General Stadium Disrepair

[battman]

if you move to far from the centre of the county it becomes quite a trek for fans from the other side, plus Oxford has decent transport links with most of the rest of the county while some other places much less so, it has taken me longer to get from one side of Oxfordshire to the other than it has to travel a couple of county’s across before and that’s without the hassle of football traffic added to it.
Maybe it’s because I am actually from Oxford but I am vehemently opposed to the club moving outside of Oxford, it’s such a shitty franchise thing to do and it’s stealing the club from its origins. That would probably be it for me if it happened, even if they moved south and it was more convenient for me now I live on the Hampshire//Berkshire/Surrey borders.

From someone who doesn't live locally, moving the club to a more rural location other than say Didcot is a non-starter. Despite what people will have you believe, it's relatively easy to get public transport to the stadium if you have the time - plenty of trains pass through Didcot where you can hop on a train to Oxford and get the number 5 bus from the station and then it's a 5 minute walk from the stadium. It's not a location right outside a railway station, but it's manageable. Plenty of towns in the county either don't have a station or have a smaller one which means you're likely to need a connection from Oxford. And also, the relatively central location of the club plays right into our hands. If we moved to Banbury for example, could you blame a young football fan living in Cholsey for choosing to support a much closer Reading side?

 

[battman]

On the 5 minute fans forum on Radio Oxford on 15 October last year, 4 months ago, Niall McWilliams told Jerome that with regard to the Stadium the Club were " genuinely making significant progress". In itself that is a meaningless phrase. A soundbite intended to fend off further enquiry and begs more questions than answers. It is ,of course, the only thing he could say . The dliemma for the Board is that even if they can find a site to develop at a cost of £100+million would it be a viable investment post-covid? And even if they decide it might be, such a development is now unlikely to be completed by 2026. It is inevitable that the club will have no option but to deal with Kassam for a new licence or negotiate a gtound share. Whilst fully appreciating the need to preserve confidentiallity around sensitive negotiations isn't it about time the Board gave fans a clear indiciation of it's intentions?

Unless football fans will never return and people will stop using leisure facilities altogether then it's still a viable investment, especially if you think a site won't be ready by 2026. Whilst we all want to here something concrete, I much prefer McWilliams saying very little except for platitudes publicly and working behind the scenes to get something done rather than being all bluster and bullshit.

Will a brand new stadium be ready by 2026? Probably not, but it's only 2021 so I don't think the club has to lay out a vision for all fans to see right now when things are still up in the air (and when has a 5 year plan ever actually come to fruition?). I think a short renewal of the lease, or a *temporary* groundshare with City or MK Dons is probable whilst a new stadium is being constructed, but the stadium situation isn't something to panic about and demand answers for right away.

 

[OX14]

but the stadium situation isn't something to panic about and demand answers for right away.

I disagree, it's all good and well having a successful team on the pitch but with the uncertainty of what we are going to do after the 2026 lease end is just as important. There is nothing saying Ka$$am has to agree to any change in the lease whether that's duration or terms. If we get to 2026 with being no further in to discussions I really feel the club could be in a bad state of affairs. The board aren't going to keep pumping money in with no return so by 2026 they would of cleared off. If we continue for another 20 years with the current lease with no improvements to the stadium then we aren't going to progress any further. I already mentioned a ground share with City and develop it to accommodate the fans needed in league 1 and was told it wouldn't happen as its in a restricted location. So that leaves a groudshare with Wycombe or mk which will be the death of the club unless its only on a temporary basis.

 

[holdsteady]

I disagree, it's all good and well having a successful team on the pitch but with the uncertainty of what we are going to do after the 2026 lease end is just as important. There is nothing saying Ka$$am has to agree to any change in the lease whether that's duration or terms. If we get to 2026 with being no further in to discussions I really feel the club could be in a bad state of affairs. The board aren't going to keep pumping money in with no return so by 2026 they would of cleared off. If we continue for another 20 years with the current lease with no improvements to the stadium then we aren't going to progress any further. I already mentioned a ground share with City and develop it to accommodate the fans needed in league 1 and was told it wouldn't happen as its in a restricted location. So that leaves a groudshare with Wycombe or mk which will be the death of the club unless its only on a temporary basis.

I would genuinely rather drop out of the FL and play at Oxford City than ground share at either of those places for anything more than the minimum possible time, I don’t think people get how s**t that situation would be, I also doubt we would make the end of a second season as by then most fans will have drifted away.
Even if we do move a deal where we stay at Kassam until then could still be managed.

 

[battman]

I disagree, it's all good and well having a successful team on the pitch but with the uncertainty of what we are going to do after the 2026 lease end is just as important. There is nothing saying Ka$$am has to agree to any change in the lease whether that's duration or terms. If we get to 2026 with being no further in to discussions I really feel the club could be in a bad state of affairs. The board aren't going to keep pumping money in with no return so by 2026 they would of cleared off. If we continue for another 20 years with the current lease with no improvements to the stadium then we aren't going to progress any further. I already mentioned a ground share with City and develop it to accommodate the fans needed in league 1 and was told it wouldn't happen as its in a restricted location. So that leaves a groudshare with Wycombe or mk which will be the death of the club unless its only on a temporary basis.

Maybe I was being a little bit disingenuous with saying 'right away' considering this process of stadium talks with the council etc. have been going on for almost a couple of seasons now. I think my general point is that we're still 5 years away, which isn't that long when it comes to actually building a stadium, but a long time in the sense that there's plenty of time for things to change. If we're still in this situation in early 2023 with nothing further along down the line, then there's some cause for concern. But I think once things become public, things could move very quickly in terms of a site being identified, land being bought and a fast track planning taking place.

And whilst I agree it's not a dead cert for a lease renewal to be agreed, it's worth noting that Kassam hasn't laid out any plans for the future of the stadium if/when we leave, so a transient period where he knows for certain that we're leaving whilst he applies for planning permission etc. - whilst still having a tenant paying rent - is beneficial to him.

 

[horseman]

Given Owners don't stay long at clubs i think caution is required when it comes to agreeing any new Long Term lease. If we cannot buy the current stadium/complex or find a new home anytime soon then once Tiger and his pals move on who in their right mind would get involved in our club.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

Given Oxford City are doing so well, should they get promotion does their ground need upgrading?
If so the capacity at Court Place Farm would increase maybe to 6000
Surely better to share with them and disappoint some fans rather than only get around 2/3000 fans travelling to Wycombe/MK

 

[OUFCGav]

Given Oxford City are doing so well, should they get promotion does their ground need upgrading?
If so the capacity at Court Place Farm would increase maybe to 6000
Surely better to share with them and disappoint some fans rather than only get around 2/3000 fans travelling to Wycombe/MK

There are a whole bunch of ground grading requirements if City got promoted to Conference National.
Much more if it were to be used (even temporarily) in the League - tearing up the artificial pitch would be one.

 

[OX14]

Given Oxford City are doing so well, should they get promotion does their ground need upgrading?
If so the capacity at Court Place Farm would increase maybe to 6000
Surely better to share with them and disappoint some fans rather than only get around 2/3000 fans travelling to Wycombe/MK

Their board have spoken out numerous times that they have a 5 year plan to get in the league. They also turned down a hefty offer from a league 2 team for James Roberts in January so maybe they have the funds in place to really do this. Stadium will need upgrading to league standard but there Is no reason why they couldn't get it to that standard when you think of some of the small stadiums in the league.

Put it this way if the year is 2026 and its either sign another 20 year lease at the kassam, groundshare with mk or Wycombe or groundshare with City but only having a capacity of 5k home fans I know which way i will be voting.

 

[arthurturner]

Spot on. Correct me if I am wrong but have the board or tiger ever came out and said we will buy land, build a stadium and develop the rest of the land to fund the stadium and to pay back the investors?

All the information seems to come from members of this forum who say they are in the know, are these people actually in the know or just assuming these investors are on the board for that reason?

I my self would have to question why they keep pumping money in with little return
, but maybe they are more interested in building the franchise worldwide than building a stadium and leisure facilities.

Given Owners don't stay long at clubs i think caution is required when it comes to agreeing any new Long Term lease. If we cannot buy the current stadium/complex or find a new home anytime soon then once Tiger and his pals move on who in their right mind would get involved in our club.

And on that note, it's worth remembering that Tiger didn't hang about at Reading once there was no other property deal to be done.

 

[Oxymoron]

Put it this way if the year is 2026 and its either sign another 20 year lease at the kassam, groundshare with mk or Wycombe or groundshare with City but only having a capacity of 5k home fans I know which way i will be voting.

But you won't be voting - unless you win Euromillions tomorrow and have a very ambitious plan.......

 

[OX14]

But you won't be voting - unless you win Euromillions tomorrow and have a very ambitious plan.......

I would hope whoever the owner of us in 2026 would consult us, we don't want another Merry situation do we.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Their board have spoken out numerous times that they have a 5 year plan to get in the league. They also turned down a hefty offer from a league 2 team for James Roberts in January so maybe they have the funds in place to really do this. Stadium will need upgrading to league standard but there Is no reason why they couldn't get it to that standard when you think of some of the small stadiums in the league.

Put it this way if the year is 2026 and its either sign another 20 year lease at the kassam, groundshare with mk or Wycombe or groundshare with City but only having a capacity of 5k home fans I know which way i will be voting.

Oxford City won't get into the league! Football fans here support United - I don't see where they think they'd get support from. People would only go to watch them if United moved to Banbury or somewhere.

 

[SteMerritt]

Oxford City won't get into the league! Football fans here support United - I don't see where they think they'd get support from. People would only go to watch them if United moved to Banbury or somewhere.

You do realise they used to be the established Oxford club and we were the small upstarts at one point, don't you...

 

[windmill]

You do realise they used to be the established Oxford club and we were the small upstarts at one point, don't you...

That was 65 years ago, but I get your drift.

 

[OX14]

Oxford City won't get into the league! Football fans here support United - I don't see where they think they'd get support from. People would only go to watch them if United moved to Banbury or somewhere.

Since when does how many fans you have count to being able to get in to the league? Look at Fleetwood and Forest Green for example. It depends how ambitious they are at attracting fans, start giving kids under 16 free season tickets like MK and they could get 3k fans each game easy.

 

[SteMerritt]

Since when does how many fans you have count to being able to get in to the league? Look at Fleetwood and Forest Green for example. It depends how ambitious they are at attracting fans, start giving kids under 16 free season tickets like MK and they could get 3k fans each game easy.

Rushden and Diamonds, Dagenham and Redbridge also.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Rushden and Diamonds, Dagenham and Redbridge also.

YES but there wasnt a much better Rushden United or Barking City! Daggers prob got some Hammers fans who were priced out, but we’re not that good.

 

[werthersoriginal]

You do realise they used to be the established Oxford club and we were the small upstarts at one point, don't you...

You seem to be arguing for the decline of United ...

 

[Manorlounger]

I would hope whoever the owner of us in 2026 would consult us, we don't want another Merry situation do we.

Heaven forbid that the board spend their money without consulting you first!