QPR have come a long way since the takeover of the Formula One giants Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore. The promotion and the subsequent takeover by the Malaysian billionaire Tony Fernandes is also to present at the club with a new and bright future. The club’s owner Tony Fernandes recently revealed that the club is considering moving away from the Loftus Road, which is one of the smallest grounds in the Premier League.
Loftus Road has a capacity of just 18,000 and thus it makes it unviable for the club to be playing at this ground if it wants to generate more income.
Fernandes revealed that the club is looking at options to make a move in the near future. He revealed that QPR are considering building a new stadium with a 45,000-seater capacity. This is highly contradictory given that Tony Fernandes himself admitted that the club’s fans consider that the club has the ability to generate tickets sales for only about 20,000, which is not a great improvement from the present capacity. Loftus Road is now considered as one of the last few remaining pieces of British architecture when it comes to building football stadiums. The fans are extremely close to the pitch and it makes up for a very great atmosphere.
“Some fans are saying ‘We don’t have a fan base bigger than 20,000’. My gut feeling is 40-45,000. That’s double where we are right now, but we’re in London and there’s a strong catchment area. Of course, there is nothing worse than a half-empty stadium,” Tony Fernandes said in an interview given to BBC sport. Tony Fernandes has been extremely successful in the Formula One business and the airlines, and he was quick to point out that he would not be making any such decision in haste.
