Qualla: Ibrox Stadium

Ibrox Stadium: Introduction

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alex Chapman, CC BY-SA 3.0. On the afternoon of 2 January 1971, Rangers and Celtic played their New Year Old Firm derby at Ibrox Park. Late in the second half, Celtic took the lead. Some fans began to drift toward the exits. Then, with the match almost over, Colin Stein equalised for Rangers, and the roar that followed reached the people leaving down Stairway 13 at the east end of the ground. What happened next is still debated in detail. What is certain is that a crush developed on the wooden-and-iron stairway, that people fell, that others fell over them, and that 66 people died of asphyxiation in the press of bodies on a Glasgow January afternoon. Most were young - teenagers, men in their twenties. Five were boys aged ten or eleven who had travelled together from Markinch, Fife.

Read more: Ibrox Stadium on Qualla

Image: Alex Chapman | CC BY-SA 3.0

Ibrox Stadium: The First Ibrox

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Allyant at English Wikipedia / Later version(s) were uploaded by Escape Orbit at en.wikipedia., Public domain. Rangers Football Club played its first match in May 1872 on Glasgow Green. The club moved around several public pitches before settling at the first Ibrox Park in 1887. That ground hosted three Scotland international matches and the 1890 Scottish Cup Final. But on 5 April 1902, S...

Read more: Ibrox Stadium on Qualla

Image: Allyant at English Wikipedia / Later version(s) were uploaded by Escape Orbit at en.wikipedia. | Public domain

Ibrox Stadium: Britain's Biggest Crowd

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Lynn M Reid, CC BY-SA 2.0. On 2 January 1939, the Old Firm derby drew 118,567 people through the Ibrox turnstiles. That figure remains the record attendance for any league match played in Britain - more than have ever paid to see a single English league fixture, more than have seen any Scottish league matc...

Read more: Ibrox Stadium on Qualla

Image: Lynn M Reid | CC BY-SA 2.0

Ibrox Stadium: After 1971

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Sarah Armitt, CC BY-SA 2.0. The 1971 disaster changed everything. Rangers commissioned the Miller Partnership to redesign the ground. The first phase began in 1978 with the demolition of the east terracing and the building of the Copland Road stand. Work continued through 1981, when the Govan Stand replaced...

Read more: Ibrox Stadium on Qualla

Image: Sarah Armitt | CC BY-SA 2.0

Ibrox Stadium: The Stadium Now

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Crowsus, CC BY 4.0. Capacity today stands at 51,700, after a 2024 expansion added 600 general access seats and 30 disabled access seats in a new Copland Rear cantilever. Each stand has two tiers, except the Bill Struth Main Stand, which has three. The marble staircase to the boardroom and trophy roo...

Read more: Ibrox Stadium on Qualla

Image: Crowsus | CC BY 4.0

Ibrox Stadium: The Memorial

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Johnny Durnan, CC BY-SA 2.0. A bronze memorial outside the Bill Struth Main Stand lists the 66 names of the people who died on Stairway 13. Every year on 2 January, Rangers fans gather there. The youngest who died was Nigel Pickup, aged 9, from Liverpool. The five boys from Markinch are buried together in th...

Read more: Ibrox Stadium on Qualla

Image: Johnny Durnan | CC BY-SA 2.0