Rangers will begin work on a state-of-the-art sports bar to replace the empty club shop at Ibrox once Edmiston House shortly opens its doors.

The move is part of a club drive to improve the fan experience on match day but it's also stressed there's an intention to ensure the stadium is a destination even when there's no football on.

Plans are afoot to transform the space vacated when the Castore retail centre moves into the brand-new, multi-purpose building adjacent to the stadium.

Between 500 and 600 fans will be catered for in a space that is sure to be in huge demand by those attending games.

And although plans remain at an early stage, they will accelerate imminently. Commercial director James Bisgrove hopes to have the project completed in the summer, meaning the site could be up and running for next season.

He said: "We’re right at the start of that project. We’ve had a couple of meetings to look at concepts. We’ve looked at some other sports-based sports bars in other clubs with designers and partners. It’s something we want to move forward quickly after opening New Edmiston house.

"Hopefully, by the summer we will be close to having something there. It will be another area on matchdays, and non-matchdays, supporters can come and have a positive experience. The numbers we are thinking of at the moment is around 500 or 600, when you add to that Blue Sky Lounge with 300 and Edmiston House with 1000 - we’re creating so many additional areas in and around Ibrox for people to spend additional time."

While the fans will benefit greatly from the added facilities, Bisgrove is in no doubt what the core objective is - to ensure the business structure is in place to produce a better team on the pitch.

He said: "We keep moving forwards. Rangers football club is a huge club, still with so much potential. Commercially, we have set targets beyond which we set last year which was just over £28million and we’re going to try and push through £30m now.

"We will keep maximising sponsorship opportunities, keep maximising through our international activations as well. Everything we do through our commercial programme, which we get unbelievable support from the support right around the world, is for the benefit of the club and ultimately to support the team on the pitch."