QPR stadium move key to Premier League survival, insists owner Tony Fernandes Loftus Road has been home to QPR for more than a century Tony Fernandes has earmarked Old Oak Common as the only viable site But car dealership Car Giant are also determined to redevelop the site Fernandes says moving to a stadium with a 40,000 capacity is necessary to sustain top-flight football for the club By Pa Reporter Published: 01:39 GMT, 20 November 2014 | Updated: 02:00 GMT, 20 November 2014 QPR owner Tony Fernandes (above) said that moving to a bigger stadium is necessary for QPR to sustain top-flight football QPR owner Tony Fernandes has stressed the need to move away from their Loftus Road home if the west London club are to continue to thrive in the Barclays Premier League. However the club look set for a drawn-out legal planning process, with motor dealership Car Giant also determined to redevelop the site QPR have proposed for a new football stadium. Loftus Road has been the club's base for over a century, but the stadium holds just 18,439 spectators, currently the lowest capacity in the English top flight. Fernandes believes relocating to a new 40,000 seat, multi-purpose stadium approximately three miles away at Old Oak Common would allow the club to fully develop its potential and presents the 'only realistic place for us to move.' According to QPR, the project, which is in its first stage of consultation, would also create 24,000 homes, 55,000 jobs and community facilities as part of a regeneration of the area, which the club says is, at present, a 'patch of unsightly and under-used land'. However, car dealership Car Giant also has its own plans for redevelopment of an area which has been earmarked for a new Crossrail and HS2 'superstation' hub. The car dealership already owns the majority of land, some 47 acres, on Old Oak Common where it has been established for more than 30 years and is a major employer with some 700 jobs. Negotiations between the two groups have hit an impasse, although the Greater London Authority remains hopeful an amicable agreement over the future of the site can eventually be reached. Car Giant intends to commence a public consultation on its 'Old Oak Park' regeneration proposal for early in the new year, with a planning application supporting the Mayor of London's proposal to build a total of 24,000 new homes set for autumn 2015. QPR, though, remain totally committed to their own relocation proposals. Fernandes said: 'We need to move on from Loftus Road if we are to sustain a top-flight football club and Old Oak Common is the only realistic place for us to move. '(It is) close to our fans and our roots, with great transport links, and the opportunity to be at the heart of the most exciting new development in west London for years.' The club have conducted their own research into the project which involved a six-day public exhibition, meetings with local groups, 50,000 newsletters and a project website. QPR say their findings have been favourable, with 88 per cent supporting Old Oak as the location for the Hoops' new stadium. 'We are delighted that so many of our fans and members of the local community share our vision for the future of both QPR and Old Oak,' Fernandes added. 'This is only the first stage of consultation and we will continue to work with the community as we develop our plans in more detail. 'Old Oak is the biggest regeneration since the Olympics and we have a responsibility to future generations to get it right. 'We need a comprehensive planned approach with a stadium as its beating heart, led by a football club with a stronger interest in the local community than any other kind of business.' The managing director of Car Giant, Tony Mendes, meanwhile, believes his company's own proposals are best suited to the site. 'The plans of Old Oak Park will bring a new and vibrant destination to London with large public open spaces, new schools, waterside recreational areas, thousands of affordable homes for the local community and thousands of new jobs,' Mendes said in a statement released to Press Association Sport. 'We are making good progress and our public consultation will begin soon asking for community input to assure the regeneration can bring what the residents would like within this exciting new development. 'Our design plans will be based around quality and sustainable open spaces and buildings, and will include an upgrade of the rundown Grand Union Canal. The team looks forward to working with the statutory authorities and the local residents to bring the regeneration plans to life. 'In establishing Old Oak Park Ltd, Car Giant is progressing plans for outline planning permission and has started conducting site surveys. 'We have a firm and compelling vision for Old Oak Common.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...sists-owner-Tony-Fernandes.html#ixzz3JaNupHql Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
I am a big Tony fan but you could read a statement like that as a get out clause. Must have a stadium etc etc. Tried hard but that nasty Car Giant bloke scuppered our plans. Therefore, with great regret, putting QPR up for sale etc. Probably rubbish but not impossible.
Tony thinks he needs a football stadium as a lever to make his cash on 24,000 homes and office blocks. I don't think we need 24,000 homes and office blocks to build a stadium. We need about 20 acres of land, not Car Giants 47 acres, or the 800 plus that is the whole site. Why not press ahead with a stadium and co-operate with Car Giant and others on the rest of the site? Oh, because there is not enough dosh in it......you could be right RTID, if the property development fails, the club loses its primary function for Tone the businessman. But Tone the fan, populist and adrenalin junkie might feel differently.
Unfortunately, I feel the same way. TF states that Old Oak is the only realistic place to move. I can not believe that this is true. There would be other options. However this is the only realistic place to move for the current owners to make 10s of millions of pounds of profit. The next few years will prove the motive of the owners. If Old Oak falls through and TF etc stay committed, we know that they are in it for the club. If not we will see an exit strategy being formulated. Interesting times ahead for us over the next few years! It's never dull.
Sorry chaps, but I really don’t think that the grief Tony is getting on this one is very fair. The club is right now going head-to-head with Car Giant as being earmarked by the GLA as their preferred developer to build on the Old Oak land. At this stage the priority has to be all about building our proposition, gaining local support and getting the political backing for it. With that in mind, what’s he supposed to say? “Well, it’s not really that crucial for us to move there, or to build a bigger stadium at the moment. Even if it were, well, if doesn't have to be there. It’s no biggie, we’ll just look for somewhere else”…? That’d really help the cause! There may well come a time for compromise further down the line, (which is probably the most likely outcome). And there may be a time for coming out publicly and saying that we have back-up plans in place. But this is not it.
Fair comment. I'm just disturbed by the stadium being completely tied to a massive property development, though financially for the owners it makes perfect sense and is a huge opportunity.
That is the only way that he/we/they can afford to do it. Build just a stadium and it will take years and years to get the investment back - long term borrowing involved. It won't be owned by QPR Football club. That could make for difficulties if 10 years down the line Fernandes and Co decide to sell it off to raise money. Much prefer the option where the stadium is part of something much bigger where the profit on the non-stadium parts can be used to finance the stadium itself. We do not have the luxury that certain other clubs have had of getting the local council to finance a new stadium which they then lease to the club on match days.
The fact that Tony has come out again means something I am sorry but you don't blurt out plans of this nature in Business unless of course they are just plans I have a plan to buy something but I am keeping it under my hat
That latter option is a non starter anyway I think, very difficult to generate revenue that way, as Coventry found out. You are probably right Eamon, there is no way they can get their £200m and rising by the day back with a stadium only project, which is why I said it makes sense from the owners' perspective. Had they not thrown money around on transfers and more significantly salaries for 3 years perhaps we would have more options. I hope it works the way you say, and the rest of the project pays for the stadium build, but I doubt we will ever be privy to the ins and outs of the financing. If they pull this off and we end up in a paid for shiny new stadium in the middle of a gleaming new district with a train line to my house in 7 or 8 years, they'll deserve undying praise and adoration. But we are QPR fans so they'll be something else to moan about.
Given both parties seemed to be entrenching their positions, how is it that the GLC "remains hopeful of an amicable outcome."? Do they know something we don't or are they ridiculously optimistic?
Good guess but it is in fact a coypu as they are all the rage Having one of these on your helps with my multi tasking They look good, have a mind of their own and can pick up wifi automatically Downsides: careful what you feed them if you want to keep up a professional appearance
Sorry SB but yourself and many other’s are way of the point. Obviously you are approaching it from a QPR perspective, wanting stadium to go ahead but in reality that’s the bit that in all likelihood wont go ahead. What is definitely going ahead at Old Oak is the home/ office and commercial developments. There is too much land, too much money and too many updgrades too infrastructure going on in that area for it not too happen. Our tone is only a small part of the deal. He isn’t putting the money up for 20 od thousand homes etc other big money men that will be doing that regardless. A key person is the same bloke behind the emirates/highbury development So the next thing to consider is do they need the stadium development to make this happen? The answer to that is no. However that isn’t to say it couldn’t happen. But what I’ve been told by people in the know is that for Rangers to have any chance of success in getting this along is to bring Car Giant into the deal. Their site and separate sites they have bought in relatively recent past are all key to the development. Unless Rangers pair up with them then Rangers wont have any deal at all. Unfortunately I am told that poor old naïve Tone who I have long stood up for because his intentions are good is surrounded by a lot of highly paid advisors telling him what suits them and what he wants to hear but not giving him real business facts: the community buy in is bull s**t. Bring Car Giant onside to your thinking or you are ****ed. A separate consortium involving car giant are already touting the sites to developers via CJ O’Shea from what I know. Unless there is a change in approach this development WILL go on without us. If it works out that way will Tone stick around? I’m not so sure. Lets hope Amit swoops in and finally gets full control of the club if things work out that way
In contrast to our rich and well-connected owners, I can't imagine that Car Giant has ready access to the hundreds of millions (billions?) that this development would cost. Therefore, I think that they will have to compromise because we have the funding that they will struggle to find.
All very believable Damage. I think I expressed myself poorly, I certainly do not think the stadium is important to the development, but it gives Tone a spurious 'community' story to tell. You are right about the QPR perspective though. Until relatively recently I was very keen on the business side of this and was a great supporter of Tone, who I still think is a likeable bloke, But I've lost interest, I just want to watch decent football in good, atmospheric surroundings before I draw my pension. I really don't care if thats on a brownfield site in Hillingdon or wherever. The machinations involving this deal, just like the training ground, are becoming hugely tedious.
This deal is too big for it to be all funded out of one company\ individual. Too get this over the line car giants land and separate sites they now own are vital. That means that other very wealthy people are doing what our Tone isn't... bringing them into the deal and ensuring that they will end up making a lot of money when the deal goes ahead and their plan is approved
Car giant don't have the money. But they have the land. This deal is too big for it to be one company\person... other smarter wealthy people aree bringing them onside to help make sure their plan is the one that gets approval
Absolutely zero reason at all that they can't be building the training ground now. Another reason to doubt TF. Talk is now they want a smaller site but that will need a new planning submission and opportunity for Carolyn Brown and dog poo brigade to start all over again
