I have spent more time than most on this issue, both during my time with OxVox and also in the time since I ceased my involvement with OxVox.
Whilst with OxVox I looked into whether the Kassam Stadium could be modified architecturally should it come into club or community ownership. The answer to this was yes it could, from an architectural perspective. Tentatively, should it be purchased on favourable terms, it MIGHT have been viable financially. Two or more years down the line, and with the benefit of a lot more information I would say that financially it is a no go.
There is nothing that has happened before or since that makes me believe that Firoz Kassam will sell the stadium for anything other than at least market value. That figure is a very emotive one, but let's take the often mentioned £13 million as our starting point (and it could be more). For this we would get just the stadium and conference centre plus the associated parking. To build a new West Stand would cost between £6 million to £8 million, for something roughly mirroring the current East Stand. There would need to be another £3 million or so spent on bringing the existing three stands up to scratch and utilising the space under the East Stand. That leaves you about £25 million down and for that you have a 1990's designed stadium with a capacity of about 16,000.
Filling in the corners to take it toward 18,000/20,000 could be another £4 million to £8 million and you still have the issue of the first row of seats being miles from the pitch, something that we all complain about. There are ways of alleviating that, but you're looking at further expense running into seven figures to do so. In short, you're looking at north of £35 million for a reasonable stadium, with not enough income streams to pay for it, as Firoz Kassam already owns them all (hotels, Ozone etc). Of course he might be prepared to sell them to us, but there is no way as long as I have a hole in my a**e that he would do so for anything less than market value plus. So you're then looking at further millions, taking you into and above what it would cost to build a brand new stadium with all of the associated income streams needed to make it a sustainable venture for both the board and the club. Things like stadium naming rights can be very lucrative, but they only work for a new stadium and for the initial sponsorship. Naming rights for an existing stadium such as ours would be far less than first thought and many millions less than for a new stadium. Other facilities could be provided that are far more suitable to the 21st century than those at the Kassam Stadium are, or are ever likely to be.
All of the above assumes Kassam would sell, and as the lease runs down I see this as less and less likely. Anybody thinking we could get the whole stadium and Ozone site for £20 million needs to give their head a wobble. A new stadium would bring its own challenges, but the opportunities far outweigh these. For me buying the Kassam Stadium (even if it were for sale) would be like buying a council house that you didn't really like anyway, renovating and extending it at great cost, and then wondering why you can't get the same price for it as the executive homes on the other side of town.