19th September 1981

First match played at the new Ibrox Stadium

Following the 1971 Ibrox crush, in which 66 fans lost their lives and a further 200 were injured, plans were set in motion to redesign and rebuild the stadium to make it safer for capacity crowds.

Reimagining the terraces and access routes was key to this development. The design of the new stadium was based on stadiums in West Germany, which hosted the World Cup in 1974, and saw three of the four stands converted to all-seating accommodation. Not only did this cost several million pounds to implement; it also reduced capacity, which would have an impact on the number of tickets that could be sold.

Construction took several years, with the first new stand erected in 1978, and the second a year later. The final new structure – the Centenary Stand – was erected in 1981, and the new stadium welcomed visitors on 19 September that year. On that occasion, Rangers faced Celtic in front of a crowd of just over 40,000.