Rangers' new owners are reportedly set to explore ways to expand Ibrox and boost the club's matchday revenue.
The new majority ownership of the Scottish Giants was announced in May, with a US consortium headed up by Andrew Cavanagh and 49ers Enterprises.
49ers Enterprises seeking Ibrox expansion
Speaking at the club's General Meeting in June after their May arrival, 49ers Enterprises vice-chairman Paraag Marathe advised that Rangers will look to explore plans for an expansion to their Glasgow home.
The Rangers Fan Advisory Board later provided an update, revealing the team's preference to lower the level of the Ibrox pitch, thus adding 4,000 seats to the capacity.
Speaking to Football Insider, former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson said, when analyising the likely benefits of the expansion: “Well, 4,000 is probably another 10 per cent, so it’s worth about £4m a year.
“Then the equation is, well, what’s the build cost for those seats? But it’s worth probably right now £4-5m a year, I would think, 4,000 seats with some hospitality with it. Their total gate receipts and hospitality for 2024 was £44m. It was £40m for 2023.
“I mean, Rangers have actually got quite high gate receipts compared to even a lot of Premier League clubs, just because of the size of the stadium and the club. It’s not crazy, but another £4m a year on revenue is good.
“Obviously, it’s a pretty high margin because if it’s not hospitality stuff, then you’ve already got all of the other costs that are already being spent on those parts of the stadium.”
The current state of Ibrox
The proposed expansion of Ibrox would take its currently capacity of almost 52,000 to approximately 55,000.
City rivals Celtic are the only side topping that size in Scottish club football as Celtic Park holds almost 61,000 supporters, while the growth would see Rangers' home move past Hampden Park, the home of Scotland's national team, in capacity comfortably.
The club posted revenue of £88.3m in their 2023-24 financial year, £43.8m of which being associated with matchdays, having returned to Ibrox in September 2024 after a spell at Hampden Park during redevelopment works.
FGG Says: Expansion is a no-brainer for Rangers
With demand for tickets certainly not being a limiting factor in any planning done for Rangers works by 49ers Enterprises, the growing of their home ground should be seen as a priority.
A £4m increase in annual ticket sales, almost 10% of their 2023-24 matchday income, would be huge in triggering further growth for the Gers and putting them on more of a level playing field with Old Firm rivals Celtic.