QPR: Linford Christie Stadium a 'last chance' for club to remain in borough

QPR first played at Loftus Road in 1917

QPR have warned they may have to leave W12 unless the local council help them redevelop Linford Christie Stadium.

The R's say the 18,439-capacity Loftus Road is "unsustainable" for their long-term future.

Rangers are keen to move to the nearby athletics stadium, but the land is owned by Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

"If the council do not want QPR to be involved in its redevelopment then that is their choice," chief executive Lee Hoos told the club website.

"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."

The Hoops first played at Loftus Road in 1917, but Hoos has previously said that any proposed redevelopment of Loftus Road is a "non-starter" because of the lack of available land around the stadium.

However, Hammersmith & Fulham Council have accused QPR's owners of "engaging in property speculation" and lobbying to turn Loftus Road into housing.

The council has encouraged QPR to consider "an FC Barcelona-style fan ownership" in an attempt to keep the club in the borough, a statement which Rangers co-owner Tony Fernandes described as "horrific, disappointing and really unbecoming".

"We are not property developers, never will be and don't want to be," he added. "Just enough to build a new home."

Linford Christie Stadium a "last chance" for R's

Rangers have long earmarked a move away from South Africa Road, but a lack of available sites has frustrated their ambitions to build a new stadium.

Plans for a 40,000-seater ground at Old Oak Common, in conjunction with the construction of up to 24,000 new homes and a railway station, were announced in December 2013 but the project stalled because land in the area is owned by car dealership Cargiant.

The Championship side then turned their attentions to Linford Christie Stadium, an athletics venue used by Thames Valley Harriers, in early 2017.

The venue is about a mile north of Loftus Road but a redevelopment of the site, which is on the edge of Wormwood Scrubs Park, would have several other stakeholders involved, along with the local council.

Hoos says the club wants to remain in Hammersmith & Fulham "if at all possible" but has stressed Linford Christie Stadium is their "last chance" to stay in the borough.

"We hoped the council would work with us to find a solution that keeps QPR in the borough for another 100 years, and we still do," he said.

"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.

"We would like to invite the leader of the council, Stephen Cowan, 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."