'QPR could be Forced to find a New Home Outside the Borough'
Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2023 10:25 am
Never saw it ever happening?
By Jacob Phillips, Local Democracy Reporter
Queen's Park Rangers could be forced to look for a new stadium outside
Hammersmith and Fulham if space is not made for them when the nearby
Linford Christie Stadium (LCS) is redeveloped.
The LCS is currently home to Thames Valley Harriers and youth football team
Kensington Dragons, while other sports such as lacross and Gaelic football are
also played at the venue.
Group the Friends of Wormwood Scrubs hopes to upgrade the LCS and plans could
even include a lido to go alongside new changing rooms, sports pitches and a new
athletics track.
QPR said in 2018 that if they could not build a new ground at the LCS they would
be forced to look outside the West London borough to ensure a long-term home.
A report into plans to redevelop the stadium shows Kensington Dragons, with
support from the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust (WSCT), are undertaking a
major upgrade to the sports pitches within the stadium.
Surveys have now been completed for the pitches and the works are expected
to be completed in around a year.
Running club Thames Valley Harriers are also planning to upgrade their clubhouse,
and add a cafe and public toilets.
The report said: “The facilities within LCS are in need of significant upgrading, to
meet 21st-century sporting requirements, including compliance with National Athletics
League standards, and to be fitting for Thames Valley Harriers who are currently
National Athletic Champions.
“The track is several years past the date on which it should have been replaced.”
But if the plans go ahead, without a space for QPR, it could leave the football team
in a tricky position.
A report by consultants Harch Regeneris in 2018, said: “The LCS could be the club’s
last chance to build a sustainable long-term future in the area that has been its home
for 100 years.
“It is also an opportunity to promote physical activity and improve the health and
well-being of West Londoners by creating an innovative community sports hub with a
professional football club at its heart.”
QPR has been looking to leave its Loftus Road ground for around a decade and the report
into the club’s future said it may have to look further afield to survive.
The five-year-old report added: “Despite calling it home for over 100 years, the Loftus Road
Stadium creates several challenges for the long-term financial sustainability of QPR.
By Jacob Phillips, Local Democracy Reporter
Queen's Park Rangers could be forced to look for a new stadium outside
Hammersmith and Fulham if space is not made for them when the nearby
Linford Christie Stadium (LCS) is redeveloped.
The LCS is currently home to Thames Valley Harriers and youth football team
Kensington Dragons, while other sports such as lacross and Gaelic football are
also played at the venue.
Group the Friends of Wormwood Scrubs hopes to upgrade the LCS and plans could
even include a lido to go alongside new changing rooms, sports pitches and a new
athletics track.
QPR said in 2018 that if they could not build a new ground at the LCS they would
be forced to look outside the West London borough to ensure a long-term home.
A report into plans to redevelop the stadium shows Kensington Dragons, with
support from the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust (WSCT), are undertaking a
major upgrade to the sports pitches within the stadium.
Surveys have now been completed for the pitches and the works are expected
to be completed in around a year.
Running club Thames Valley Harriers are also planning to upgrade their clubhouse,
and add a cafe and public toilets.
The report said: “The facilities within LCS are in need of significant upgrading, to
meet 21st-century sporting requirements, including compliance with National Athletics
League standards, and to be fitting for Thames Valley Harriers who are currently
National Athletic Champions.
“The track is several years past the date on which it should have been replaced.”
But if the plans go ahead, without a space for QPR, it could leave the football team
in a tricky position.
A report by consultants Harch Regeneris in 2018, said: “The LCS could be the club’s
last chance to build a sustainable long-term future in the area that has been its home
for 100 years.
“It is also an opportunity to promote physical activity and improve the health and
well-being of West Londoners by creating an innovative community sports hub with a
professional football club at its heart.”
QPR has been looking to leave its Loftus Road ground for around a decade and the report
into the club’s future said it may have to look further afield to survive.
The five-year-old report added: “Despite calling it home for over 100 years, the Loftus Road
Stadium creates several challenges for the long-term financial sustainability of QPR.
