The 1971 Ibrox disaster led to the club developing a modern, safe stadium.
Willie Waddell visited modern grounds in West Germany during the 1974 World Cup and believed that steep terracing and exits, such as Stairway 13, had to be replaced.
The cut in capacity and boardroom changes led to radical plans by architects Miller Partnership, which were published in November 1977.
The plans were modelled on the Westfalenstadion, home ground of Borussia Dortmund.
They involved a radical reshaping of the stadium, with the old bowl-shaped terracing to be replaced by three new all-seated structures.
Only the old Main Stand would remain, with its enclosure providing the only standing room in the ground.

Although later events, such as the Hillsborough disaster and the subsequent Taylor Report, vindicated this plan, Rangers were taking a significant risk.
The whole plan was estimated to cost £6 million, which no other club could have afforded in a short period of time.
The development was funded by the Rangers football pools operation, which was the largest club-based scheme in Britain.
The first phase of the plan, which began in 1978, was the removal of the east terracing and its replacement with the Copland Road stand.
The same process was repeated on the west side of the ground a year later, with the two identical stands each holding 7,500 seats.
The redevelopment was completed in 1981 with the replacement of the Centenary Stand by the 10,300 capacity Govan Stand.

The new Ibrox had a capacity of 44,000 and was opened with an Old Firm game played on 19 September 1981.
By this time, however, the development cost had risen to £10 million, which depleted the club financially.
This resulted in a difficult period in the history of Rangers, as the average attendance fell to 17,500 in the 1981–82 season, including a crowd of only 4,500 for a game against St Mirren.
The redeveloped stadium was partly blamed for this, as some fans felt that the new ground lacked atmosphere due to the spaces between the stands.
This was during a period of low attendances in Scottish football in general.
Despite the relatively low attendance at Ibrox, Rangers had the highest average home attendances in the Premier Division in both 1983–84 and 1984–85.

This all changed when a new regime, chaired by David Holmes, took control of Rangers in 1986.
Graeme Souness was appointed player–manager, while several English stars, including Terry Butcher and Chris Woods, were signed.
Season ticket sales rose from 7,000 in 1986 to over 30,000 in the 1990s, while commercial income increased from £239,000 in 1986 to over £2 million in 1989.
The introduction of computerised ticketing, zonal public address systems and closed-circuit television for monitoring turnstile areas meant that Ibrox was at the forefront of stadium management.
Rangers also adopted the American technique of analysing the types of fans in each area of the stadium and adjusted their food stalls accordingly.
Greater success on the pitch meant that Ibrox demonstrated that seated stadiums would be welcomed by most fans, if designed and fitted well.
The 1971 Ibrox disaster led to the club developing a modern, safe stadium. Willie Waddell visited modern grounds in West Germany during the 1974 World Cup and believed that steep terracing and exits, such as Stairway 13, had to be replaced. The cut in capacity and boardroom changes led to radical plans by architects Miller Partnership, which were published in November 1977. The plans were modelled on the Westfalenstadion, home ground of Borussia Dortmund. They involved a radical reshaping of the stadium, with the old bowl-shaped terracing to be replaced by three new all-seated structures. Only the old Main Stand would remain, with its enclosure providing the only standing room in the ground.
Although later events, such as the Hillsborough disaster and the subsequent Taylor Report, vindicated this plan, Rangers were taking a significant risk. The whole plan was estimated to cost £6 million, which no other club could have afforded in a short period of time. The development was funded by the Rangers football pools operation, which was the largest club-based scheme in Britain. The first phase of the plan, which began in 1978, was the removal of the east terracing and its replacement with the Copland Road stand. The same process was repeated on the west side of the ground a year later, with the two identical stands each holding 7,500 seats. The redevelopment was completed in 1981 with the replacement of the Centenary Stand by the 10,300 capacity Govan Stand.
The new Ibrox had a capacity of 44,000 and was opened with an Old Firm game played on 19 September 1981. By this time, however, the development cost had risen to £10 million, which depleted the club financially. This resulted in a difficult period in the history of Rangers, as the average attendance fell to 17,500 in the 1981–82 season, including a crowd of only 4,500 for a game against St Mirren. The redeveloped stadium was partly blamed for this, as some fans felt that the new ground lacked atmosphere due to the spaces between the stands. This was during a period of low attendances in Scottish football in general. Despite the relatively low attendance at Ibrox, Rangers had the highest average home attendances in the Premier Division in both 1983–84 and 1984–85.
This all changed when a new regime, chaired by David Holmes, took control of Rangers in 1986. Graeme Souness was appointed player–manager, while several English stars, including Terry Butcher and Chris Woods, were signed. Season ticket sales rose from 7,000 in 1986 to over 30,000 in the 1990s, while commercial income increased from £239,000 in 1986 to over £2 million in 1989. The introduction of computerised ticketing, zonal public address systems and closed-circuit television for monitoring turnstile areas meant that Ibrox was at the forefront of stadium management. Rangers also adopted the American technique of analysing the types of fans in each area of the stadium and adjusted their food stalls accordingly. Greater success on the pitch meant that Ibrox demonstrated that seated stadiums would be welcomed by most fans, if designed and fitted well.
Ibrox Stadium