Rangers could put plans to redevelop the Broomloan Stand on the backburner after the costly Copland fiasco this summer.
A multi-million-pound project to overhaul the disabled facilities on offer at Ibrox was beset by problems during the close season. Former chairman John Bennett revealed in June that Philippe Clement’s side would be unable to start the campaign at their Govan ground after significant delays in the sourcing of materials and completion of works.
Rangers did not return to Ibrox until the Premier Sports Cup win over Dundee in September and the full stadium was not open until the visit of Hibernian the following week. Hundreds of seats were added in a cantilever structure as accessible seating was installed in the Copland Stand.
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But the significant delays left Rangers with financial and sporting ramifications and those headaches will come into consideration in the coming months as the board deliberate over whether or not to undertake a similar scope of works in the Broomloan Stand. In May last year, the board also outlined plans to add accessible seating in the Sandy Jardine Stand during the summer of 2025.
Interim chairman John Gilligan met members of the Fan Advisory Board earlier this month and insisted that lessons had been learned from the shambolic situation that forced Clement’s side to host Motherwell, Dynamo Kyiv, St Johnstone and Ross County at Hampden during the opening weeks of the campaign.
Minutes for the meeting show that Gilligan acknowledged that if Rangers were to undertake a similar large-scale project in the future then the board would have to plan for a period away from Ibrox.
And they also reveal Gilligan’s belief that Rangers must be in a position to kick-off the 2025/26 campaign on home soil. It is stated that Gilligan expressed his doubts that the Copland works would have been completed in the required timeframe even if the shipments of materials from Asia had been delivered to Glasgow on schedule.
Gilligan was also pressed on the search for a permanent successor to Bennett as chairman and a replacement for former chief executive officer James Bisgrove. Gilligan is currently overseeing Rangers on a day-to-day basis alongside investor George Letham and RIFC plc director Graeme Park while the search for two crucial appointments is ongoing.
Gilligan confirmed that the incoming chairman will be based in Scotland and is expected to be named before the chief executive hunt is finalised. Rangers are reviewing their executive structure following Creag Robertson’s decision to step down as head of football operations.
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