I've checked again, and despite my previous thinking, it's definitely not May 40th! So given that there has been no information forthcoming, let's toy with some of the possibilities that have been mentioned during the various "leaks" to the press.....
Ok - So the failure to confirm further details about the stadium project may not be amongst the most severe of porkpies to be fed to Minty's pet-media-poodles, but the lack of information about the plans for our home is worrying at the very least. The type of information that has been leaked thus far indicates that at least one of the alleged 3 options for redevelopment would involved a level of change and upheaval the likes of which we haven't seen for decades.
Which begs the question........Why hasn't there been ANY fan consultation (to my knowledge, at least.) over the project itself and the alleged "3 Proposals"?
To be fair to the club, even when an announcement is about to be made, there will still be a significant number of hurdles to overcome before any plan they have endorsed comes into fruition, so perhaps fan consultation may occur at this point, although I have my doubts. If I'm proved wrong, however, and fans are consulted at this point, the fans are going to be asked based upon proposals already set out, not fresh ideas that they can add to the mix.
A redevelopment of Ibrox stadium or a regeneration of the area involving the stadium location changing slightly is potentially earth-shattering, and communication with the fans over what they want from this is essential, and although nothing has been finalised about this, the lack of communication/consultation (delete as appropriate) with the "Paying customers" as it were, although not surprising, it is yet another example, as if we needed another, of how the ownership of Rangers Football Club treat their own fans with utter contempt.
One of the latest rumours suggests that the club may use the bargaining position we have with Glasgow City Council to obtain the land across the road from the Main Stand next to the astro turf pitches (once the small formality of moving out the tenants of the flats currently occupying that building is overcome!) to effectively build a new stadium, once the flats, already earmarked for demolition, are out of the picture. From there, the rumour suggests that where the stadium is at the moment would be converted into some sort of commercial/leisure complex. Whilst we don't know for sure about locations or how the new facility will pan out, it's painfully obvious that David Murray is keen to convert our stadium and the surrounding area into a commercial complex which makes regular income when there are no matches on, which is all well and good....
.....until, of course, it comes to the question of "who" benefits from the funds generated by any new commercial facilities. Before, I would've probably have said to myself that I could handle David Murray or other investors making money out of any new stadium complex, but the more I think about it, the more I think that it would be criminal if David Murray was to make a brass-bean out of our new stadium, why should he? Isn't this kind of thing what restricts our current financial potential in the first place?
So to summarise, what do I want from a new or hugely redeveloped stadium? Well, for it to be state of the art, to have the capacity for modernisation in the future that our current stadium sadly lacks and more importantly if it is to have any additional commercial or leisure features, I want every last penny made by such a facility bar the inevitable return on investment to be put straight into the coffers of Rangers Football Club.
Any additional features of a complex such as this will be centred around Rangers and Rangers fans, therefore it is only right that this is the case. If, however, this complex is just another attempt by David Murray to line his pockets before he walks off into the sunset, then we must make our voices heard and prevent it.
There are so many questions that need answered about this, like who picks up the tab if the complex isn't successful? Who makes the money if it is? The further I go on writing this the further from the truth I seem to get.
A lot of the so-called info in this article is based upon speculation, however I feel rather safe in saying that our chairman is looking for another payday from a club he has already stripped naked in terms of assets, and if this is the case, we must insure that he is not given yet another opportunity to do the same.
The design, capacity and features of a new or redeveloped Ibrox are almost a side issue here, it's who gets the extra money from all the other amenities that concerns this bear, and let's be honest, if there are as the chairman says (I know, I know!) many willing investors looking to back this type of project, I highly doubt that they will be doing so with the intent of the returns going to Rangers.
I await confirmation of the plans with baited breath as many other bears do. As with every other moonbeam thrown our way by the chairman in recent years though, I thoroughly expect to be left feeling similar to how Dave King and Joe Lewis did all those years ago....
Shafted.