General New Stadium Plans - Stratfield Brake

[MC Yellow]

I get the frustrtaions, and I'm all for countering some of the nonsense that is being put out there. The only issue is that by doing so, we actually give this nonsense a wider audience.

Totally agree.

I would far prefer that concerns are dealt with by the right people, at the appropriate time, in a controlled manner.

Fans getting drawn into random spats over social media about things that they are really not in a position to comment on, regardless of their good intentions, is really not going to help our cause.

 

[Marked Ox]

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I'm curious, what are they independent of?

 

[Malc]

I'm curious, what are they independent of?

Brains?

 

[OUFCwaffle]

Their last point just goes to show how misinformed they are. There are no other sites that aren't on greenbelt land... Where are all these brownfield sites that people keep banging on about?

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[OxfordYankee]

Their last point just goes to show how misinformed they are. There are no other sites that aren't on greenbelt land... Where are all these brownfield sites that people keep banging on about?

I don’t think they care about green-belt land per se, only about their green-belt land.

Very few people would actually like a football stadium next to their house, including most football fans. I empathise with their anguish.

The stadium has to go somewhere, though and the needs of the many will carry the day as long as the club’s proposal, commitment and preparation are good enough.

I’ll still have empathy for those who feel aggrieved, but I hope that they will come to see the wider benefit of the promised quality and scope of the very high-level proposals to date.

 

[OX14]

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: Local sports clubs want it to be redeveloped
:OUFC are willing to improve it for the benefit of the local community, they're not building thousands of houses on the land like the 4400 houses across the road.
: Hardly destroying green belt when it's already semi developed.
: Claiming traffic chaos before any plans have been submitted
: Local councils including (Oxfordshire County Council) have handpicked this site as the best location for a stadium without destroying actual green belt land and without the need of expensive transport infrastructure to be added, already a train station, 2 Park and ride sites within walking distance, airport nearby and on a main bus route.

These people need to get out more and live in the real world. Embarrassing

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Here we go...

 

[PottersRightBoot]

And what a monstrosity it is.

West Ox , I’m surprised at you. It’s great

 

[Wandering Yellow]

Here we go...
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That's low. Irrelevent to the stadium argument and simply using it to try and tarnish OUFC as a "Brand".

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

That's low. Irrelevent to the stadium argument and simply using it to try and tarnish OUFC as a "Brand".

It's a smear campaign.

 

[Foley]

That's low. Irrelevent to the stadium argument and simply using it to try and tarnish OUFC as a "Brand".

Pretty pathetic really.
But I suspect that everything possible will be done to show negative aspects
Not expecting any objective fair minded arguments!

 

[Wandering Yellow]

It's a smear campaign.

Northing worse than guardian reading NIMBYs

 

[chuckbert]

Northing worse than guardian reading NIMBYs

Yes there is. Daily Mail reading nimbys

 

[Headley]

Yes there is. Daily Mail reading nimbys

Both are vile, should be filed under fiction most of the time

 

[MarkG]

Northing worse than guardian reading NIMBYs

I’ve been complaining to the mobile phone companies that I get no signal at home and it’s been like that for ten years. I live in a hilly area so my house is almost always out of range.

Last year I donated to a Surrey Wildlife group who were fundraising to prevent a large field up the hill from me being sold for housing (it never was going to be housing , but could have been grazing or paddocks or vineyards etc ).

We had a celebration meet up at the field when it all went through. And one of the first things they said was “remember when we got the phone mast blocked that was planned for near here as spoiling the natural beauty.”

What goes around comes around I guess.

 

[SteMerritt]

I’ve been complaining to the mobile phone companies that I get no signal at home and it’s been like that for ten years.

Most modern handsets should allow you to activate Wi-Fi calling, that should sort your problem out... Well assuming your Wi-Fi is OK.

 

[MarkG]

Most modern handsets should allow you to activate Wi-Fi calling, that should sort your problem out... Well assuming your Wi-Fi is OK.

Yes that sort of works. It it’s the authentication code to mobile that you have 5 minutes to use. As if I’m going to run 2 minutes up the hill , hope I get the text , and then run down and log in all within the time frame.

And so if for whatever reason the internet is down, I can’t call them to complain. Once i walked up the hill to get a signal on mobile and ask them to sort it. And they obviously said can you reset the router / unplug etc…

 

[Leysboy]

Again, that Facebook group has 21 likes. Their social media reach is almost non-existent.

Oxford United Official Facebook page has over 56,000 likes, plus they will benefit from fans also sharing their posts and spreading information even further.

We have to trust the club to manage the information being put out into the public domain and not gives these tiny groups a voice.

Even non OUFC fans I’ve spoken to, want us to move. They hate visiting the Kassam Stadium, the biggest problem is an open end in the winter, because when that wind blows in it’s absolutely freezing, and there second biggest problem is the location and lack of pubs in the vicinity. Then the third biggest complaint they have is the bottle neck of a car park.

Stratfield Brake fixes all of them issues, and opposing fans hope we get the move.

I have to say it’s hard to argue with any of them points.

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Pick the bones out of this from The Fiends of Stratfield Brake Facebook page (copied as to not direct traffic to their sites):

"The cost of Stratfield Brake: This is a popular argument for allowing OUFC Ltd to build a stadium/commercial development. Kidlington Parish Council currently pays Cherwell DC £168k a year to manage the site - something they are currently reviewing. We also heard at the annual parish meeting just how many people use Stratfield Brake regularly, whether for sport or leisure. However you look at it, this spend is more than just a cost: it’s a service charge for a vital green space.

Aside from all of that though, it seems somewhat hypocritical for supporters to keep chanting this mantra given that the owner of OUFC Ltd appears to have put in over £3m in the year to June 2021, and a similar amount in the previous year. According to OUFC Ltd’s accounts, they owe over £17m to related companies (presumably to their Singaporean holding company); have net liabilities of a similar amount; and they’re a going concern only on the basis that the owner will provide ongoing financial support. What if he loses interest?

The commercial development alongside the stadium (hotel? conference centre? frequent music concerts/events?) really would have to make enough cash to prevent the owner from continually having to shore up the finances, as clearly the Club itself is not cash generative from match day ticket revenues alone.

Commercialising democratically-controlled public green space in this way, to make a privately-owned corporate enterprise financially solvent (or a nice profit?), is completely unnacceptable on green belt land next to a nature reserve in our view. Especially when Oxford City Council don't exactly appear to be working overtime to keep OUFC in Oxford...

All in all, we think Stratfield Brake as a freely-accessible green space offers extremely good value (albeit with possible room for improvement) for the local community and wildlife alike".

 

[Scotchegg]

I guess that if I lived very close to SB, was passionate about green spaces, had no interest in football or Oxford United, and saw some of the media stories about the Champions League final, last year's Euros final, racist chants etc, then I'd be against a huge great stadium on my doorstep too.

So I don't agree with them, but I don't have a major issue with those opposing the stadium as such. Most of what is posted is very easily countered, and the FAQ's the club have issued cover pretty much everything so far, and I'm confident that more will follow as they become relevant.

I'm becoming more zen with all of this, and in the words of Miss Taylor Swift, "haters gonna hate".