Around 1965 the ornate castellation was removed from the Press Box although the reason for this is not known at present. The Press Box was certainly a much more plain affair without it. Further work in 1966 included a roof over the rear section of the East End (Copland End or home end) and in 1967 a much improved set of floodlights were fitted on stanchions on the Main Stand and North Enclosure roofs. These lights were a great improvement on the old set and cheaper to run as well!
The above photo was taken during the summer of 1969. It is from the West Enclosure looking towards the Copland or East End of the Park with the North Enclosure opposite. Stairway 13 is in the middle of the gap between the Copland and the North Enclosure. It led down the back of the terracing towards Copland Road and the Subway. The blue box on the lower right hand edge of the photo is the Away team's dugout.
In this period although Celtic were dominant, Rangers were pushing them all the way and for Old Firm and European games 80 and 90,000 crowds were still seen at Ibrox Park.
On 2nd January 1971 there was the Second Ibrox Disaster. 66 people lost their lives on the infamous Stairway 13 after the New Year Old Firm match. There had been the previous two deaths in 1961 and two further incidents in 1967 and 1969, which fortunately did not result in deaths. At this point it was the worst football tragedy in British football.
After the disaster of 1971, the club embarked on more modernisation work and in 1973 fitted 9,000 bench seats to the North Enclosure and renamed it the Centenary Stand at a cost of £70,000. As a result of this new seating and safety concerns, the stadium capacity was reduced to 65,000.
On the above photo note the new floodlight system mounted on the North Enclosure roof in 1967. This photo is of a European match from 1970's (opposition possibly PSV Eindhoven).
The above photo shows the Edmiston Social Club built in the early 1970's. This is the square building behind the Copland End terrace.
Throughout the 1970's, General Manager Willie Waddell, travelled extensively in Europe looking at various stadia design and in 1977 Rangers unveiled their plans for The New Ibrox.
Three new stands were to be erected with Leitch's Main Stand as the only remaining side from the old ground. This was to be paid for mainly from Rangers massive Pools organisation. No expense would be spared with no compromise in materials or design. The work was based on Borussia Dortmund's Stadium in West Germany. Costs were estimated at £6 million but the eventual outlay was £10 million over three years. British Steel who supplied the new stands infrastructure saw the project as a prestige development.
Phase One began in August 1978 with the removal of the East End terrace and infamous Stairway 13. In its place the 7,500 seat Copland Road Stand was built and in August 1980 the Broomloan Road Stand at the West End was also opened. These stands were of a goalpost structure, which supported the roof. The view for every spectator was totally uninterrupted.
Photo below shows the opening ceremony of the new Broomloan Road Stand. Tottenham Hotspur were the guests in a 2-1 win for Rangers in front of 35,000.
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