| A little bit of good news 10:12 - Nov 27 with 6722 views | whittocksRs |
According to new stats, Loftus Road is the second-fullest stadium in the Championship, 82.8% full on average and only behind Derby's Pride Park, which is 86.9% full. We've not lost the faith completely just yet.
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| A little bit of good news on 10:19 - Nov 27 with 5406 views | QPR_John |
Always been the case that our percentage occupancy has been one of the highest. | | | |
| A little bit of good news on 10:36 - Nov 27 with 5352 views | bosh67 |
Capacity is 18,439
At 82.8% we are averaging 15,267 a game, which is about right at this level for a club of our size.
The plans for a 40,000 stadium have always been ludicrous. We would never fill it. Unless it was built to stage other events because that would be the only way it would ever break even.
For me, the only future is at Loftus Road. In 1980 before we had all seating we could still get 27,000 people in the stadium safely. I would see if we could go back to safe standing in the bottom tier of each end and the lower section of the SAR stand. I'd scrap the W12 area and increase the seating there. Then redesign the corners of the existing stands and apply for planning permission for a slightly higher pitched roof at both ends to increase visibility.
That would probably get us back up to about 23,000 capacity and to be honest, that would always be enough.
The only way to gain more money for the club and a better following is to create sister teams in the MLS USA, the Malaysia league and perhaps in the very lower tiers in Germany and Holland, that act as feeder teams to us here and also increase the club's presence and name in other territories. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool have all done this. No reason we can't. |  |
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| A little bit of good news on 10:57 - Nov 27 with 5298 views | Gloucs_R |
30k capacity with a screen that could block a top tier. This is what they are doing in Atlanta
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| A little bit of good news on 11:19 - Nov 27 with 5262 views | Antti_Heinola |
| A little bit of good news on 10:36 - Nov 27 by bosh67 |
Capacity is 18,439
At 82.8% we are averaging 15,267 a game, which is about right at this level for a club of our size.
The plans for a 40,000 stadium have always been ludicrous. We would never fill it. Unless it was built to stage other events because that would be the only way it would ever break even.
For me, the only future is at Loftus Road. In 1980 before we had all seating we could still get 27,000 people in the stadium safely. I would see if we could go back to safe standing in the bottom tier of each end and the lower section of the SAR stand. I'd scrap the W12 area and increase the seating there. Then redesign the corners of the existing stands and apply for planning permission for a slightly higher pitched roof at both ends to increase visibility.
That would probably get us back up to about 23,000 capacity and to be honest, that would always be enough.
The only way to gain more money for the club and a better following is to create sister teams in the MLS USA, the Malaysia league and perhaps in the very lower tiers in Germany and Holland, that act as feeder teams to us here and also increase the club's presence and name in other territories. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool have all done this. No reason we can't. |
We have to move Bosh, or knock it down and start again. I love it but it's so bl00dy uncomfortable, too small in terms of being cramped and sooner or later it's just not going to be fit for purpose. The amount of money the club loses purely because catering facilities are so poor and queues completely unmanageable because of a lack of space is just a joke.
40,000 might be over-egging it, but 30-35000 would be totally fine. Southampton used to get smaller gates than us at the Dell - didn't stop them building a much bigger ground and it attracted new fans. |  |
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| A little bit of good news on 12:41 - Nov 27 with 5174 views | Mvpeter |
Build it and they will come.
I'd make it 30,000 and make allowances for expansions in the decades to come. | |
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| A little bit of good news on 12:43 - Nov 27 with 5170 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
| A little bit of good news on 11:19 - Nov 27 by Antti_Heinola |
We have to move Bosh, or knock it down and start again. I love it but it's so bl00dy uncomfortable, too small in terms of being cramped and sooner or later it's just not going to be fit for purpose. The amount of money the club loses purely because catering facilities are so poor and queues completely unmanageable because of a lack of space is just a joke.
40,000 might be over-egging it, but 30-35000 would be totally fine. Southampton used to get smaller gates than us at the Dell - didn't stop them building a much bigger ground and it attracted new fans. |
Depends what sort of fans you want.
We can get an extra 20k but they would mostly be Norwegian tourists or Korean fans on their way back from the Harry Potter studios in Leavesden.
That would be a shame. |  | | |
| A little bit of good news on 13:18 - Nov 27 with 5091 views | SimonJames |
Wasps are getting up to 32,000 at the Ricoh Arena on Coventry. Leicester Rugby sometimes get close to their 24,000 capacity. Other Premiership rugby teams are well oversubscribed.
I'm sure with a bit of marketing, and some entertaining football (don't laugh), we could fill a bigger ground. |  |
| 100% of people who drink water will die. |
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| A little bit of good news on 13:22 - Nov 27 with 5085 views | whittocksRs |
| A little bit of good news on 13:18 - Nov 27 by SimonJames |
Wasps are getting up to 32,000 at the Ricoh Arena on Coventry. Leicester Rugby sometimes get close to their 24,000 capacity. Other Premiership rugby teams are well oversubscribed.
I'm sure with a bit of marketing, and some entertaining football (don't laugh), we could fill a bigger ground. |
It really does depend what sort of atmosphere we want at the game, though, doesn't it? We could probably get 30,000 a week if we consolidated in the Premier League but they'd all be tourists and Fulham supporters wanting to see Wayne Rooney's last match. 15,000 actual Rangers fans, for me at least, makes for a better experience. | | | |
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| A little bit of good news on 13:25 - Nov 27 with 5077 views | Gloucs_R |
| A little bit of good news on 13:22 - Nov 27 by whittocksRs |
It really does depend what sort of atmosphere we want at the game, though, doesn't it? We could probably get 30,000 a week if we consolidated in the Premier League but they'd all be tourists and Fulham supporters wanting to see Wayne Rooney's last match. 15,000 actual Rangers fans, for me at least, makes for a better experience. |
Have you been this season? The atmosphere has been crap, even with 15,000 Rangers fans!! | |
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| A little bit of good news on 13:27 - Nov 27 with 5069 views | Mvpeter |
Baz is right, the quality of fans will plummet. Has to be done though it's the modern way. | |
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| A little bit of good news on 13:27 - Nov 27 with 5067 views | TacticalR |
| A little bit of good news on 13:18 - Nov 27 by SimonJames |
Wasps are getting up to 32,000 at the Ricoh Arena on Coventry. Leicester Rugby sometimes get close to their 24,000 capacity. Other Premiership rugby teams are well oversubscribed.
I'm sure with a bit of marketing, and some entertaining football (don't laugh), we could fill a bigger ground. |
Don't forget Air Asia hostesses. They bring a bit of razzmatazz to the image of the club. |  |
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| A little bit of good news on 13:38 - Nov 27 with 5039 views | Antti_Heinola |
| A little bit of good news on 12:43 - Nov 27 by BazzaInTheLoft |
Depends what sort of fans you want.
We can get an extra 20k but they would mostly be Norwegian tourists or Korean fans on their way back from the Harry Potter studios in Leavesden.
That would be a shame. |
would it?
i'm not a fan of the reverse snobbery at play when it comes to who should and shouldn't be allowed to go to football matches. | |
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| A little bit of good news on 13:38 - Nov 27 with 5038 views | CamberleyR |
25K with potential to expand to at least 30K and maybe 35.
A 25K capacity ground would almost certainly fill without any need for tourists and tickets could be more competitively priced to attract walk up fans or people like me who were long standing season ticket holders but rarely go these days.
If we had a modern 25K capacity ground with tickets available for 25 quid I would probably start going again. |  |
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| A little bit of good news on 13:50 - Nov 27 with 5005 views | whittocksRs |
| A little bit of good news on 13:25 - Nov 27 by Gloucs_R |
Have you been this season? The atmosphere has been crap, even with 15,000 Rangers fans!! |
It's been angry for a while, not a pleasant experience, but it is full of QPR. Can't deny that. All I'm saying is be careful what you wish for: the Premier League crowds are fcking dire and it's because of the people attending the games. | | | |
| A little bit of good news on 13:50 - Nov 27 with 4999 views | whittocksRs |
| A little bit of good news on 13:38 - Nov 27 by CamberleyR |
25K with potential to expand to at least 30K and maybe 35.
A 25K capacity ground would almost certainly fill without any need for tourists and tickets could be more competitively priced to attract walk up fans or people like me who were long standing season ticket holders but rarely go these days.
If we had a modern 25K capacity ground with tickets available for 25 quid I would probably start going again. |
Agree with this. | | | |
| A little bit of good news on 13:58 - Nov 27 with 4979 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
| A little bit of good news on 13:38 - Nov 27 by Antti_Heinola |
would it?
i'm not a fan of the reverse snobbery at play when it comes to who should and shouldn't be allowed to go to football matches. |
Yeah it is a type of reverse snobbery I suppose.
I agree no one should be allowed or not allowed to watch QPR but that wasn't what I said. There are plenty of foreign QPR support groups that come to LR to see the Rs and I think that's great.
But if any slack in a 30,000 seater was taken up by occasionals who are here because they couldn't get Chelsea or Arsenal tickets I think that would diminish the appeal of QPR for me.
I think a lot of the 15,000 only continue to go because we are not a corporate tourist trap just yet... [Post edited 27 Nov 2015 14:01]
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| A little bit of good news on 14:02 - Nov 27 with 4959 views | Mvpeter |
I don't think it's snobbery, it's nothing to do with their social status. The only relevant factor is whether or not they love the R's. | |
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| A little bit of good news on 14:29 - Nov 27 with 4915 views | BrixtonR |
| A little bit of good news on 13:27 - Nov 27 by Mvpeter |
Baz is right, the quality of fans will plummet. Has to be done though it's the modern way. |
To be fair I think we could quite easily get another 10K proper fans before tapping into tourists . I know quite a few who I'd like to think are quality fans who have been to maybe 1 home game and some none this year - yet we've still averaged 14.5 R's fans. Also look at the play off final.
I've always thought a 31K ground would be optimal with sensible pricing. Maybe give the away fans 5K at first and build it in a way that a top tier can be shut. Would also be good if we could pioneer safe terracing - Empty seats look much worse than a not full terrace.
Bosh, I think our capacity was around 35 until the end of 79-80 when they put the seats above the school end and then went down to 27.5 when they put the seats above the loft in 81-82. I'm pretty sure that even in Jan 81 we got 29K v Spurs in the FA cup 3rd round. |  | | |
| A little bit of good news on 14:37 - Nov 27 with 4904 views | Mvpeter |
| A little bit of good news on 14:29 - Nov 27 by BrixtonR |
To be fair I think we could quite easily get another 10K proper fans before tapping into tourists . I know quite a few who I'd like to think are quality fans who have been to maybe 1 home game and some none this year - yet we've still averaged 14.5 R's fans. Also look at the play off final.
I've always thought a 31K ground would be optimal with sensible pricing. Maybe give the away fans 5K at first and build it in a way that a top tier can be shut. Would also be good if we could pioneer safe terracing - Empty seats look much worse than a not full terrace.
Bosh, I think our capacity was around 35 until the end of 79-80 when they put the seats above the school end and then went down to 27.5 when they put the seats above the loft in 81-82. I'm pretty sure that even in Jan 81 we got 29K v Spurs in the FA cup 3rd round. |
Would those fans go if it was cheaper though? | |
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| A little bit of good news on 14:53 - Nov 27 with 4871 views | Antti_Heinola |
| A little bit of good news on 14:02 - Nov 27 by Mvpeter |
I don't think it's snobbery, it's nothing to do with their social status. The only relevant factor is whether or not they love the R's. |
i think you know what I meant, Pete, can we not get into yet another round of arguing over semantics? You cannot deny that some football fans look down their noses at tourists or casual fans.
I'm not sure loving the Rs is relevant, is it? Are we seriously being picky about who we take money from?
if they're taking tickets from genuine fans somehow then i can see the point. But otherwise, why shouldn't people just casually go to a football match? I agree too many casual fans can dampen an atmosphere, but I honestly don't think they can have that much of an effect if the 'real' fans are properly getting involved. I don't think the atmosphere at Prem grounds is down to casual fans either - their presence might be a small element, but there are loads of others too - all-seater stadia, people walking in at 1 min to 3 rather than being packed in, singing at half past two or even earlier as we used to do, soaking it up, relishing the build-up and the suspense. Also football is everywhere all the time, so it has become a bit less special which affects things too. Also cost: there's a sense of 'I've pai big money for this: entertain me and do it now, then I might start cheering.' | |
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| A little bit of good news on 15:01 - Nov 27 with 4848 views | QPR_John |
| A little bit of good news on 14:02 - Nov 27 by Mvpeter |
I don't think it's snobbery, it's nothing to do with their social status. The only relevant factor is whether or not they love the R's. |
What a wonderful romantic notion | | | |
| A little bit of good news on 15:11 - Nov 27 with 4822 views | BrixtonR |
| A little bit of good news on 14:37 - Nov 27 by Mvpeter |
Would those fans go if it was cheaper though? |
I definitely think alot would, look how many on LFW have knocked it the head due to the cost - obviously not all though. Also looking at other clubs who have moved grounds crowds have increased considerably I wonder how much of that is due to elasticity of prices or facilities Also specifically in Rangers case lol I suppose it stands to reason that if we did actually move grounds the club would be being run a lot better by that point so maybe those who aren't going due to apathy would start going again. You'd hope that the synergy of all these things would get the more floating fans to go to all the home games.
Like many on here I think a new 40K ground is madness and wish it was possible to stay at Loftus Road but just don't think the incremental increase of capacity we could get is worthwhile for the cost. | | | |
| A little bit of good news on 15:18 - Nov 27 with 4804 views | Mvpeter |
| A little bit of good news on 14:53 - Nov 27 by Antti_Heinola |
i think you know what I meant, Pete, can we not get into yet another round of arguing over semantics? You cannot deny that some football fans look down their noses at tourists or casual fans.
I'm not sure loving the Rs is relevant, is it? Are we seriously being picky about who we take money from?
if they're taking tickets from genuine fans somehow then i can see the point. But otherwise, why shouldn't people just casually go to a football match? I agree too many casual fans can dampen an atmosphere, but I honestly don't think they can have that much of an effect if the 'real' fans are properly getting involved. I don't think the atmosphere at Prem grounds is down to casual fans either - their presence might be a small element, but there are loads of others too - all-seater stadia, people walking in at 1 min to 3 rather than being packed in, singing at half past two or even earlier as we used to do, soaking it up, relishing the build-up and the suspense. Also football is everywhere all the time, so it has become a bit less special which affects things too. Also cost: there's a sense of 'I've pai big money for this: entertain me and do it now, then I might start cheering.' |
No don't get me wrong I do get exactly what you mean I just think it's an important distinction. You aren't snobbing anyone for what they are but instead how they think and act. There are all sorts of people that go there now.
I think loving the R's is very relevant, we are picky about who we take money from, that's why we have loyalty points and memberships, to ensure that our real fans go to the most popular games.
I worked at Stamford Bridge for 5 horrific years. I wouldn't wish what I saw there on anyone, except Chelsea. And it was definitely in my mind the combination of the large hospitality section that weren't interested at all in the football and the large tourist contingent. The season ticket areas were nothing like that, night and day. [Post edited 27 Nov 2015 15:21]
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| A little bit of good news on 15:19 - Nov 27 with 4798 views | Mvpeter |
| A little bit of good news on 15:11 - Nov 27 by BrixtonR |
I definitely think alot would, look how many on LFW have knocked it the head due to the cost - obviously not all though. Also looking at other clubs who have moved grounds crowds have increased considerably I wonder how much of that is due to elasticity of prices or facilities Also specifically in Rangers case lol I suppose it stands to reason that if we did actually move grounds the club would be being run a lot better by that point so maybe those who aren't going due to apathy would start going again. You'd hope that the synergy of all these things would get the more floating fans to go to all the home games.
Like many on here I think a new 40K ground is madness and wish it was possible to stay at Loftus Road but just don't think the incremental increase of capacity we could get is worthwhile for the cost. |
That's fair. | |
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| A little bit of good news on 15:35 - Nov 27 with 4765 views | cyprusmel |
One way to increase the fan base I believe, is to pass any spare tickets which the club know that they will be unable to sell onto local schools and maybe youth clubs.
A full ground is always better than a part empty one for building atmosphere and it might encourage the young people to follow the club in their later years.
I would think there must be some teachers or youth club leaders who use this message board who would be only to happy to encourage their charges to become Rs if tickets were made available to them. | | | |
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