QPR flash new stadium!!!!!

[Jeems]

No one is jumping quickly, 10 years at least before it is built.

[MattyRangers]

No one is jumping quickly, 10 years at least before it is built.

You get to this time scale how? But that aside, what makes you think our fan base is going to increase at all between now the opening of this possible new stadium?

[brightonr]

Maybe the 40,000 seater could be designed so that some of it is hidden from view when not at capacity.

Or even with retractable stands with weight sensors that rise from the ground the fuller they get, therefore giving the impression that it is always full, whether we are playing Chelsea in the prem or Shrewsbury in the league cup.

Preferably with seats designed in such a way that would ensure we don't have to leave them when nature calls.

Now, is it my round or Ted's?

[The Godfather]

Agree completely with Matty's post. I think the 40k figure is absolutely ludicrous - there's no way we will fill that stadium. Should be 20-25k max, otherwise it will just be another one of those soulless Ricoh Arena-type grounds.

[lymehoop]

one of the best locations in London, will pay its way on concerts and that is the reason for the capacity

[TW7R]

Agree completely with Matty's post. I think the 40k figure is absolutely ludicrous - there's no way we will fill that stadium. Should be 20-25k max, otherwise it will just be another one of those soulless Ricoh Arena-type grounds.

Love the way everyone uses Coventry as an example.

Why not use Hull, Cardiff, Brighton or Reading as examples?

Have a look at their attendances when they were in their previous grounds to what they get now, and tell me they havnt prospered since increasing their gates in some cases well over double.

Atmospheres too are arguably better (bar reading) so not sure where all this stuff about not filling a ground comes from. If its marketed well and you get the right people in, you gain support and grow. Look at Brighton now to what they were the last time we were in the same league. Who's gonna be taking the **** out of the others Mickey Mouse out of date ground now?

Gone from crowds of 4k or whatever it was to ST sales over 20k I think I read. Does the Samesex Arena resemble the cottage with a load of newbies? No

[stanistheman]

Been there and I agree it is a lovely lovely stadium with superb views all round. And in a Utopia I'd love us to have enough proper fans to fill such a stadium week in week out & have the place rocking. However, we don't. We have about 20k fans tops, with about 15-17k attending matches on a regular basis. Now, there are probably some that do't go due to the ground & it's facilities / condition (although I personally think this is a very poor excuse if so) but not many.

I can see the point of view of people wanting the big shiny stadium, what with the massively increased revenue brought in, club growing etc etc, but I'm speaking here solely as a selfish individual fan and what we would experience on match days. We would no way ever fill 40k - not without literally half being away fans & tourists. Do we want the comfy seats & views at that cost? We would either be a Coventry (soulless empty ground) or a Foolham (filled with tourists). We give Foolham aload of stick about their fanbase & it's makeup, yet if this 40k proposed stadium goes ahead, we have a very good chance of becoming exactly the same. IMO of course.

I don't think we should be building anything more than a 25k seater tbh. Then, as time goes on and we maybe build up a bigger actual fan base (what with the younger generation being enticed in from an an early age) maybe extend further. But I just feel that making such a jump in stadium size so quickly is risking our current "proper" fan base becoming detached from the club altogether and replaced with tourists, businessmen & kids waving flags.

There are some fair points in the above including building a 40K stadium, but I think there are plenty of fans who dont attend games frequently because of the old stadiums. Look at the increase in gates of many clubs who have built new stadiums like Southampton, Reading Stoke Sunderland Middlesbro Leicester and now Brighton. new stadiums and some success Premier League football attract more fans.

I would like to aim for a 30-35,000 seater stadium with room to expand, but as already posted on here, this satdium is around 7 years away. By the time it gets built QPR could be back in the Premier League and be doing a lot better than they did last time around.

It didn't take that long for Chelsea's gates to grow from an average of 25k to 40k. Success will bring in the fans.

I don't see why moving to a new stadium should mean the current 'proper' fan base should become detached from the club. Especially given that it is still local to the current site.

The problem imo though is that 7 years could be too late and QPR could be back in the Premier League and struggling again because they will still be stuck in this 18,000 capacity stadium. This is something that many of us were saying should have been addressed by the previous owners, but they made sure that their matchday experience was great and stuff the rest.

[Jeems]

You get to this time scale how? But that aside, what makes you think our fan base is going to increase at all between now the opening of this possible new stadium?

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11711/8881167/ according to this, the entire site will be finished by 2026 so the 10 year stadium was an estimate on my part. Realistic imo, given how long everything takes in this country.

I believe our fan base will grow by looking at other teams around us who have done the same. Chelsea and Fulham are the obvious examples, but the best one to look at is actually Brighton. Sub 10k crowds until a move to a new stadium combined with success on the pitch means they now fill a 30k stadium. They started planning their stadium in 1998. I can only imagine what their fans were thinking at the time - 10mil in debt and the directors planning a 30k stadium!

[stanistheman]

Love the way everyone uses Coventry as an example.

Why not use Hull, Cardiff, Brighton or Reading as examples?

Have a look at their attendances when they were in their previous grounds to what they get now, and tell me they havnt prospered since increasing their gates in some cases well over double.

Atmospheres too are arguably better (bar reading) so not sure where all this stuff about not filling a ground comes from. If its marketed well and you get the right people in, you gain support and grow. Look at Brighton now to what they were the last time we were in the same league. Who's gonna be taking the **** out of the others Mickey Mouse out of date ground now?

Gone from crowds of 4k or whatever it was to ST sales over 20k I think I read. Does the Samesex Arena resemble the cottage with a load of newbies? No

Probably because they like the more pessimistic viewpoint.

As for building up the fanbase to fill a 40K stadium, it can't happen soon because the current stadium will not allow it to even grow to 20,000. There is no room for expansion, other than create a waiting list for tickets.

The QPR Board will just have to build a stadium and find a way of making the seats retractable to decrease/increase capacity as and when required so that it doesn't look 50-70% full. They could perhaps ensure that seats in the top rows of stands are covered up or disguised so that they do not remain empty.

The only real way forward is a new stadium. If they don't build it soon the club will just stay a mid-range Championship club.

[TW7R]

Probably because they like the more pessimistic viewpoint.

As for building up the fanbase to fill a 40K stadium, it can't happen soon because the current stadium will not allow it to even grow to 20,000. There is no room for expansion, other than create a waiting list for tickets.

The QPR Board will just have to build a stadium and find a way of making the seats retractable to decrease/increase capacity as and when required so that it doesn't look 50-70% full. They could perhaps ensure that seats in the top rows of stands are covered up or disguised so that they do not remain empty.

The only real way forward is a new stadium. If they don't build it soon the club will just stay a mid-range Championship club.

How did Brighton manage to increase their home gates almost 4 fold when moving into a new stadium?

[Del]

Should be 20-25k max,

What would be the point of spending a fortune on a new stadium and only increasing the capacity by 2k?

[brightonr]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11711/8881167/ according to this, the entire site will be finished by 2026 so the 10 year stadium was an estimate on my part. Realistic imo, given how long everything takes in this country.

I believe our fan base will grow by looking at other teams around us who have done the same. Chelsea and Fulham are the obvious examples, but the best one to look at is actually Brighton. Sub 10k crowds until a move to a new stadium combined with success on the pitch means they now fill a 30k stadium. They started planning their stadium in 1998. I can only imagine what their fans were thinking at the time - 10mil in debt and the directors planning a 30k stadium!

For all but the last season or two that Brighton were at Withdean, the main reason for the crowds being less than 10,000 was that there were less than 7,000 seats. The reason for the delay was planning problems and legal challenges from residents in the local village who were up in arms about lots of people pitching up every couple of weeks. Funny really, as they don't seem to mind being surrounded by Brighton University campus on one side and Sussex University campus on the other for most of the year. And quite frankly, if you have ever been to the village of Falmer, you would be forgiven for not noticing you had.

You make many valid points, but Brighton is most definitely not the best example.

[stanistheman]

How did Brighton manage to increase their home gates almost 4 fold when moving into a new stadium?

I am not disagreeing with you. Merely pointing out that without the capacity (which Loftus Road does not have), we cannot see how the attendances will grow from 18,000.

QPR will just have to build the stadium and see how many fans attend games. And should they find that it is not filled straight away, build a squad capable of gaining success and the fans will go and watch games, just as Chelsea went from 25,000 to 40,000 sell-outs inside 5 seasons.

[brightonr]

How did Brighton manage to increase their home gates almost 4 fold when moving into a new stadium?

By putting in 4 times the number of seats.

That's not meant sarcastically, it is the truth.

[lymehoop]

How did Brighton manage to increase their home gates almost 4 fold when moving into a new stadium?

they were already there, Goldstone Ground regularly had 20,000 plus