The decision made by Hampden has given Rangers supporters hope after the Ibrox catastrophe.
The summer of discontent hasn’t been easy for Rangers supporters, as complaints over recruiting and angst over home game locations have only gotten worse. There’s still disappointment over the absence of senior and first team players joining Philippe Clement’s roster, even though the transfer market seems sluggish.
But Ibrox has been the largest problem—not just the development’s delay, but also the absence of a strategy or any kind of announcement to the more than 45,000 season ticket holders and fans.
Ibrox debacle worsens when Rangers supporters witness the Hampden ruling. However, there has been some light as Chris Jack has reported that Rangers and chairman John Bennett have made a decision and come to an agreement.
The Rangers Review correspondent claims that the Light Blues will be playing at Hampden soon, but that isn’t the whole story. There was significant thought given to keeping the Copland Road unoccupied on match days and playing at Ibrox with just three stands. But is it justifiable to penalize a portion of the support only?
Murrayfield was another alternative that was carefully considered. Finance expert Adam Williams told Rangers News that by having a larger capacity and more tickets to sell, this might have helped offset rental expenses. In actuality, there was only ever one significant option—Hampden—that would have caused less interruption and allowed work to go on at Ibrox unhindered.
Rangers will account for the ruinous cost of the Ibrox renovation. The Rangers could be fortunate in that they have just four home league games left until October. If you include the league cup and European games, there might not be much of a disturbance. Reversing games could be one way to reduce the number of games that need to be played in the national stadium, although it has not been mentioned as of yet. Even though it’s not “home,” Rangers will still draw up to 50,000 spectators, and the players won’t have to make any additional travel arrangements, which is, like it or not, the main priority.
Rangers News has already covered the financial impact, which will mostly manifest as a decline in match-day revenue. Edmiston House will most likely remain open, although the number of fans congregating there before making their way to Ibrox will likely be much reduced. A hit will also be taken by the new sports bar and club shop, should they open in time. The product that spectators see on the field should not be influenced by issues that arise off it; fans have already been wronged enough.