Without a stadium, there is no Oxford United - CEO
Oxford United chief executive Tim Williams says there is "nothing more important" than securing the club's short-term future with the Kassam Stadium licence expiring in June 2026
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Oxford United chief executive Tim Williams has warned there will be no football club without a stadium to play in.
The lease on the Kassam Stadium, where the U's currently play, expires in June 2026 and the club is still awaiting a decision from planners about a proposed new ground at The Triangle site near Kidlington, which is expected this summer.
But the club, who are 19th in the Championship, will soon need to inform the English Football League (EFL) as to where they intend to play beyond then, with either a groundshare or license extension at the Kassam being considered until a potential new stadium is built.
"There is nothing more important - and I mean literally nothing more important," Williams told BBC Radio Oxford's The Dub podcast.
"We don't have a stadium to be in if this doesn't work out. I don't particularly like binary decisions. But this really is that binary.
"We are in a position where we have to move. This actually isn't now about moving into a stadium that will allow us to generate more revenue. This is about getting into a stadium.
"Fundamentally, if we don't have a stadium, we don't have a football club. It's appallingly as binary as that."
Oxford United's proposed new stadium would hold 16,000 fans
The planning application for the new 16,000-capacity stadium has not yet been accepted and was delayed in February after Cherwell District Council asked for an extension to consider more information about the venue.
Oxford previously said the delay meant the council would not provide a decision until June this year at the earliest.
Early last month Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds said the club "must be able to move".
Williams said it would be "challenging" to raise money to build the prospective new stadium but that he was "very confident this is a very attractive project for somebody who wants to invest in a brilliantly unique and fantastic stadium in England".
And he said extending the club's licence at the Kassam was his favoured option in the short term.
"I think for everybody involved, none more so than fans and supporters, the path of least resistance would be to see if we can stay where we are for the couple of years that we need to," Williams added.
"I don't particularly want to groundshare anywhere, that's not a particularly good option - that's an understatement.
"So, for me, the most attractive option is to stay where we are, assuming that we can."