‘That’s enormous’ – Stefan Borson drops verdict after Rangers stadium plans revealed
Rangers are considering plans for a stadium expansion as they look to cash in on matchday opportunities at Ibrox.
Speaking at the club’s General Meeting in June, vice-chairman Paraag Marathe revealed Rangers will explore plans to expand Ibrox.
Rangers’ Fan Advisory Board (FAB) provided an update on the situation following a meeting with chairman Andrew Cavenagh, chief executive Patrick Stewart, sporting director Kevin Thelwell and chief communications director Greig Mailer last month.
The FAB revealed the club’s preferred option for a stadium expansion would be to lower the level of the pitch and add a further 4,000 seats at Ibrox.
It is believed Rangers could land around £4million in extra revenue if they decide to push ahead with the plans.
Rangers face ‘big’ Ibrox expansion dilemma
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Rangers have to work out the practicalities of where the seats are going to be added and how much the development could cost.
Ibrox, which has been the Glasgow giants’ home since 1887, currently holds 51,700 fans.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “The big question is, what’s that cost to build out those seats? Where are they going? Is there a capital project to expand the stadium to get to those seats?
“Then you’ve got the equation of whether it’s worth doing for the sake of another 10 per cent in the stadium.
“I don’t know enough about the cost of building that extension or where they’re going to put those seats.”
An extra 4,000 seats would take Ibrox’s capacity beyond 55,000 and closer to Celtic Park’s 60,411.
How much revenue do Rangers generate?
Borson compared Rangers’ situation to Man City’s “enormous” stadium project, where Pep Guardiola’s side are increasing the Etihad Stadium’s capacity by 7,000.
“It’s not insignificant, 4,000 doesn’t sound like very many, but actually it’s not an insignificant number of extra seats,” said Borson.
“I think Manchester City are only doing another 7,000 seats from memory and look at the size of that project. That’s enormous.
“Obviously, they’ve got this whole centre and hotel behind it, but 4,000 is significant.”
Rangers posted a record-breaking revenue in 2023-24 after their turnover increased from £83.8m in 2022-23 to £88.3m.
Meanwhile, the club’s matchday income rose from £39.9m to £43.8m across the same period.
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