QPR 1st Supportersâ Trust has drawn up a first draft of a comprehensive survey to ask fans what they want to see in the clubâs planned new stadium. The Trust is asking for comments from supporters before the survey is finalised. Trust chair Stephen Dedridge said: âIf the club are to get the new stadium right, then it is vital that those who will be using it â the supporters â get a say on its design and facilities.â âWe have worked with Supportersâ Direct and supporter trusts of other clubs to find examples of surveys that have actually made a difference. The draft we are now publishing is based on the best examples we have found, and made relevant for QPR. We want to hear from supporters if they think the right questions are being asked, and if there are other issues they want to see covered.â QPR1st wants the club to take up the survey and use it to make sure supporters have their say on the new stadium. Last year QPR chief executive Philip Beard promised there would be consultation with supporters on the new stadium. Since then the club asked supporters to fill in on-line survey forms on how they travelled to the recent Wigan and Blackpool games at Loftus Road, but has yet to ask fans about the stadium itself. Stephen Dedridge said âThe clubâs programme for the Blackpool game reminded us how things can go wrong. The move to a larger stadium in the 1960s resulted in plunging attendances because the stadium was just not right for the club and its supporters.â âWe donât want that to be repeated,â he said. A good example of supporters being surveyed was around proposals for a new stadium for Bristol City. Working with the supportersâ trust, the club surveyed supporters on a wide range of issues. The findings were shared with the architects for their proposed new stadium nearly a year before they published their design for the stadium. Supporters were surveyed again on the published designs. It was a win-win situation; supporters could see their views had been considered and often taken up, and the club could see that involving supporters led to an increase in support for the project. Supporters are asked to comment on the survey and its questions before it is finalised. Comments should be sent to [email protected] by 27 April. You can view the draft online here: http://www.qpr1st.com/draft-survey-stadium/ Or download it directly from http://www.qpr1st.com/
No seats, decent Youngs or Fullers at discounted prices, almost vertical stands, and sing QPR for 90 minutes or you're out (no refunds).
Some good news on the stadium, apparently were going to own it and not be tenants, not sure if the other things like the hotel and conference room will funnel money into us or the owners though. Also, the owners will have an official consultation about the stadium with the fans. Things like sound proofing the away corner and having a designated singing home end are very important to the atmosphere.
Reasonably well thought out survey though some questions are no brainers eg 'do you want more leg room?'!! Other questions are odd. For example, what would they do if we all said we wanted the stands to be as close to the pitch as they are at LR? That would look rather daft in a new 40k seater stadium IMO. I know the proximity contributes to the atmosphere at LR but being able to run up for a decent throw in or corner is important too!
It won't be as close as LR, I don't think that's even allowed. I'd settle for about 3m and hopefully not 10-15m like at the flatpacks that have a massive cinder track around them. They only need that massive space to host internationals so I don't think we will be affected.
What is QPR First? Nice try but lots of leading questions in that survey, and missed out the key one for me - should the stadium have a retractable roof, which would really set us apart from the crowd. I assume they are going to send this to the club which will do the proper consultation.
I'd really like to think that survey's weren't needed for this kind of thing as the key elements are so self-evident to most football supporters: A multipurpose stadium by all means but with a clear focus on football. So, seating to be close to the pitch. A reasonable amount of legroom in all seats. Clear sight lines from all seats. Cantilevered roof of course but also the slight curve in the stands you see at places like the Etihad so everyone can see into the corners. Enough toilets to make half-time bearable. Decent concourses where you can meet up with friends and eat/drink in comfort. Other than the first item I'm really just saying don't use the Ellerslie as the model for anything.
Also, have a high front row so there's a good view from there, it would also allow extra advertising. My mate went to the etihad and couldn't see the anything below the knee in the far half because the dome of the pitch blocked the view. It will also stop ball boys, stewards, sub's photographers etc getting in the way.
If they really are serious about 40k capacity, I'd like some aesthetically pleasing way of hiding the spare capacity for when we aren't playing games that will deliver anything approaching that. Something like massive tarpaulins with faces of past heroes - maybe wearing Generals uniforms - like those portraits crowds supporting Gaddaffi or Saddam used to spontaneously bring out back in the day.
