Extensive quotes from Tony Fernandes. Regarding the stadium he says 'it is in the hands of the council now' so there are definite plans to extend / redevelop Loftus Road. Article goes on to imply that it is unlikely to happen at LR - maybe just the way I read it. Comments on fact that we are the smallest capacity in premier league. Generally a positive article as expected of this amiable and positive man.
realistically where could we move to? it's not like Brighton where you just pick a big field and start building? real estate would be expensive and no doubt there'd be countless objections by the locals so any planning and design could take quite a few years?
There is room between the White City station and the A40. It is the old dairy site and I think there is room.
The nearest large brownfield site is the old railway yards just south of Kensal Green tube. Loft of open space, an old turntable bed, some other derelict buildings. Probably earmarked for housing.
Exactly. It's all in the "White City Opportunity Area" and as I've mentioned before, QPR have been part of a working group of organizations and businesses looking into ways to develop this area for about a year now. A PDF of the consultation document is available online. If we build a new stadium anywhere it'll be there.
Kaspars, did read your post and was encouraged to read that. That would be the FANTASTIC solution for us. Also consider what a new stadium is structurally made of? I wonder where the contract for that steel would go to?! More tax deductible expenses!!
There was another post yesterday about a possible stadium. If you go on google earth and have a look at LR and then transport it in your mind to the Unigate dairy site at White City there doesn't appear to be much more room than where we are now. Then add in to the equation that it would mean closing a major intersection of the A40 and wood lane on each match day, which would go down like a lead balloon with London Transport and Westfield as every bus in London now seems to go to the shopping center, I just don't think the site is viable for us. But have a look at Wormwood Scrubs on Google earth. There is already the West London/Lindford Christie stadium there. Right next door is a perfect site just behind the prison. I know it's probably brownfield land, but it's up to the council. H&F council have stated their desire to keep us in the borough, so if we offer a deal whereby we get a new stadium and develop the public playing fields with new facilities and a football academy, then I think the council and club would be happy all round.
This was in the guardian yesterday. QPR's new owner Tony Fernandes considers move away from Loftus Road • QPR will find it difficult to expand capacity of their ground • Malaysian owner acknowledges support for Neil Warnock It will be difficult for QPR to expand the capacity of Loftus Road in residential west London. Photograph: Graham Turner Owen Gibson The Observer, Sat 20 Aug 2011 22.00 BST Tony Fernandes, the new owner of Queens Park Rangers, is to look again at plans to move away from Loftus Road to a larger stadium as part of his long-term vision for the club. The Team Lotus co-owner, who bought a 66% stake in the west London club on Thursday for £35m and pledged a further £10m to invest immediately, said that while the first priority was Premier League survival he would look again at plans to move to a new, bigger ground in due course. QPR's capacity is 18,300 and successive owners have discovered that its proximity to houses and planning constraints make it almost impossible to expand on the current site. While wary of making specific promises, Fernandes said moving to a larger ground was a long-term ambition. "That's in the hands of the council and it's too early. [But] I don't think there is room here," he said. "It's early days but of course it would be great to get a bigger stadium, that is certainly in my mind. There are always possibilities. I am a big believer that anything's possible if you put your mind to it. But right now, stadiums are a long way away. Let's survive." Moves to Hillingdon, Park Royal and Wembley have been mooted in recent years but none has even reached the drawing board. Like near neighbours Chelsea, QPR are constrained by the lack of available sites in west London. The size of the ground was partly what drove the decision of the previous owners to hike prices when they reached the Premier League. Season ticket prices went up by 40% and individual match tickets to between £47 and £72. Fernandes and the club's vice-chairman, Amit Bhatia, who has returned to that role after resigning following clashes with Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone over strategy, have promised to review ticket prices before QPR's next home match. The new owner also vowed to continue using social networking site Twitter to communicate with fans, despite it being the cause of his public spat with the West Ham United owners David Gold and David Sullivan during an earlier abortive bid to take over the east London club. He said that hundreds of QPR fans had already been in touch with him using the medium. "Lots on players, lots on ticket prices, ideas on marketing. There's a deep love for Neil [Warnock] here, it's very apparent. They just want a chairman who will give the manager support." He also moved to reassure fans that the money he and his two Malaysian partners paid for the shares of Ecclestone and Briatore was not borrowed or loaded on to the club. "This is not a leveraged deal. This is cash. I don't believe in leverage. I am an old-fashioned businessman. Cash is king and businesses must be run sensibly. We shouldn't burden the club. If that was the case it wouldn't be fair on the club." Fernandes, a lifelong West Ham fan who made two attempts to buy that club, said that he had also had a long attachment to QPR and its patch of west London, reminiscing about attending his first English match at Loftus Road in the mid-1980s and watching Barry McGuigan's world title fight with Eusebio Pedroza at the ground. The other thing that had drawn him to QPR, he said, was his immediate rapport with the staff, including Neil Warnock. "In many ways we're very similar. We're a bit impulsive sometimes, we probably say the wrong thing and upset a few people along the way. But I love his passion," he said. "I'm a bit more controlled than him but he's ever so infectious. He's just black and white. You don't see any hidden agenda and what you see is what you get. He's coming to the end of his career and this is a chance to really build something. I hope he'll stay here for a long, long time." Not even mention of Gold and Sullivan, who he said sparked "World War 17" when he revealed on Twitter that he had made an offer for the club, could dull his ebullient mood. "There was a bit of bitterness but that's over. As far as I'm concerned, if they want to have dinner I'm up for it. I want them to succeed. It's water under the bridge, we move on."
Thanks TLR, and what he said on 5live about it was very interesting as well. Iplayer at the end of sportsweek.
I'm sure it's something the Mittals would have been keen on for some time and I'm sure Fernandes realizes that without a new stadium then the club will be losing money at quiet a rate. Moving is the only option and I'm sure if we do secure our position for next season then the plans will go into full swing.
