new fans and fanbase

[superhoop67]

with all the talk of new stadiums and ground share ,people are saying this is the way forward to get a larger fanbase , but is it ? my view , 1. success will only bring long term fans and more success will keep them , this is only done by a good manager and players . 2, short term cheap prices fill the ground with a casual fan hence the Fulham way ,souless and no away support ,as every one knows one bad season at CC and there crowds will halve ,3. the FA way ,get rid of the old school fan and aim for a new audiance which is starting to backfire at the Euros no travelling fans just e few die hards ,the new fans would rather watch it round the buddies house with a Pimms and talk about the new rugby season , even MP's aint taking up there freebies as it is not a vote catcher anymore [unless we make the final]
my point is you can't build a new ground and fill it overnight and keep it filled without success and our fanbase like it or not is very much traditional Paddington to Hmmersmith along the old Met line and were there familys have moved to , we donot have the attraction for the floating fan Chelsea have taken that sector , so i feel we are stuck with what we have a few pots along the way ,

[Pal]

I still feel you would get more new fans and returning lapsed fans if the package was more in keeping with the prices they are being asked to pay. Decent parking and infrastructure, decent views and seats with legroom. This coupled with success on the field will bring in the punters.
If a new stadium had the ability to bring in revenue streams on non match days, with retail outlets and corporate facilities, along with sharing the ground with another sporting concern, then it would make the whole thing viable.

You can't restrict the fanbase to a few postcodes in West London, I live out in the shires and there are loads of Rs fans around the home counties who would start/resume going to games if it was a more enticing package

If you build it, they will come.

[andythefish]

I still feel you would get more new fans and returning lapsed fans if the package was more in keeping with the prices they are being asked to pay. Decent parking and infrastructure, decent views and seats with legroom. This coupled with success on the field will bring in the punters.
If a new stadium had the ability to bring in revenue streams on non match days, with retail outlets and corporate facilities, along with sharing the ground with another sporting concern, then it would make the whole thing viable.
You can't restrict the fanbase to a few postcodes in West London, I live out in the shires and there are loads of Rs fans around the home counties who would start/resume going to games if it was a more enticing package

If you build it, they will come.

Totally agree with that post!

[vblockranger]

lets face it, something needs to be done because currently our ground offers up a very poor matchday experience. Tight seating and some poor views coupled with terrible expensive food and bad access all for a high expense. Something needs to be done if we are to sustain our prem position.

[stanistheman]

I still feel you would get more new fans and returning lapsed fans if the package was more in keeping with the prices they are being asked to pay. Decent parking and infrastructure, decent views and seats with legroom. This coupled with success on the field will bring in the punters.
If a new stadium had the ability to bring in revenue streams on non match days, with retail outlets and corporate facilities, along with sharing the ground with another sporting concern, then it would make the whole thing viable.

You can't restrict the fanbase to a few postcodes in West London, I live out in the shires and there are loads of Rs fans around the home counties who would start/resume going to games if it was a more enticing package

If you build it, they will come.

Good to see that there are some on here who share similar views to me. I live in an area where spotting Chelsea fans is unsual. Or at least it was 10 years ago. Now they are seen on a regular basis, especially the kids. A successful QPR can attract new fans from all over London, especially the younger generation who often change clubs before they settle on one at aprox 8-12 years old.

Success will bring new fans, but also the stadium's comfort and views is also vital. Not all fans are THAT committed to want to or can afford to pay £40 to be squashed and watch football via a roof support.

The stadium, can easily be built with shops or even office space to bring in rental income. Maybe even a hotel with special rates for overseas fans or even those living miles away from London who fancy a weekend trip.


Perhaps QPR wont fill a 30,000 seater stadium in the first season or two, but they will certainly come close to doing so for a few games each season i.e. Arsenal Chelseas, Spus, Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool. Even if they only sold 25-27500 ffor these games, it is still at least 1/3 more than they will at Loftus Road.

It's good to have Phil Beard at the club, as he seems to know what he is doing and has some good plans for the club.

[w12dave]

there are many old rangers fans that not seen qpr play for years, i bet most of them wll come back now we looking to stay the premier league for years to come and playing better football, especially in a new stadium

[davman]

My personal view is reduce the prices and the crowds will grow. £40+ for a ticket is just too much to be honest. £30 and I'd visit HQ more.

[neetoneeto]

lets face it, something needs to be done because currently our ground offers up a very poor matchday experience. Tight seating and some poor views coupled with terrible expensive food and bad access all for a high expense. Something needs to be done if we are to sustain our prem position.

Wow, I find myself agreeing! To be a fully-fledged premiership team, you have to offer a premier experience. At the moment we have the smallest ground in the league, and we can't even fill that on most match days. You therefore have to conclude that we probably have the lowest fan-base in the premiership, and I guess that just isn't economically sustainable. If we want to play permanently at the top table, we have to increase this fanbase and this must mean a new bigger ground, along with more legroom and comfier seats, parking, access to a transport infrastructure, plus these days all the concomitant accessories/facilities that will make such an enterprise worthwhile, ie, shops, restaurants, bars, spa, health and sports centre etc etc. A place exists behind Westfield and it is already in the council blueprint for the area.

But first we've got to achieve some kind of success, and be a Wigan-like team forever struggling to keep out of the relegation zone. Hughes is building such a team that can attract new fans, and it seems to me that the whole of QPR management is behind this ideal. It is incredibly ambitious and very exciting, and forget a four-year plan, this is ten years in the making, but it'll all be worthwhile.

[w12dave]

i love loftus road but thinking about it now we really do need a new stadium , when i went to mk dons i was well impress with the view, it didnt feel like we were miles away from the pitch


stadium like mk dons i be quite confidence we wont lose the atmosphere we got at LD

[DeepcutHoop]

lets face it, something needs to be done because currently our ground offers up a very poor matchday experience. Tight seating and some poor views coupled with terrible expensive food and bad access all for a high expense. Something needs to be done if we are to sustain our prem position.

Spot on

[Will M]

My personal view is reduce the prices and the crowds will grow. £40+ for a ticket is just too much to be honest. £30 and I'd visit HQ more.

I agree, building a new stadium and reducing ticket prices across the board will certainly attract fans. New and old alike. Plus, saving money on their seats, they're more likely to spend it on other stuff, like programmes, food etc. So the club will still gain revenue from that anyway.

Although, they need to take into account season tickets at the reduced rate.

It will take 2-3 seasons build a new stadium anyway, what with planning and permissions and all the usual hoop-la. By then, we would hopefully be an established Premier League side, and the move will be justified.

[Westbyfleetr]

Lets face it, success attracts crowds. People we may call glory hunters now can in time become firm fans and raise their kids to fans. Fulham were bottoming out on 2,500-4,500 for a decade. Now they get 25,000 (at home at least). Plus the area of West London is ever changing demographically with new people moving in from not just the UK but all over the world - similarly QPR got a big Irish fanbase in the 60s and 70s with Irish arriving in Kilburn - many of whom hadn't even followed football before given its profile ion the old country - only now the club and the Prem league fits in with the more monied types coming into the captial

[W12hoops]

2 good seasons and we've got 75% of the fulham fans, simple as.

[vblockranger]

2 good seasons and we've got 75% of the fulham fans, simple as.

lol dont even joke about it

[W12hoops]

lol dont even joke about it

An inconvenient truth mate.