Top facts about Ibrox Stadium, a field risen from the ashes

Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium in Glasgow, Scotland, located on the south bank of the River Clyde in the Ibrox neighborhood. Ibrox, the home of Rangers Football Club, is Scotland's third-largest football stadium, with a total seating capacity of 50,817.

Ibrox Park, which opened in 1899, was devastated in 1902 when a wooden terrace collapsed. In its place, vast earthen terraces were constructed, as well as the main stand, which is today a listed structure.

In January 1939, a league match against Celtic drew a British record attendance of 118,567. The stadium was extensively reconstructed after the Ibrox catastrophe in 1971. By 1981, the massive bowl-shaped terracing had been dismantled and rebuilt with three rectangular, all-seat structures.

The stadium was renamed Ibrox Stadium when repairs were completed in 1997.

When Hampden Park was reconstructed in the 1990s, Ibrox hosted the

, as well as three Scottish cup finals during that time. It has also served as a music venue.

Two significant tragedies have occurred at Ibrox Stadium.

Heavy rain the night before caused part of the West Tribune Stand (now Broomloan Road Stand) at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) to collapse, causing 200 to 300 people to fall onto the concrete below during an international association football match between Scotland and

as part of the 1901–02 British Home Championship.

The 1971 Ibrox disaster occurred on January 2, 1971, when a crash of Rangers fans at an Old Firm game resulted in 66 deaths and over 200 injuries after stairway barriers collapsed; a fan fell as the crowd was leaving the stadium, resulting in a fatal crash on an exit stairway (Stairway 13) at the far corner of the Copland Road Stand at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium).

A comprehensive article of top facts about Ibrox Stadium, a field risen from the ashes

In this article of top facts about Ibrox stadium, we have prepared you a theater saloon with a unique show of history and architecture. We will first get over the history of this amazing field then we will talk about the architecture and structure of this beast.

Other utilizations of this amazing field will also be discussed. This article contains many other parts too so bring some popcorn with you and get comfortable on your seat as we start the show of

top facts about Ibrox Stadium

.

Ibrox stadium history

Like Wembley stadium, Ibrox underwent renovation and became what we know as Ibrox stadium but before that, it was named Ibrox Park about which we are going to talk in this section of top facts about Ibrox stadium.

played their first match on Glasgow Green in May 1872. The club thereafter played home matches on various grounds across Glasgow until 1875, when it moved to a permanent home facility at Burnbank. Rangers played at the Clydesdale cricket field in Kinning Park a year later.

The capacity of this ground was increased to 7,000, however, it was not owned by Rangers. Rangers departed in February 1887 because the landowners hinted that they wanted to develop the property. For the remainder of the 1886–87 season, the team shared Cathkin Park with Third Lanark.

Rangers initially played in the Ibrox region in 1887, on a location just to the east of the present stadium.

The inaugural match at this stadium was an 8–1 loss against Preston North End of England on August 20, 1887, in front of a crowd of almost 15,000 people.

Due to a pitch invasion, the first match had to be called off after 70 minutes. Three Scotland international matches and the 1890 Scottish Cup Final were played in the first Ibrox Park, which was a short-term success.

However, Celtic Park, which opened in 1892, was more advanced. Rangers decided to build a new stadium and raised finances by founding a limited liability company. On December 9, 1899, the last match at the old ground was played. On December 30, the new Ibrox Park was officially launched with a 3–1 victory over

.

Ibrox Park

Ibrox Park, as it was called from 1899 and 1997, is practically indistinguishable from the current Ibrox Stadium. It was built in the same style as other Scottish stadiums at the time, with an oval track around the pitch with a pavilion and a single stand on one side.

The stadium may hold 40,000 people.

, Ibrox, and Hampden Park all fought for the right to host Scottish Cup Finals and Scotland matches, with the winner receiving up to £1,000 in prize money.

Rangers built a massive terracing behind the western goalmouth, which could hold 36,000 spectators, to help them earn that cash. Archibald Leitch designed the terracing, which was built up of timber planks fastened to an iron structure. At the eastern end, a similar wooden terracing was built, bringing the total capacity to 75,000 people.

Following the incidents, several experts blamed the wood's quality. The wooden terraces were removed, decreasing the capacity to 25,000 people. The Rangers' refusal to use Leitch in the future was not due to the design's flaws.

He devised a plan to expand Ibrox to a capacity of 63,000 by 1910, utilizing earthen slopes. Glasgow had three of the world's largest purpose-built football stadiums by this time.

The next significant reconstruction took place in 1928. On January 1, 1929, a new Main Stand was built on the south side of the stadium. The Main Stand sat 10,000 people and offered a standing room in an enclosure. The Main Stand's architectural significance was recognized when it was designated as a Category B listed building in 1987.

One of the amazing facts about Ibrox stadium is that at that time Ibrox was the second-largest stadium in the United Kingdom at the time.

Ibrox stadium

Following the incident at Ibrox in 1971, the team decided to build a modern, safe stadium. The whole cost of the design was anticipated to be £6 million, which no other club could afford in such a short amount of time. The Rangers football pools system, which was the largest club-based scheme in the UK, provided funding for the project.

The demolition of the east terracing and replacement with the Copland Road stand was the first part of the plan, which began in 1978. A year later, the same procedure was repeated on the west side of the stadium, with two similar stands containing 7,500 seats each. The Centenary Stand was replaced by the 10,300-capacity Govan Stand in 1981, completing the reconstruction.

The new Ibrox Stadium, which had a capacity of 44,000 (another fact of top facts about Ibrox stadium), was inaugurated on September 19, 1981, with an Old Firm match. However, at this time, the development costs had increased to £10 million, depleting the club's finances.

In 1990, Argyle House, a £4 million addition behind the Govan Stand, opened. This increased the number of executive boxes, office space, and hospitality suites available.

In the early 1990s, a series of new improvements were begun with the goal of increasing capacity to over 50,000 people. Murray hired architect Gareth Hutchison to devise a plan for a third tier to be added to the Main Stand.

In December 1991, the Club Deck, which cost almost £20 million, was inaugurated during a league match versus Dundee United. After renovations in 1997, when Ibrox had a capacity of just over 50,000, the stadium was officially christened Ibrox Stadium.

Recent changes

In 2006, three rows of seating were built to the front of the Govan Stand top tier, which was linked to a new 'Bar 72' section, bringing the total capacity to 50,817. In September 2006, the Bill Struth Main Stand was renamed in honor of the 50th anniversary of his death. In 2011, the Jumbotron screens were rebuilt with new LED panels.

Rangers declared bankruptcy in February 2012 after failing to negotiate an agreement with its creditors, namely HM Revenue and Customs.

Rangers sold Ibrox Stadium, as well as their business and other assets, to a new firm led by Charles Green in June 2012. The new corporation acquired the former Rangers FC's SFA membership and was admitted to the Scottish Football League Third Division.

The Jumbotron screens were to be replaced on April 9, 2013; the old screens were poorer and had grown pixelated.

One of the most heartwarming facts of top facts about Ibrox stadium is that the club renamed the Govan Stand after Sandy Jardine on July 16, 2014, as a permanent memorial to him.

The club erected enormous banners displaying photographs of former players to the stadium façade (covering the separate Edmiston House office building, then the Copland Stand/Sandy Jardine Stand corner) in 2016, dubbed 'Icons Of Ibrox.'

Some fans were upset when more banners were placed over the glass block-walled staircase towers on either side of the main stand leading up to the Club Deck the following year; the banners were removed within a few months, with the club claiming it was a marketing exercise to highlight the staircases' potential as advertising space.

Ibrox stadium structure

Let us talk about the structure itself and see what

top facts about Ibrox stadium

lay inside the walls of this amazing stadium.

The Bill Struth Main (south), Broomloan Road (west), Sandy Jardine (north), and Copland Road (east) Stands are the four covered all-seater stands that encircle the Ibrox pitch.

With the exception of the Bill Struth Main Stand, which has had three tiers since the Club Deck was erected in 1991, each stand has two tiers. The Sandy Jardine Stand's two corner areas, known as the West and East sectors, each include one deck of seats beneath a JumboTron screen.

Main stand

The Main Stand, originally known as the Bill Struth Main Stand, faces Edmiston Drive (A8 road). Archibald Leitch created the red-brick facade, which is a Category B listed structure. The "imposing red-brick front, with its imitation neo-classical arched, square, and pedimented windows, emanates grandeur and authority," said Simon Inglis in 1996.

The club crest is featured in a blue and gold mosaic on each end wall. At each end of the Main Stand are stairtowers leading to the Club Deck (third tier).

These towers, too, are framed in red brick, but in a way, that contrasts with the rest of the stand. The two stairtowers also carry a 146-meter (479-foot) long and 540-tonne (530-long-ton; 600-short-ton) clear span girder, which is said to be the world's longest and heaviest.

A wood-paneled hallway leads from the Main Stand's main entrance. The boardroom and trophy room are reached through a marble staircase. Ibrox, like Highbury, combines corporate power with a feeling of heritage and stability, according to Inglis.

It was built as a 10,000-seat stand over a standing enclosure in the beginning. The Club Deck and enclosure seats were added in the early 1990s when it was rebuilt. It is presently a three-tiered, all-seated edifice that can hold up to 21,000 people.

One of the few remaining instances of the Leitch type of criss-cross decoration may be found on the front wall of the middle tier. The enclosure is divided into east and west portions on each side of the retractable tunnel roof, while the middle tier is divided into front and back sections.

Other stands

The Sandy Jardine Stand, originally known as the Govan Stand, is located directly across from the Bill Struth Main Stand. It's a two-tier stand that was constructed in 1981 and is identical in style to the two end stands.

The Argyle House expansion, which was constructed in 1990 and contains executive boxes, hospitality rooms, and office space, is located behind the Govan Stand.

In 2006, the Bar 72 area was added to the Govan Stand's back part. The Copland Road Stand, located at the stadium's east end, was erected in 1979 and presently seats slightly over 8,000 people. It is known as the 'Rangers end' of the ground, and the team usually attacks that end in the second half of games.

The other end of the Broomloan Road Stand, erected in 1980, is similar to the western end. The three stands have been joined since the mid-1990s, when two extra sitting sections were added to the corner portions, despite being built as distinct structures.

Away fans are usually seated between the Broomloan and Govan Stands in the ground's southwest quadrant. For visiting supporters, Ibrox is seen as a hostile environment. Rangers prohibited Celtic fans from attending games at Ibrox in 1994, citing prior derbies in which the visitors had damaged the Broomloan Stand.

After one game, the suspension was removed because the Scottish Football League issued a resolution prohibiting teams from taking such action.

Away supporters were housed on the lowest deck of the Broomloan Stand before the corners were filled in. In 1996, the Rangers had to take steps to keep their upper-deck fans from hurling objects at guests.

Until 2018, when Rangers chose to limit their allotment to the considerably smaller corner section, Celtic fans were usually allotted the whole Broomloan Stand for Old Firm derbies.

Ibrox stadium other uses

Besides football, the field has been used for many other purposes, and in this section of top facts about Ibrox stadium, you are about to learn about those purposes.

On September 17, 1917, King George V and Queen Mary paid a visit to Ibrox Park to honor Glasgow and Clydeside for their contributions to the First World War. Three Victoria Crosses, 46 Military Medals, and 33 Military Crosses were bestowed to troops in front of 100,000 people in Scotland's first-ever public investiture.

Women made about four-fifths of the attendees, including munitions workers, nurses, and other war workers. His son King George VI proposed that the ceremonial opening ceremony for the 1938 Empire Exhibition, which was hosted at Bellahouston Park and drew over 13 million people, be conducted in Ibrox Park, allowing 146,000 spectators to witness the event.

On the morning of May 3, 1938, his speech was aired live across the country and throughout the Empire. Colin Firth used this as inspiration for his role in the film The King's Speech.

Simple Minds (1986), Frank Sinatra (1990), Rod Stewart (1995), Elton John, and Billy Joel performed at Ibrox for sporting contests, Empire Games, and concerts (1998).

Another top fact of top facts about Ibrox stadium is that in 1980, Jim Watt and Howard Davis competed in a world championship boxing contest at Ibrox. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Ibrox hosted the rugby sevens event, which South Africa won.

The overall attendance for the four sessions of play was 171,000, which was a new high for a rugby sevens competition.

The Boys' Brigade's Centenary Celebrations were held in the stadium in 1983.

Ibrox stadium transportation

Let end the article of top facts about Ibrox stadium with a section about the transportation system leading to this stadium.

Ibrox is around two miles from Glasgow's two main train terminals, Central and Queen Street. Ibrox is served by the Glasgow Subway stations of Ibrox and Cessnock. Paisley Road West is also served by First Glasgow buses.

Ibrox is adjacent to the M8 motorway, with junction 23 being the nearest exit, although, on matchdays, the roads around the stadium get congested. On the mainline connecting Glasgow and Paisley, there was an Ibrox railway station, which was closed in 1967 as part of the Beeching Plan.

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