Potential New Ground

[holdsteady]

I am not that arsed what the stadium looks like as long as it’s finished, after the initial wow factor it’s just a load of concrete and steel around a football pitch. Location, transport, facilities, parking etc matter more to me.

 

[maidenheadox]

There is no market for a large outdoor music venue in Oxford. If there were then stadiums like the Madjeski and the Ricoh would be at it already.

 

[werthersoriginal]

There is no market for a large outdoor music venue in Oxford. If there were then stadiums like the Madjeski and the Ricoh would be at it already.

I guess Birmingham and London have that area sewn up, plus festivals

 

[Foley]

Business decisions should really be based on reality rather than feelings, though.

Of course.
But Brighton took a decision to go for a 30k stadium when they were getting crowds of 5k and hadn't got 30k before.
Oufc have been in the top divisions for what 20 years?
Of course there has to be a business plan but is anybody seriously suggesting that oufc cang get into the Championship and stay there?

 

[Ian]

Got to look forwards but also be realistic. We're not a championship club. I doubt if we get there we'll spend more than a year there. So you're building a 20k seater for 1 season? Then we drop back down and get attendances of 6k and the stadium looks too big for us. Keep it smaller, keep it tighter. Would rather have a full stadium than a half empty one. If we become an established championship club, then we can look at stadium expansions.

If we were to get promoted, would we then be a Championship Club? If we build a "League One" stadium, it's difficult to redevelop it into a "Championship Stadium"...

 

[Manorlounger]

I suppose realistically there are not so many of us around that remember OUFC being in the old 1st Division - now Premiership - and then many, many years bobbing along in the old 2nd Division - now Championship - but, all those suggesting that those days couldn't return, I say think again. Dream a little. With the right circumstances it could happen.

Maybe sustaining the club to Championship levels will be tough but, that's what Tiger wants so, why not?

 

[Oldman159]

Spotted on South Today a couple of minutes ago. Interesting lapel badge.......

Support? Could it be? Is it too much to hope? Could it be true? Or is it just a trick of the light ....

 

[Oldman159]

...he wasn't talking new stadia, though..?

 

[Sarge]

Spotted on South Today a couple of minutes ago. Interesting lapel badge.......

Support? Could it be? Is it too much to hope? Could it be true? Or is it just a trick of the light ....View attachment 2024

to be fair the Oxford county council leader is a U's supporter ... he's there, in person at most home games

has been for many many seasons too

 

[Manorlounger]

He's also a trustee for Oxford UTD in the community.

 

[Oldman159]

Glad to hear it. ?

 

[Oldman159]

The new Ha'wey (thelads) Bicester Village Stadium located NW of J9 M40 with its multiple transport links (M40, M34, London/Bicester Village International airport, HS2, the Bicester Village Expressway to name but a few) didn't even get a
mention. Perhaps it will be announced in the next 48 hours? Sadly, I am still not ITK.

One can but hope.....

 

[MarkG]

Why couldn't we be a Championship club?
Brentford weren't a few years ago. What about Bournemouth?
Brighton would not be a Prdmiership club without ambition and a new ground big enough.

Because perhaps 17 out of 20 Championship clubs are subsidised by their trainset owners or have parachute payments of at least £10million per year.

So whilst our current owners are having to put money into the club, we would still have one of the lowest playing budgets in the Championship, and that typically translates into an equivalent league position. Burton managed to survive one season in the Championship before being relegated the next.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Because perhaps 17 out of 20 Championship clubs are subsidised by their trainset owners or have parachute payments of at least £10million per year.

So whilst our current owners are having to put money into the club, we would still have one of the lowest playing budgets in the Championship, and that typically translates into an equivalent league position. Burton managed to survive one season in the Championship before being relegated the next.

Yeovil amazingly did a season or two but are now back in the Conference. Brentford do well but are very well run and do have some funding

 

[tonto]

Brentford is the model I think the owner has put in serious cash to get it up and running though

 

[yellowbow]

I don’t want this to sound like a dig but after Tiger saying that we were close to some sort of exciting announcement on the RO 5 minute forum, the latest Oxvox update put a little bit of a dampener on it. It said something a long the lines of ‘work continues to identify potential sites and also on solutions to the issues at the Kassam’ basically exactly the same message we’ve been hearing for the last 12 months, and certainly not close to any announcement. I just wonder what actual progress is being made and hope that the club and Oxvox are just both being guarded on what’s really going on behind the scenes.

 

[MJB]

I don’t want this to sound like a dig but after Tiger saying that we were close to some sort of exciting announcement on the RO 5 minute forum, the latest Oxvox update put a little bit of a dampener on it. It said something a long the lines of ‘work continues to identify potential sites and also on solutions to the issues at the Kassam’ basically exactly the same message we’ve been hearing for the last 12 months, and certainly not close to any announcement. I just wonder what actual progress is being made and hope that the club and Oxvox are just both being guarded on what’s really going on behind the scenes.

As soon as Tiger alluded to there hopefully being news in the near future (can’t remember the exact terminology), I thought that it might lead to expectations from some that something might be imminent.

My own reading of his comment was that progress (of sorts) is being made and the club hopes that perhaps in, say, the next year or so we might be able to say something more significant.

However the way he said it, it was always liable to leave some thinking that we are on the edge of significant news. Perhaps that was the intention however, to keep the feeling of optimism going, even if nothing has really been agreed or is close to being so.

Whatever the answer, I completely respect the need for details to be withheld from the public domain at the moment.

 

[horseman]

Depends on your take of "close" relative to 5 years then 1 year is close whereas i year can also seem some way from being close to an announcement

 

[MJB]

Depends on your take of "close" relative to 5 years then 1 year is close whereas i year can also seem some way from being close to an announcement

Precisely. I just think that some people might consider “close” to be this side of Christmas or perhaps even before the end of the season, when it might still be some time before third-parties involved are happy with any kind of confirmation of progress. Mainly due to the politics of it all.

 

[Foley]

Bre

Because perhaps 17 out of 20 Championship clubs are subsidised by their trainset owners or have parachute payments of at least £10million per year.

So whilst our current owners are having to put money into the club, we would still have one of the lowest playing budgets in the Championship, and that typically translates into an equivalent league position. Burton managed to survive one season in the Championship before being relegated the next.

Brentford is the model and yes maybe we need wealthy owners. Hold on a minute ...
So why shouldn't we be a successful Championship club?