Potential New Ground

[horseman]

i wonder how many would seek a new ground if it were not for the name on the current one

i would love to know which of the current Championship clubs people actual believe will attract an extra 6.000 Home Fans?

 

[Essexyellows]

Disagree totally.
If we got to the Championship (which is the ambition), 15,000 will often not be enough.
Nothing like Darlington. We have had what 5 10k crowds this season and average 7 500. Darlington who have NEVER been in the Championship (let alone the top division), averaged circa 3k and never got more than 10k.
It is totally different.
If you are genuinely comparing us to Darlington, we could get a 10k stadium and accept we will never go higher than L1.

Take out Cup games our average is around 6,600 pretty much as it has been for decades.
Currently a 12,500 capacity fits well.
Build a fourth stand and the club would be fine for a good few years.

The optimistic dream of regularly filling a 20k ground is unrealistic, costly and the current lease is ticking.

How about this..... FK thinks of his family.
Sells us the ground, but not the land, effectively like a leasehold property.
We stay for 20-30 years, and develop what is there, we end up established in the Championship with the brand etc flourishing.
Then we build the Southern Theatre of Dreams, move out and FK`s kids flatten the place and build houses.

Winner, winner chicken dinner. ?

 

[Foley]

Take out Cup games our average is around 6,600 pretty much as it has been for decades.
Currently a 12,500 capacity fits well.
Build a fourth stand and the club would be fine for a good few years.

The optimistic dream of regularly filling a 20k ground is unrealistic, costly and the current lease is ticking.

How about this..... FK thinks of his family.
Sells us the ground, but not the land, effectively like a leasehold property.
We stay for 20-30 years, and develop what is there, we end up established in the Championship with the brand etc flourishing.
Then we build the Southern Theatre of Dreams, move out and FK`s kids flatten the place and build houses.

Winner, winner chicken dinner. ?

Not true.
The league average is just under 7,500.

 

[Northernyellow]

i wonder how many would seek a new ground if it were not for the name on the current one

i would love to know which of the current Championship clubs people actual believe will attract an extra 6.000 Home Fans?

The current ground is just awful. On every level. Even if you spruced it up, lipstick on a pig and all that. I would be pretty certain that if we had a ground fit for purpose (ie not one where it is like spending three hours in a B&Q that was closing down the next day), then with a good L1 team, we would be getting 8-9k home supporters every week. Championship? You're probably looking at c 12k home supporters most games. A 15-18k stadium would be spot on. But anyone who thinks Kassam will 'do us a deal' is delusional. His only interest is money. If, and I don't know the details, we can do a deal on the basis of blocking any housing development (due to the sports covenant), then we have a chance. Otherwise, we will rely on a combination of Tiger and the Council. Ummmm

 

[Foley]

i wonder how many would seek a new ground if it were not for the name on the current one

i would love to know which of the current Championship clubs people actual believe will attract an extra 6.000 Home Fans?

Most would still want a new ground I suspect.
I reckon that if we went up we would have 7000+ ST holders.
The crowds would go up significantly. Look at the demand for the bigger games/ clubs. Even 10k + for Sunderland in League Cup.

 

[horseman]

The current ground is just awful. On every level. Even if you spruced it up, lipstick on a pig and all that. I would be pretty certain that if we had a ground fit for purpose (ie not one where it is like spending three hours in a B&Q that was closing down the next day), then with a good L1 team, we would be getting 8-9k home supporters every week. Championship? You're probably looking at c 12k home supporters most games. A 15-18k stadium would be spot on. But anyone who thinks Kassam will 'do us a deal' is delusional. His only interest is money. If, and I don't know the details, we can do a deal on the basis of blocking any housing development (due to the sports covenant), then we have a chance. Otherwise, we will rely on a combination of Tiger and the Council. Ummmm

which of the current Championship clubs will attract 12k Home Fans? i just don't see it and you could make a case that Sunderland and Pompey are Bigger clubs than those in the championship and we never fill the place with Home Fans for them.

 

[ljs]

which of the current Championship clubs will attract 12k Home Fans? i just don't see it and you could make a case that Sunderland and Pompey are Bigger clubs than those in the championship and we never fill the place with Home Fans for them.

That's because we, and they, are in L1 at present.

OUFC v Pompey would have a bigger attendance as a Championship fixture than a L1 fixture. Guaranteed.

 

[Kamal]

20k is all we need and even that could be pushing it.

 

[Essexyellows]

Not true.
The league average is just under 7,500.

If you base it purely on this relatively successful half season!
Look back over time....... 6,600 is much nearer.

 

[outsidethebox]

which of the current Championship clubs will attract 12k Home Fans? i just don't see it and you could make a case that Sunderland and Pompey are Bigger clubs than those in the championship and we never fill the place with Home Fans for them.

And therein lies the key question: can we attract 12k home fans simply because it's Oxford as opposed to who we are playing? For me it's yes if we are going well but not so sure if we are middle or bottom third. Love to be proved wrong on that though.

 

[Foley]

If you base it purely on this relatively successful half season!
Look back over time....... 6,600 is much nearer.

You keep changing the goalposts!
Wrong again.
Last season ( pretty unsuccessful) crowds averaged over 7,300.
Out crowds are increasing.

 

[Northernyellow]

which of the current Championship clubs will attract 12k Home Fans? i just don't see it and you could make a case that Sunderland and Pompey are Bigger clubs than those in the championship and we never fill the place with Home Fans for them.

You're ignoring just how awful the current match day 'experience' is. Hopeless transport links. Next to a sewage farm. Quite appalling catering. It's basically a cheap, half built concrete shell. You have to pretty keen to go there. Like it or not, we are competing with cinemas, shopping centres, pubs (especially the ones that show football). It's just a dump.

 

[horseman]

You're ignoring just how awful the current match day 'experience' is. Hopeless transport links. Next to a sewage farm. Quite appalling catering. It's basically a cheap, half built concrete shell. You have to pretty keen to go there. Like it or not, we are competing with cinemas, shopping centres, pubs (especially the ones that show football). It's just a dump.

how does that change peoples perception when it's Derby instead of Bristol Rovers though?

You're competing with the leisure pound full stop though: A family planning a day out are not suddenly going to decide to watch Oxford v Derby shiny new stadium or not.

Take the current bottom 3 in the prem Norwich,Watford,Bournemouth do you honestly think if they come down and we go up an extra 6.000 will think i'll pop along to that?

i am afraid everything is about the premiershi*e nowadays and even then only 6-7 Teams

 

[Essexyellows]

You keep changing the goalposts!
Wrong again.
Last season ( pretty unsuccessful) crowds averaged over 7,300.
Out crowds are increasing.

On that basis we take 30k+ to Wembley fairly often....... ? ?
So there is a marginal increase between the whole of 2018/19 compared to half of 19/20 not by enough to justify a 20k new build IMHO....... we have never, nor never will be a "big" club.
We are in the small to medium bracket.
If (and its a big if!) we sustain survival in the Championship we would be doing well.
Until then what we have will do for the foreseeable future.

 

[Roge]

You keep changing the goalposts!
Wrong again.
Last season ( pretty unsuccessful) crowds averaged over 7,300.
Out crowds are increasing.

I think you are accurate with your thoughts on attendances, still plenty of room in the ground for home supporters if we went up to The Championship.

Actual attendances are slightly up this season. There was a substantial increase after the promotion season and the way things are going there should be a big increase on last season.

 

[Essexyellows]

You're ignoring just how awful the current match day 'experience' is. Hopeless transport links. Next to a sewage farm. Quite appalling catering. It's basically a cheap, half built concrete shell. You have to pretty keen to go there. Like it or not, we are competing with cinemas, shopping centres, pubs (especially the ones that show football). It's just a dump.

Like the "leisure centre" next door that is an equally soul less concrete dump next to a sewage farm? Seems to do OK.........

 

[Essexyellows]

I think you are accurate with your thoughts on attendances, still plenty of room in the ground for home supporters if we went up to The Championship.

Actual attendances are slightly up this season. There was a substantial increase after the promotion season and the way things are going there should be a big increase on last season.

View attachment 2716

So we get a 1 season "bounce" when we go up..... that falls away the season after.
New Ground based on that? When we aren`t averaging 70% "full" in a 12,500 capacity?

 

[Marked Ox]

I think you are accurate with your thoughts on attendances, still plenty of room in the ground for home supporters if we went up to The Championship.

Actual attendances are slightly up this season. There was a substantial increase after the promotion season and the way things are going there should be a big increase on last season.

View attachment 2716

Just to confirm that bottom number of 7,469:

Sky Bet League One | Average Attendances | Home Matches | Football Web Pages

Live Football Scores, League Tables, Form Guides, Attendances, Latest News and other stats from the Premier League, Football League and Non-League football

www.footballwebpages.co.uk

And the next 2 home games should push that up at least a little bit.

 

[Roge]

Just to confirm that bottom number of 7,469:

Sky Bet League One | Average Attendances | Home Matches | Football Web Pages

Live Football Scores, League Tables, Form Guides, Attendances, Latest News and other stats from the Premier League, Football League and Non-League football

www.footballwebpages.co.uk

And the next 2 home games should push that up at least a little bit.

That was same source I used for the figures.

 

[bazzer9461]

The Darlington situation was totally different. They had an ahem 'maverick' Chairman (Reynolds) who wanted to move to a brand new 25k stadium. All the Darlington fans thought it was nuts and wanted to stay at Feethams (their original ground) and re develop with a capacity of c 10k. Reynolds ignored them and moved. The stadium rapidly became a white elephant, with crowds of c2k, exactly as all the Darlington fans had predicted. Reynolds then went bust and so did the club. The stadium still stands and is home to semi pro rugby union, with crowds of c1k.... All vv odd

Wasn’t Reynolds a gangster originally?