Rangers close to Hampden deal to resolve stadium crisis as SFA chiefs give green light to emergency plan

Rangers are close to agreeing a deal for a new temporary home for the start of the season – with Hampden Park now considered the favourite.

The Ibrox club was plunged into crisis last month when it was revealed that former chief executive James Bisgrove had botched the planning of a summer renovation project on the Copland Road stand – before jumping ship in a hurry for a new job in Saudi Arabia. Bisgrove’s betrayal has left chairman John Bennett facing a race against time to find an alternative venue to host the club’s home games until their own stadium can be reopened to the public.

Bennett has held discussions with rugby bosses over the possibility of leasing Murrayfield and it appears those discussions are still ongoing, with the 67,000-capacity ground still considered a viable option. Sport Record Hampden have learned that an alternative solution to relocate Philippe Clement’s team to the home of Scottish football, south of Glasgow, has gained momentum over the past two weeks. And, although the talks are being described as “extremely complicated”, sources at Hampden are reasonably confident that a deal could be signed as early as next week.

SFA chairman Mike Mulraney and chief executive Ian Maxwell are understood to be keen to facilitate the contingency plan despite initial concerns that a new pitch might not be ready for the start of the domestic campaign. The playing surface is being replaced after pop star Pink hired out the national stadium to stage sell-out concerts last week. And the situation has been further complicated by the fact that Queen’s Park was due to return to its spiritual home in September, following Scotland’s Nations League clash with Poland earlier this month.

But Mulraney and Maxwell have drawn up a contingency plan that could allow Rangers to use the stadium for as long as necessary, with no date yet confirmed for Ibrox to be declared fit for use. Rangers could even speed up the return to their home ground by opening three stands to host their own supporters before the current work is fully completed.

But our source said: “There are still a number of live options on the table because it’s all extremely complicated at this stage. There’s a feeling the Rangers board have been horribly misled. But the club want to cause as little inconvenience as possible to Rangers supporters during this period, which is one of the main reasons why Hampden is seen as the best alternative, rather than asking them to travel across the country for home games.”