| new stadium 22:43 - Mar 13 with 31612 views | digswellhoop |
if Linford cristie stadium not an option do a spurs buy all properties around stadium |  | | |  |
| new stadium on 17:13 - May 3 with 3151 views | DavieQPR |
| new stadium on 17:05 - May 3 by Bushman |
Why can’t we just upgrade where we are ?
It’ s rarely full anyway
My main gripe is the diabolical catering otherwise obviously the legroom but we’ve lived with it for 45 years
Serious question |
Serious answer. How many times has it got to be said LR loses money a new stadium is needed, with adequate parking, to generate income from other sources. |  | | |
| new stadium on 17:47 - May 3 with 3109 views | Juzzie |
That's got to be about 6-10 years out of date by now I'd imagine? |  | | |
| new stadium on 17:53 - May 3 with 3089 views | Juzzie |
| new stadium on 17:05 - May 3 by Bushman |
Why can’t we just upgrade where we are ?
It’ s rarely full anyway
My main gripe is the diabolical catering otherwise obviously the legroom but we’ve lived with it for 45 years
Serious question |
It's not just about seating capacity. It's all the behind the scenes stuff that is so out of date/inadequate. Corporate/function facilities (matchday and non-matchday events), media facilities, changing rooms, ̶t̶r̶o̶p̶h̶y̶ ̶r̶o̶o̶m̶, manager's rooms, officials rooms, fan catering (sic), toilets, etc etc. | | | |
| new stadium on 17:54 - May 3 with 3075 views | Rs_Holy |
| new stadium on 17:47 - May 3 by Juzzie |
That's got to be about 6-10 years out of date by now I'd imagine? |
Just think how good it would be now 😆👠|  | | |
| new stadium on 17:57 - May 3 with 3050 views | izlingtonhoop |
| new stadium on 17:53 - May 3 by Juzzie |
It's not just about seating capacity. It's all the behind the scenes stuff that is so out of date/inadequate. Corporate/function facilities (matchday and non-matchday events), media facilities, changing rooms, ̶t̶r̶o̶p̶h̶y̶ ̶r̶o̶o̶m̶, manager's rooms, officials rooms, fan catering (sic), toilets, etc etc. |
Aw come on.
League cup. 2 Div 2. Play offs. Ibiza cup... |  | | |
| new stadium on 18:02 - May 3 with 3020 views | Juzzie |
| new stadium on 17:57 - May 3 by izlingtonhoop |
Aw come on.
League cup. 2 Div 2. Play offs. Ibiza cup... |
Cabinet? | | | |
| new stadium on 18:06 - May 3 with 2997 views | HAMRanger |
| new stadium on 17:57 - May 3 by izlingtonhoop |
Aw come on.
League cup. 2 Div 2. Play offs. Ibiza cup... |
... Evening Standard Five-a-Side (x5)
I went to a few of those. They were good fun
Maybe that's the answer, we join a 5-a-side league and then don't need such a big pitch? |  | | |
| new stadium on 18:44 - May 3 with 2915 views | BostonR |
| new stadium on 17:05 - May 3 by Bushman |
Why can’t we just upgrade where we are ?
It’ s rarely full anyway
My main gripe is the diabolical catering otherwise obviously the legroom but we’ve lived with it for 45 years
Serious question |
If recall LH stated it costs circa £1M plus pa just to maintain the stadium and its facilities. I would imagine that a huge percentage of that figure is not planned preventive maintenance but emergency maintenance, which is crazy. We are literally throwing that money away before a ball is kicked.
A new stadium would allow the club to design a fit for purpose facility that can be fully costed on all aspects such as maintenance and running costs. |  | | |
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| new stadium on 19:00 - May 3 with 2882 views | Lanhoop |
| new stadium on 17:05 - May 3 by Bushman |
Why can’t we just upgrade where we are ?
It’ s rarely full anyway
My main gripe is the diabolical catering otherwise obviously the legroom but we’ve lived with it for 45 years
Serious question |
Maybe take the stadium tour and look closely. We know the bits we see on match day are falling apart, behind the scenes is just as bad. As much as we old guys are attached to the place we need a better stadium for so many reasons. A bit of paint isn't going to fix it. | | | |
| new stadium on 20:05 - May 3 with 2748 views | Juzzie |
| new stadium on 19:00 - May 3 by Lanhoop |
Maybe take the stadium tour and look closely. We know the bits we see on match day are falling apart, behind the scenes is just as bad. As much as we old guys are attached to the place we need a better stadium for so many reasons. A bit of paint isn't going to fix it. |
I did a stadium tour about 10 years ago and it then made me realise we can’t just talk about seating when stadium is discussed. It’s so much about all the other stuff too. | | | |
| new stadium on 08:59 - May 4 with 2396 views | Sonofpugwash |
I once came across a stadium where the main stand was built over the road and the traffic went underneath it in a tunnel,can't find it anywhere now.Would that be possible with the SAR? |  |
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| new stadium on 10:07 - May 4 with 2248 views | joe90 |
| new stadium on 08:59 - May 4 by Sonofpugwash |
I once came across a stadium where the main stand was built over the road and the traffic went underneath it in a tunnel,can't find it anywhere now.Would that be possible with the SAR? |
The old Atletico Madrid Stadium had a road under one of the stands. There's another more glamorous example in Birmingham:
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| new stadium on 10:18 - May 4 with 2234 views | daveB |
what non match day revenue are they realistically going to get. Other sporting events you'd think there are bigger stadiums on our doorstep for that, parking revnue seems impossible in the area especially when you have a major car park around the corner in Westfield, renting space out for corprate events how many of them would you get.
I think it is time to consider buying that school, re build the stadium stand by stand to create a pretty nice and comfortable 18,000 capacity stadium like that lot up the road have done, we really don't need any more. The space we currently have for offices move it to the training ground |  | | |
| new stadium on 11:03 - May 4 with 2126 views | izlingtonhoop |
| new stadium on 18:02 - May 3 by Juzzie |
Cabinet? |
Shelf..? | | | |
| new stadium on 11:29 - May 4 with 2057 views | Monkey_Roots |
| new stadium on 08:59 - May 4 by Sonofpugwash |
I once came across a stadium where the main stand was built over the road and the traffic went underneath it in a tunnel,can't find it anywhere now.Would that be possible with the SAR? |
Car bomb.
I know it’s a random out there unlikely thought, but if I had it, some nefarious actor may have it too. |  | | |
| new stadium on 15:10 - May 4 with 1806 views | NewBee |
| new stadium on 10:25 - May 2 by Juzzie |
I have a confession to make..... on Saturday my sons youth football team did a trip to see Brentford v Forest. I went along as they needed a few parents to help out and I wanted to see the new ground. Spent most of the game glued to my phone getting updates of our game at Stoke.
It's an odd shape stadium because of the constraints of the triangular patch of ground it sits on but design aside what was clear is that a new stadium is needed to progress because you absolutely have to have facilities that can not only get people into the ground before & after the game (rather than spending money elsewhere) but can be used throughout the week and during the summer. Facilities not just for fans but for the modern game that requires palatial surroundings for the players, managers, officials, media etc.
Revamping Loftus Road won't work and due to all the regulations & requirements even if LR was demolished completely and a new ground built on the same footprint it wouldn't be more than 15-18k (depending on how many seats would be sacrificed for corporate facilities). |
Some background;
1. BFC had to move from GP - not only was it crumbling and a money-pit, but with all-seater required for the top two divisions, it would have had its capacity reduced to four figures in another couple of years (unless relegated to Lge One, of course);
2. The owner had a choice of building a larger stadium away from TW8 (Heathrow-way?) or a smaller one locally;
3. He chose to stay local for various reasons and in the knowledge that even in the new stadium, the club could not break even, never mind turn a profit in the Championship (or below);
4. After initial indifference, even hostility, London Borough of Hounslow was persuaded to back BFC's move (supporters fielding candidates in a local election helped greatly!);
5. Benham originally considered building extra facilities (hotel, conferencing etc) to generate non-match revenues, but then conceded that he/BFC knew nothing about running such businesses, while west London is already coming down with competitors with years of experience;
6. He could conceivably have fitted 20k into the GTech, but realised that by adding premium/hospitality features etc, 17.5k would generate more revenue than an extra 2.5k "ordinary" punters;
7. More generally, a 30-40k stadium is not absolutely essential to survive in the Prem - TV money far outstrips matchday receipts. Rather it is sound management, on- and off-the field which really counts.
What does this suggest to QPR?
1. You have to move from LR, since rebuilding it is not an option and like BFC at GP, it is increasingly holding you back;
2. You should remain in LBHF if possible;
3. Regarding No.2, if you cannot get LBHF onside - and I can't see it myself - then you should consider another more friendly Borough (see eg Barnet FC moving to London Borough of Harrow);
4. Your new stadium would not need to be that much bigger than LR, if at all, were everything else about the club to be right;
5. You don't need a site larger than the minimum required for football, since ground-sharing aside, trying to generate extra revenues from other activities is often highly risky*.
P.S. Any of your son's youth team thinking of becoming Bees fans yet?
* - BFC once bought one of the four corner pubs at GP, to avoid fans putting their drinking money into someone elses pockets. It ended up losing the club money! [Post edited 4 May 2023 15:38]
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| new stadium on 15:31 - May 4 with 1753 views | NewBee |
| new stadium on 21:20 - May 2 by CamberleyR |
They weren't even a sophisticated structure when the SAR and SBS were built in the late 60s/early 70s as cantilevered stands were in existence then most notably the North Stand at Hillsborough and the Alex Ferguson (North) Stand at Old Trafford which were both originally built for the World Cup. Putting pillars in them to support the roofs was the cheapest option. [Post edited 2 May 2023 22:06]
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Little known piece of trivia: The first cantilver stand to be built in an English football stadium was actually in Scunthorpe United's Old Show Ground, in 1958!
It is probably not coincidental that Scunthorpe is a steel town and the stand was built by the United Steel Structural Company, which was based in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Incidentally, horse racing had been building cantiliver stands in Britain since the 1930's, as had football clubs on the continent etc. But since cantilevering cost more than traditional roofing construction, football clubs in this country were too penny-pinching, and behind-the-times generally, to bother with such new-fangled ideas. [Post edited 4 May 2023 15:39]
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| new stadium on 15:55 - May 4 with 1691 views | NewBee |
| new stadium on 11:29 - May 4 by Monkey_Roots |
Car bomb.
I know it’s a random out there unlikely thought, but if I had it, some nefarious actor may have it too. |
If you've been to the new Spurs Stadium, which is contructed adjacent to, but set back from, Tottenham High Road, you may have noticed that there are metal bollards on the edge of the road/pavement, to prevent car bombs being driven right up to the stadium.
This feature was consciously incorporated into the design quite late in the day, after the Manchester Arena bombing in March 2017. (Spurs stadium opened April 2019) | | | |
| new stadium on 16:00 - May 4 with 3777 views | NewBee |
Re. Safe Standing, it is a condition of installation in this country that the ratio of standing places to seating places remains at 1:1. That is, you get the same capacity whether sitting or standing.
In Germany, afaik they allow 1.3 standing places to every 1 seat. | | | |
| new stadium on 16:31 - May 4 with 3677 views | kensalriser |
Whatever the technical difficulties of redeveloping LR, the most obvious financial disincentive is not being able to realise the difference in value of the site compared to a site where land values are lower. That's probably what makes it a non-starter. If LR could be redeveloped in way that made long term financial sense it would have happened by now. |  |
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| new stadium on 16:36 - May 4 with 3662 views | Sonofpugwash |
| new stadium on 11:29 - May 4 by Monkey_Roots |
Car bomb.
I know it’s a random out there unlikely thought, but if I had it, some nefarious actor may have it too. |
Yeah,I considered that as well.Abandoning a car in an underpass always would look dodgy though,and with the proliferation of cctv.... | |
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| new stadium on 17:29 - May 4 with 3531 views | Juzzie |
@NewBee;
"P.S. Any of your son's youth team thinking of becoming Bees fans yet?"
A few of them already are. The football club (only a few miles from Brentford) I think has connections/is affiliated to Brentford FC, our team's coach is a Brentford ST-er, his wife works at Brentford (in quite a senior role) and a lot of the other teams coaches, parents, boys & girls are fans. Saw some of them at the game on Saturday.
Out of nine boys in our team, we have;
Brentford x 3
QPR x 1
Liverpool x 2
Leeds x 1
Chelsea x 2
[notice no Manchester clubs :) ]
A few of the non Brentford supporting boys wore the black away kit to the game. Our coach was cheekily suggesting they're converted but each one said they were happy to wear it on the day but still hold allegiance to their own club. | | | |
| new stadium on 02:03 - May 12 with 3165 views | Hoopsie |
To all the "redevelop Loftus Road Stadium enthusiast", myself included, it seems this is not an option according to London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Local Plan policy adopted Feb 2018 which stipulated Loftus Road Stadium in the "White City Regeneration Area" - WCRA 2 as an dedicated "Open Space" but clearer wordings states (specifically regarding the stadium precinct) under Strategic Site Polict WCRA2:
If either the Loftus Road Stadium or Territorial Army (TA) Centre come forward for redevelopment, the council will seek residential led development. In relation to the Loftus Road site, in particular, there should be re-provision of community facilities and open space in the borough, in accordance with other policies in the Local Plan.
With the following justification:
The Queens Park Rangers (QPR) football ground at Loftus Road is a cramped site with limited opportunity for expansion, and the Club's ambitions should be considered in planning of this area over the next 20 years. The football stadium is a valued community asset for the White City community and the pitch is designated as open space. Therefore any redevelopment of this site would need to re-provide a sport/community/ leisure facility that could achieve substantial benefits for the community as well as open space, on-site or within the borough, in accordance with the other policies within the local Plan. The TA Centre is a low intensity use of land which could be better used given its location. The opportunity for a development to facilitate estate renewal should be considered if the TA facility can be relocated, but development must also contribute to the objectives for regeneration of the area, including housing for local people.
I read this as
- Council will strongly encourage residential development with open space communal provision in the Loftus Road site
- Council will most probably discourage or reject any full scale redevelopment of Loftus Road as a modern state of art football stadium
- It will limit/restrict any possible refurbishment of the current stadium to increase (or worst still decrease) the current seating capacity in accordance to modern requirements and amenities. Possibly zero chance other then cosmetic renovation (change seating to standing). Low or no possibility of upgrading auxiliary area to include any commercial facilities as well
- Even the acquisition of the school precinct west of the stadium would not alter the Council's position, moreover the school site is not included in the White City Regeneration Area which the current stadium site falls under
- Council seems to suggest the Club should look elsewhere (not necessary within the borough, which means they might not want to or able to help seeking an appropriate site) with regards to our "club's ambitions for the next 20 years (foreseeable future)" - If we desire a modern 30,000 capacity stadium with non-match day facilities.
- A possible site swap (as suggested by a few posters) of the Linford Christie Stadium site and Loftus Road Stadium, if the Council is keen to assist, but so far we are hearing negative news on this front
I think we should resign to the fact that Loftus Road Stadium is not a long term viable nor sustainable asset for the club and we should really be looking elsewhere, within the borough, within W12 for another site. I think this understanding of Council's vision in the local planning areas move me on in harbouring any residual thoughts of the possibility of revamping and refurbishing the spiritual home of our club for so many years.
I think someone here has mentioned before a site east of Linford Christie, Latymer Upper school playing fields near Woodlane High School - a possible site? It looks more than twice the size of Loftus Road and is clear of residential buildings abutting and further away from the hospital. Well we don't need the whole site, could do a joint venture to 'redevelop' the site. Anyone knows if the school might be interested in selling (perhaps in exchange for Loftus Road)? Quite a far-fetched idea but looking at how Heston training ground came about out of the blue after years of struggle with Warren Farm, perhaps someone in the club is doing something behind the scene, and suddenly QPR has secure a new stadium site that we all had hoped for after recent debacle with CarGiant/Old Oak common and difficulty which is Linford Christie. Who knows? |  |
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| new stadium on 06:37 - May 12 with 3009 views | Gloucs_R |
We're not getting a new stadium under these owners. Ten years ago the idea was launched, absolutely no progress since. Now one, if not the, oldest, non developed, professional football stadiums in and around London.
As a club we are now plucky old QPR battling to survive in the championship. Our next promotion will be out of league 1 not into the premier. [Post edited 12 May 2023 8:23]
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