Rangers looking at contingency plans following Ibrox redevelopment delays

The Glasgow club issued a statement on Thursday indicating that there “will be an impact on matches at Ibrox” at the beginning of the 2024-25 competitive season after a delay to material shipments from Asia held up the completion of work on the Copland Road stand.

“The club has engaged with the SPFL and UEFA in order to review planned contingency arrangements,” the club said. “Naturally, everyone at Rangers is deeply disappointed with this news.

“The club is working intensively to ensure that all steps are taken to deliver the project at the earliest possible date and a further progress update will be issued to supporters in due course.”

A general view of Ibrox Stadium

The William Hill Premiership campaign is due to kick off on the first weekend of August, while Philippe Clement’s side will also be bidding to qualify for the Champions League.

It remains to be seen exactly how much of an impact the building delays will have on their start to the season, but it has been reported that Rangers could be unable to play at Ibrox for the entirety of August, meaning they would have to find an alternative venue to host their home matches.

With Hampden due to have its pitch ripped up and relaid later this summer after hosting a couple of pop concerts, Murrayfield has been mooted as a possible option. The Ibrox club are due to play a pre-season friendly against Manchester United at the 67,000-capacity home of Scottish rugby in Edinburgh.

The Scottish Professional Football League is working to help Rangers find a solution.

An SPFL spokesperson said: “We have received notification from Rangers FC that they may be unable to host SPFL fixtures in August at Ibrox Stadium due to ongoing stadium works.

“We have agreed to work with Rangers on how we can best mitigate this situation following next week’s publication of the fixture calendar for season 2024/25.”