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Post by sharky on Feb 8, 2019 15:17:20 GMT
From the Offie. Ultimatum to the H & F Council? www.qpr.co.uk/news/club-news/lee-hoos-on-qprs-need-to-leave-loftus-road/Lee Hoos on QPR’s need to leave Loftus RoadPaul Morrissey @pjmorrissey77 QPR CEO Lee Hoos has issued the following statement regarding the club’s need to move away from Loftus Road. Hoos said: “We love our home at Loftus Road, but it is unsustainable for a professional football club in the long term due to its size, age and lack of non-matchday use. “It is very obvious to thousands of fans who pile in to Loftus Road every fortnight, and it has been made clear to the current Council leadership since they took office in 2014. “We hoped they would work with us to find a solution that keeps QPR in the borough for another 100 years, and we still do. “Everyone at our club still wants to remain in Hammersmith & Fulham if at all possible. However, we have been very open with our fans and the local community that, in the absence of any alternative, the Linford Christie Stadium is, as far as we can see, our last chance to stay in the borough. “The Council is shortly to launch a public consultation on the future of the Linford Christie site, which we will encourage our fanbase, local residents and stakeholders to take part in. “Ultimately, the Council owns the site and if they do not want QPR to be involved in its redevelopment then that is their choice. But we have to be honest with people about the likely consequence of that, which is that QPR’s medium to long-term future will be out of Hammersmith & Fulham. “We would like to invite the leader of the Council Stephen Cowan to Loftus Road to meet club representatives, with any fans' groups they wish to meet as well, to understand the severe limitations we face here, and see how we can work together to keep QPR in W12.”
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2019 21:38:18 GMT
Not Moving!
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Post by powerpump on Feb 28, 2019 7:12:30 GMT
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Post by blatantfowl on Feb 28, 2019 9:38:12 GMT
Playing on the ceiling? Sounds more Lionel Ritchie than Linford Christie 😁
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Post by rickyqpr on May 22, 2019 17:51:03 GMT
Interview this evening on London Today (BBC)
Sir Les at LFC explaining why it is the only option left to remain in W12. The issue of the distrust between the Council & QPR comes up. Leader of Hammersmith Council then asked why they are suspicious of QPR's motives / that they are just trying to property speculate. Leader answers 'I cannot tell you about the confidential dialogue, but there is a big difference between dealing with QPR, who we love, and multi- millionaire overseas owners'. Lee Hoos (back at the stadium) responds by saying, 'Yes of course we want to develop the land we vacate to part fund the new stadium, but there is no way that the development would fund a new stadium'.
Orchestrated by the club..................think we are clutching at straws re LFC.
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Post by rickyqpr on Jun 12, 2019 8:43:49 GMT
Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR) is awaiting the outcome of a public consultation to see if its plans to move to and expand the Linford Christie stadium in west London has a future.
The club wants to leave Loftus Road and turn the Linford Christie Stadium into a 30,000-seater arena.
The venue is currently losing money and as a result Hammersmith & Fulham Council has organised a public consultation to determine what should happen to it.
The consultation draws to an end today, with residents voting on whether to keep the stadium as it is, to make some minor improvements or to do a full scale redevelopment with expansion up to a 45,000-seater stadium.
While QPR’s plans to move into the ground are not officially part of the consultation, the club’s chief executive Lee Hoos has urged Hoops fans to have their say before it is too late.
“This is about making sure that QPR has a sustainable future in the area that has been home for a hundred years. We love our home but unfortunately it is just too small and old for the club to survive here in the long term, and redevelopment on site is not possible,” he said.
“A stadium with all the best characteristics and much-improved community sports facilities would keep QPR and QPR in the Community Trust in [London] W12 for the long term and allow us to do more to benefit the local community.
“We’re very grateful to all those QPR supporters and local residents and stakeholders who have taken part already to say they want QPR to stay in the area.
“We urge everyone to take part over the next 48 hours if they haven’t done so already. The Linford Christie Stadium serves the whole of London so it is not just local residents who can take part.”
QPR’s response to the consultation outlines a desire for the community stadium to retain popular aspects of Loftus Road, such as proximity [of the stands] to the pitch.
However, the council is not impressed by QPR’s attempts to use the consultation for its own gain.
“QPR’s proposals are less about keeping football in the borough – and much more about them playing property developer in White City,” a council spokesperson said.
“The Council is a trustee of the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust. And as a trustee we can’t just give away over one hundred million pounds worth of land to QPR’s multi-millionaire owners. Linford Christie Stadium is a vital community asset in an open green space. We want to protect and enhance its use for the environment, athletics, recreation and the long-term benefit of all our residents. We will consult residents early next year about how we can best achieve this.”
“The Council is very proud to have QPR in our borough and has long made it clear to their owners and executive team that we will go out of our way to help QPR improve their current stadium or will work with them to look at other alternatives. However, we cannot just give away land for free or hand land to QPR’s owners well below its potential value – and just because QPR’s owners have decided to campaign for the council to do that. We believe QPR deserves to be invested in and call on its owners to do just that.
“We’d be interested in discussing with QPR’s owners the idea that they give up some ownership of the club to ensure the community and QPR’s fans have a greater voice in the club’s future.”
The council’s consultation document adds: “The findings of this consultation and any proposals that come forward in the process will need to be approved by the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust Committee. They may also need approval from the Charity Commission and the Mayor of London, as well as the Ministry of Defence (because The Act also requires the Ministry of Defence’s consent for any building on the Scrubs because the Army has always been entitled to its use).
“Following that, we’d draw up specific development proposals on which residents would again be consulted before any formal decisions are taken. We believe in doing things with residents, not to them.”
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Post by rickyqpr on Jun 12, 2019 8:55:12 GMT
I read the above report today. The more I read, the more I think that the Linford Christie Stadium is just not going to happen for QPR. I saw the One Show interview with the Councillor concerned and I did not get any encouragement that H&F want to do this. H&F has a problem with the LCS because it is losing money and needs investment, but I think that they are keen to find other investment options. The fact that the QPR plan is not even part of the consultation does not bode well and as the report above says, any other option would need further public consultation. I think that the QPR message that this is the last option to remain in the area, is really just trying to say to the fans 'Look, we tried our hardest, but H&F did not want to know'. If H&F change their minds, it will take years to even get any sort of agreement. Many years to build. I reckon about 7-8 years before a move. So, I cannot help but think that QPR has a Plan B. Once H&F reveal their decision, perhaps we will learn just what Plan B is. If they have not got a back up alternative, then that is pretty awful if a new stadium is an economic necessity - and Hoos has always said that it is. I think that the worst H&F decision would be a vague interest in exploring further with QPR and other interested parties. It will just go on for ever.
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Post by surreychad on Jun 12, 2019 13:33:05 GMT
I honestly believe neither side are being honest and it's all smoke and mirrors in an attempt to redevelop LCS for housing and for us to move along the M40 / M4 corridor somewhere.
Please don't take this the wrong way as its just my cynical thoughts, but it's the same on the naming rights for the stadium, for the next couple of years it will be gifted to a charity so fans can't argue against it, after that it makes it much easier to sell the naming rights.
Can't be easy running a football club, even more so for us as our support is dwindling year on year yet our expectations are still remain high.
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Post by rickyqpr on Jun 23, 2019 17:33:16 GMT
www.shepherdsbushw12.com/default.asp?section=info&page=ldrschristiestadium001.htmInitial findings of consultation. Overwhelming Support for Redevelopment of Linford Christie Stadium QPR say result is 'huge endorsement' of their plans Thousands of West Londoners want a major new sports stadium to be built in White City, a survey has shown. A consultation on what to do with the Linford Christie Sports Centre had 8,782 replies. But the consultation does not answer the much-talked-about question of whether the stadium could become a new home for Queens Park Rangers FC. Hammersmith and Fulham Council held the survey following talks with QPR over whether the club could relocate to the site. But the two sides had seemed unable to find common ground. An overwhelming majority of 81% supported “major redevelopment” of the site in Wormwood Scrubs park. The council indicated this could mean a £400 million “mixed use” stadium with up to 45,000 seats, suitable for events including “concerts, trade shows, exhibitions,” as well as “capacity for football and other sports provision”. 18% of respondents said the current facilities should be improved, with no major development. When asked the multiple-choice question “what kind of uses” should the stadium have, 77% ticked “professional sports”. “Community sports” was also ticked by 73%. While 52% said it could also be a “major entertainment” venue, and 43% said athletics. QPR has repeatedly stated their preference would be for a smaller, 30,000 seat stadium, that they could lease from the council. Commenting on the results, QPR chief executive Lee Hoos said: “The fact that more than four out of every five of [the respondents] spoke up in favour of a major redevelopment of the Linford Christie Stadium is a huge endorsement of the QPR option. “By far the most popular answers about uses of the site were for a professional sports team and to promote community sport, both of which are what we hope a development involving QPR and QPR in the Community Trust would offer.” Nearly 90% of the respondents also wanted improved facilities at the site, to benefit people who use Wormwood Scrubs. 79% wanted a better cafe and 69% wanted new changing rooms. The biggest group of respondents were people who use the athletics facilities at the Linford Christie and Wormwood Scrubs park. Nearly three quarters of the group said they were Londoners. 19% said they lived in the four wards closest to the site, indicating they were local. 4% said they lived elsewhere in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. 48% lived in other parts of Greater London. Perhaps surprisingly, less than one fifth of the sample identified themselves as QPR fans. When asked “what is your connection” to the Linford Christie Stadium, 49% said they use the sports facilities, 26% said they use the pitches on Wormwood Scrubs. 40% said they live locally, suggesting some of these respondents lived in neighbouring parts of Ealing or Brent. Whereas 7.6% said they had “no connection”, or gave no answer. However, 22% ticked they had an “other connection”. When asked to specify this, the most common response was “a QPR supporter”. The club had repeatedly urged its fans to take part in the consultation urging them to back its preference, that a 30,000-seat football ground should be built, which they could lease from the council. The club has says its long term future at the 104-year-old Loftus Road ground is “not sustainable”, and that moving to a new stadium at the Linford Christie would be the only way to keep the club in the local area. The results of the consultation, which ended on June 12, were published as part of a report, that will be discussed on Wednesday June 26 at a public meeting of the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust Committee. The report recommends that the committee should task the council ― which is the sole funder of the committee ― with developing a business case for the main options: building a new stadium or sprucing up the athletics centre with better facilities. And it suggests the council should hire advisers to help them work on the plans. A spokesperson for the council said: “Four out of five people who responded to the consultation told us they wanted to see a major redevelopment of the stadium. The Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust will now consider the ways this key community asset can be redeveloped to deliver the best for local people, while safeguarding the natural biodiversity of The Scrubs.” Owen Sheppard - Local Democracy Reporter June 22, 2019
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Post by surreychad on Jun 23, 2019 20:15:49 GMT
Well I suppose that's one step in the right direction on a very long journey
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Post by Macmoish on Jun 23, 2019 21:25:27 GMT
Many QPR Fans of course want given how the options laid out..But the bigger question is it good for the broader community
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Post by eusebio13 on Jun 24, 2019 9:53:47 GMT
Many QPR Fans of course want given how the options laid out..But the bigger question is it good for the broader community the two are not mutually exclusive, in fact, they are likely to be largely symbiotic
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Post by rickyqpr on Jul 3, 2019 9:46:59 GMT
Council Leader Says QPR Could Lease New Stadium
Stephen Cowan will 'bend over backwards' to help club
The leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council has pledged to “bend over backwards” for QPR, and hinted the club should lease a £40 million new stadium the council hopes to build.
Councillor Stephen Cowan also expressed doubts that the White City-based side could single=handedly finance building a new stadium.
His remarks came after the council published the results of a major survey on people's views about what should be done with the Linford Christie athletics centre next to Wormwood Scrubs.
Nearly 8,800 people took part in the exercise, and the results showed 81% believe the Linford Christie should undergo “major development”, while 77% of people said any new stadium should be used for professional sports.
QPR were not explicitly mentioned in the survey questions, but the idea of the club leaving its 104-year-old Loftus Road ground has long been touted.
At a town hall meeting on Monday, July 1, Mr Cowan said: “I can confirm that, just as we have with Chelsea and Fulham, we will bend over backwards to help QPR.”
But the Labour politician seemed unconvinced the club could buy the Linford Christie site from the council. He suggested the club's requirement to raise £20 million to fund the construction of its new training ground in Southall was evidence it may not be able to build its own stadium.
Mr Cowan added, “When we met QPR I asked about the Warren Farm site… The way that's being funded is QPR is hoping to raise a bond to raise £20 million.
“We asked therefore how would you raise money to buy the Linford Christie site and then build the stadium. I think we are still in need of some clarity about how QPR would do that if they're not able to directly fund the Warren Farm site.
“After nearly 10 years of austerity we cannot gift The Linford Christie stadium, and that includes QPR's current owners.
“So that is one of the issues, but we are very keen to help QPR but we want to know about any financing of the Linford Christie site.”
Responding to the comments, QPR's chief executive Lee Hoos said: “We want to work closely with Stephen Cowan and Hammersmith and Fulham Council to ensure that QPR can find a new stadium that keeps us in the borough for the long term.
“QPR has not asked for anything from the council for free, nor do we intend to. But we look forward to sitting down with them to discuss the future of the Linford Christie site, including how a new QPR stadium with community sport facilities could be financed.”
A council officer who also spoke at Monday's meeting then suggested QPR could bid for a lease by “partnering up” with another organisation or company to jointly lease the new stadium.
The council previously said its preferred option for a new stadium at Wormwood Scrubs would be 45,000-seats and suitable for events including “concerts, trade shows, exhibitions,” as well as “capacity for football and other sports provision”.
Owen Sheppard - Local Democracy Reporter
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Post by surreychad on Jul 3, 2019 16:38:54 GMT
Well that's a positive sign, but I do wonder whats happens to the funds from the sale of Loftus Road? Will we clear debts, will it go straight to owners? Pay for training ground bond?
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