Two decades ago, plans were afoot for the face of Ibrox to change forever. Senior figures at Rangers had teamed up with Las Vegas Sands Inc., owners of the iconic Venetian Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, to draw up plans for a sporting and leisure campus a stone’s throw from Ibrox stadium. A state-of-the-art gaming facility was to be part of the 168,000 sq. ft complex, with the vision of yielding a significant commercial return to underpin the club’s long-term sustainability.
For several reasons, the project didn’t come to fruition. Not least the less-than-frugal nature of Gers’ former chair, David Murray, who made it very difficult for his successor, John McClelland, to embark on such an ambitious venture. It must also be said that this also coincided with the rapid expansion of the UK’s iGaming market. The rise in iGaming operators, regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, created a difficult competitor for any land-based venture to overcome. 20 years on from those ambitious proposals, the UK iGaming market now boasts over 70 online casino bonuses from sites licensed to serve Brits, demonstrating the popularity and competition in the market.
Delving deeper into the initial proposal
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The overall ‘masterplan’ was to invest £120 million in the regeneration of land directly opposite Ibrox Stadium, running alongside Albion car park. It was dubbed a mixed-use development opportunity but the jewel in the crown of this project was a Las Vegas-style leisure and entertainment complex, complete with a gaming floor.
The aim? To not only give something back to the wider community of Glasgow and create more employment opportunities in the area, but to create an additional revenue stream for the football club. The initial proposals were said to create upwards of 2,000 jobs.
The club had been working in tandem with Glasgow City Council on the plans, with the council giving Rangers plenty of encouragement to forge ahead with their planning application for the scheme. The Gers enlisted the help of one of Las Vegas’ most successful entertainment developers, Las Vegas Sands Inc., to consult on their plans.
Las Vegas Sands were heavily involved in the design and plans for a new community sports centre, including multi-purpose indoor pitches and associated facilities. Furthermore, the complex would have a Vegas resort feel, with additional retail outlets, as well as a host of restaurants at both ends of the budget spectrum and world-class gaming.
Synergies with Ibrox Stadium
Las Vegas Sands were not only passionate about this venture’s potential to regenerate the Govan community of Glasgow, they believed this Scottish city had the demand for a world-class leisure and entertainment venue. The project was designed to work alongside plans to cement Rangers as a major European force in football, with the new development also designed to have a sympathetic façade in common with Ibrox Stadium.
With commercial revenues increasingly important for Rangers – and indeed all Scottish football clubs – the ability to build something which allowed residents to be a part of the Rangers experience seven days a week instead of matchdays only was a unique pull.
So, when Glasgow City Council approved the plans in 2005, everything seemed to be heading in the right direction. That was until the government and House of Lords stepped in to prohibit the idea of ‘supercasinos’. Glasgow was one of eight cities to try and seek approval for its supercasino within this proposed complex, but all plans were thrown out by March 2007, with the incoming Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, opting to scrap all plans for supercasinos nationwide.
There’s no doubt the Ibrox project was well down the line. Photos doing the rounds online show Gers chair, John McClelland, snapped alongside Sheldon Adelson. This is the man behind Sands Casinos, which now operates the world’s largest casino in Macau. Adelson wouldn’t be prepared to be photographed if the deal wasn’t all but sealed.
To this day, the club still hasn’t looked to acquire any of the land surrounding the stadium to futureproof its endeavours. Although Ibrox Stadium may not need expansion from a capacity perspective, there’s no doubt an upgrade in its wider facilities, covering the wider fan experience, is long overdue.
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