Putting aside whether we eventually move or don’t, capacity has to be taken seriously. For all the love for The Manor, we’re on average a better supported club now than we were in Headington. Football has evolved to be a more professional, family-oriented form of entertainment and that’s persuaded more people to go from a wider range of backgrounds. That should be embraced and I think the commercial aim to be presenting ourselves as ‘Oxfordshire United’ is the west go of going about it. We can attract the wider county to games now which I don’t think was so possible at The Manor.
12.5k is enough at our present level. A 15k stadium in the Championship would be sufficient and, in the realms of fantasy with a benevolent sugar daddy funding us to the PL, a 20k stadium would be the limit. Half empty stadiums are miserable places to watch games and a tighter, more compact and filled ground will always create a better experience – see Kenilworth Road v Stadium: MK for example.
Let’s not pretend something we’re not. We’re not ever going to be a Liverpool or Manchester United and that doesn’t bother me. I’m not following Oxford for the endless flow of trophies (I think I would have cottoned on that they’re not that great at acquiring them a long time ago!). I’m in it for following my hometown club, getting to go to games with mates who also follow them and every now and again enjoying one of their moments in the limelight. We’re no bigger than a Bournemouth or Brentford but both have made strides to establish themselves outside of the third tier and we can with the right management and a fair wind do the same, but there’s no need to overstretch ourselves nor jettison what makes Oxford United special.