I have been in the Suncorp in Brisbane but only the once. I had a few beers beforehand so my memory is a bit vague but I can honestly say the stadium didn't strike me as anything fantastic. Large yes but a bit bland. The only thing I remember about being there was the ridiculous thing they do when the home team score a try. A bird does a lap of the pitch on horseback waving a flag. Really enjoyed the game of rugby league mind.
Guys, the suncorp is a great stadium, but far to large for us...holds around 60k i think? great layout, multiple entries, easy acces to food, loads of leg rookm and Plent of large bogs !! there are No resticted views and every seat is designed so you can see the whole pitch. As a ground, when full it has an electric atmosphere, esp for origin and the like, but like all big grounds, when half full its a bit too big. I really like it as a ground and acces etc is fantastic. Only thin i dont like is that the fron section is fairly flat and does not give the same feel as LR...(does anywhere). If we were to get a ground similar to Suncorp, we'd be the envy of most of the country....Not sure we have the land to do it though.... Neve rseen that bird on a horse thing though?...just how drunk were you?!!! From memory, Wellington Pheonix have a good stadium.....Kiwi?
I can only think of one thing that anyone would really miss when we do finally leave Loftus Road and that is the intimacy. This is slightly intangible and will be very hard to explain to a stadium designer. Is it solely down to the proximity of the stands to the pitch, or is it actually due to the emotional investment that we, the supporters, have in the club? We have all been through so many peaks and troughs in that dear old stadium and those cannot be replicated nor transferred to a new stadium. It will be a new start and should be treated as such, it could be argued that as we are now moving into a very exciting new and far more professional era, that this symbol of our previously “amateur” past is left behind helping to preserving our cherished memories of Rodney, Gerry, Stan, Les, Kevin in their historical setting.
A good way to test whether Tomy F and Amit B really are the leaders who will take us to the promised land will be in the design of the new stadium. The priorities are IMHO: 1 Decent leg room 2 No pillars 3 Steeply rising stand 4 Close proximity to the pitch. 5 Capacity to use it for other events 6 Capacity to increase. I am sceptical as to how easy it would be to fill an overlarge stadium. There are 5 other PL sides in London. When we were previously successful at this level the best we achieved was an average crowd of 23-24,000. That will change but only when we put silverware in the boardroom. Kids who come to LR enjoy the experience because of the atmosphere. However most kids want to be supporters of the champions. We will be their second or third favourite team. So far I assume that there are no dissenters. We replicate the atmosphere of Loftus Road but avoid the problems. I'm keeping quiet about the bogs and the catering. The real test is to decide who they are building it for? 5 No C Club or pandering to celebrities at the expense of us the supporters. We should not have difficulty in getting tickets because the club has reserved a large section of overpriced tickets for sale to hospitality companies 6 Sensible ticket prices - even for away supporters.
I think you have it Roller. No one in their right mind can feel that LR is anything but an embarrassment in terms of facilities and so on, but come September I will have 40 years invested in the place. For me, and I guess quite a few of us, it was where I spent my best 'bonding time' with my late Dad, who would be enjoying himself so much now. I sincerely hope, and actually expect, that the new stadium will make us proud. But it will also mark a generational divide, as we attract new followers who never saw the team at Loftus Road. We have to welcome the newbies, who will be crucial to our future, but also make sure they understand the traditions. The blokes who deserve this most are those who started following the Hoops after 1996, watching a team in decline in increasingly decrepit surroundings. They have my utmost respect. It was easy for me - first game a 3-0 thumping of Cardiff (Givens 2, Bowles) in our promotion year from the old Second Division ( mind you it was September, so promotion wasn't nailed on, I'm not a glory chaser, honest guv!). Never a dull moment since, I am privileged that QPR chose me. PS with you all the way Yorkshire, that's the spec. I won't brand them traitors if it doesn't work out exactly like that though, they are already on the road to being Rs legends.
Those who quote historical attendances should remember that the Premier League brand does tend to sell out grounds particularly when teams enjoy a bit of sucess. We don't sell out at present mainly due to the School End usually not selling all away tickets and the crap views some of the seats offer. If we currently had a 35,000 seat stadium we'd average around 30,000 due to the number of big games selling out even though we'd be down to the low 20s for some lesser opposition...
I think a lot of us will be able to relate to the comments about your late Dad 73; football and QPR, and by extension Loftus Road, have been a huge part of me and my Dad's time together and for that reason I'll miss Loftus Road and cherish all the great memories we have from the ground - watching him falling into the row in front whilst celebrating Furlong's 83rd minute winner against Oldham in the play-off semi was hilarious! I am however fortunate in that, all being well, I'll be able to enjoy a good few seasons in the new stadium with him too. I also agree about welcoming the newbies that a new stadium and bigger status will inevitably bring - we all talk about wanting to see QPR grow as a club, and a necessary part of that is gaining new supporters. New QPR supporters should always be made to feel welcome. I also happen to be one of those post-1996 supporters - my first game was our 3-0 victory over West Ham on the final day of the 95-96 season when I was five years old. I don't really remember it, but I know my love-affair with the R's started then and there. As a matter of fact I don't really feel it warrants a lot of respect as you suggest, I quite enjoyed supporting a different club from the other kids at school no matter how badly we did. In fact even as we descended into League One I became even happier that I supported QPR, and became even prouder of who we were and our tradition and the fact that I, like so many other fans, were sticking with the club despite its misfortunes. When I came to Liverpool for uni (I've just graduated with a 2:1 in BA French, over the moon but where have the last four years gone?!) being a QPR supporter was a source of pride, and a great talking point for meeting new people (always getting asked why I supported a rubbish team!). To be honest, I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of supporting QPR and wouldn't change it for anything in the world, as I'm sure none of you would, so no respect necessary just for a random point at which I, or any others Rangers fans my age, stepped onto the rollercoaster ride!
That's a great post Liverpool, congratulations on the degree and good luck in the job market, unless you are sorted already. And, if you insist, respect withdrawn.
Cheers for the good wishes 73! I've got a part-time job at the moment and just taking some time out, but I'll be applying for 'proper' jobs during the autumn I think, hopefully down in London so I can finally buy myself a season ticket again for the 2013/14 season! Haven't had one since before uni so quite excited about the prospect
In our "glory season" we had 35k last game of the season against Leeds and regularly had crowds of 30k and over. I think a 35k stadium with room to expand would be the way to go!!
Yes Col. We have to realize that if we're doing well on the field, and all the goings on at the moment suggests we will, we'll attract a lot of the youth of the area and our fan-base will expand. I said before that 30k would be sufficient but now I think around the 35k mark would be ideal.
Trouble is how are we going to expand if we have a closing roof? I think it would be a good idea to design an extra tier to be added but have no idea if its possible.
But what about when were in the CL and are restricted by the capacity again! I think 45k is what we need if we werent going to expand but 35 is right for us right now but not sure about the future.
Trouble is, a 45k stadium would be very hard to get anywhere near full in the short term and would be very soulless!!
Wed fill that against the top half teams but not the bottom. It all comes down to the cost, if it was £20 a game for Wigan/Norwich etc then we would get loads of floating punters who could be turned into fans. If we sell out almost every game after building it then its self evident the ground is too small.
Yes....I get that. I don't think there's an ideal solution other than leaving room to extend, which would presumably rule out a roof. Would that be so terrible?
Rangercol. It does not mean that a roof rules out a further expansion. it would not be impossible for the roof to be removed for a further tier and then be fitted back again.
