Fulham & QPR Could Share Stadium

[finnster01]

That is about as likely as me sharing my bed with Rihanna

[Burt]

That is about as likely as me sharing my bed with Rihanna

Ah yes Mr Finn, but between you and me (and a few hundred others) would you like that to happen or would you shove her off the edge before things got too steamy?

[Blingo]

I have not read any other replies, but they can f**k right off. WE ARE SW6 NOT W12.  096.gig 096.gig 096.gig 096.gig 096.gig

[BillNRoc]

There is a rationale for stadium-sharing, but it sure doesn't happen very often. Here in the US, the NFL Giants and Jets use the same stadium (in New Jersey!) but the baseball Yankees and Mets do not. Years ago, the Detroit baseball Tigers and NFL Lions shared a stadium, but now each has its own. The NFL Raiders and baseball A's share, but the nearby 49ers and baseball Giants don't.

During my football trip to London four years ago, I went to games at the Cottage and at Loftus Road. I thought the Cottage was historic, albeit old-fashioned, but Loftus Road just seemed like a tired old dump. Easy to understand why QPR's new owner wants new digs, and why he'd be happy if MAF shared the expense. But I sympathize with everyone who thinks the Cottage should be maintained for FFC, no matter what. It's a wonderful place.

[TheDaddy]

At the  end of the day im not sitting in anyones piss!

Ground share no  !

New stadium im 50%-50% Can understand both sides of the fence but at this moment in time i love me cottage...

[ron]

"Who's playing at the Concrete Bowl this weekend, Club A or Club B?"

Nah, I don't like the sound of that.

And I'm old enough to remember QPR's flirtations with the old White City Stadium. A vast, silent tomb of a place. And that was during their home matches !

There's much to be said for tailoring the premises to fit the crowds. Overheads are down, atmosphere is up. Historically, Fulham has not had a regular call for 30000 plus for many years. Revenue can be generated by hosting other matches at your own place etc. ...not so easy when the ground is shared.... and also there's a sense of identity retained at the cottage, which is difficult to quantify and assess.

To get 60,000 at the Shepherd's Bush Superbowl is a pipedream, and requires a worldwide marketing campaign to get the two clubs' replica shirts and merchandise in every sports outlet worldwide......to see a Fulham shirt in any shop outside SW6 takes some doing atm....

Oh yes, and we've got to start winning silverware regularly before that.

Bust-ups and tantrums in football ( surely not!) could leave one club homeless or sharing like poor lodgers somewhere else and the other saddled with debt..... Enter lawyers for their cut of a few million.......


Starting trying this out of its natural order finishes up with vast White City-like morgues as it has in the past.

I'm happy where we are ...but you knew that already !

 

[In the Enclosure]

No way - but if Mo insists - make it in Roehampton - see how keen QP ha ha are then ?

[jarv]

The die hards, initially may boycott the ground but will probably return, to the new stadium.

Incresed seating? A problem to fill for both clubs. Worst case would be a nice new stadium, half empty (like Wigan, Blackburn etc), both Fulham and QPR flirting with relegation. What then?

Who will own the ground.? Will both teams lease it? When QPR are back in div3, will they need it? Afetr all, we don't want a bunch of div3 hoofers messing up our nice premier league pitch :005:

Ticket prices. I doubt I will get an argument tickets for football are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE today. A new stadium, mark my words, will inevtibly mean higher prices.

Transport....big issue. Trains and tubes are a mess at week-ends. However, if you can get to Putney Bridge tube, the walk is one of the best bits of the day (unless it is raining of course). To be honest, I think transport to any ground in London is a bit of a nightmare.

However, in principal, sharing a ground seems like a very sensible idea. Awful lot of hurdles to jump though. Where will it be?

[zzamora]

No.

I will not play in the Loftus cottage.

[Rupert]

We've been here before, of course. Last time we had the Back to the Cottage crew demanding that we return to Craven Cottage, even if this ultimately cost us our Premiership place (22,000-odd capacity at the time compared to the 30,000+ at the proposed Dairy Crest site, plus lucrative add ons like pubs, shops etc and the chance to hold concerts and the like there). In the end we went back home, but at the cost of selling Saha to United in order to finance the revamp needed, we were fourth when he left, we finished in ninth place, so there is a possibility (note, a possibility) that it cost us a Champions League place, more likely another go at the UEFA Cup.

I'm not sure why people are automatically assuming the West London Super Stadium would be in W12. If this is more than somebody idling his day away by speculating aloud, surely the most likely shared ground for Fulham and QPR would be Stamford Bridge, once Chelsea have relocated to wherever they might be going. In that case, I believe QPR would be far more concerned about losing their identity, and supporters, to us. They would be moving "out of their area" (seriously, how many of you live in SW6? I'm 30 miles away!)

In any event, I would be astonished if any of this happened in the near future, so with my prediction record the plans are undoubtably going to be announced on Sunday, but it is the sort of thing that could easily happen under our next chairman. And, guess what, just as the opposition to the no-longer-new badge had little effect, a determined chairman will move us wherever he wants, even if a few thousand of the old guard don't like it. I suspect that a large number of younger fans will be happy so long as we are in the borough and transport links are easier (which brings us back to the Bridge).

As for me, I love the Cottage, I've been there since 1968 (not all the time, you understand, just matchdays) and I am happy to stay there, but I do support Fulham FC, not Craven Cottage FC.

[woohoo5]

wtf?! no way, why would we share with those dicks when wev'e got great groubnd anyway

[cebu]

Share a stadium with ANYBODY - absolutely not!!!    092.gif   096.gig   090.gif

[timmyg]

I'm sure in the not too distant future everyone will be able to watch all games on tv anyway, at which point attending crowds will diminish considerably and ticket prices will have to drop as a result and (to follow the theory to its natural conclusion) you'll get a few more back in but not enough and eventually it'll be like TV audiences where you apply for free seats to watch the Wogan show. There'll be canned stadium noise (or massively miked up.. oh, wait) and the whole sheband will fall apart.

Actually Rich, at least it's been proven here in the USA, more games on TV often leads to higher overall attendance.

Any economist wish to opine?

[FatFreddysCat]

I'd rather see Fulham play Rochdale and Barnet every week than leave the most beautiful ground in the entire football league. As Blingo say's Rangers can feck right off.

[Bertie Wooster]

I had read that Fulham obtained from the borough the permission to increase the attendance of the Putney End of 5000 places. This would be a good new because it would mean that there won't be ground sharing,  but I can't remember where I had read it, can anyone help me?

[SKSW6]

I guess at 20 I'm one of the younger generation, and personally can't see us playing anywhere other than at the cottage. I'd boycott.

[Quills]

My first ever Fulham game was at Loftus Road and I can entirely understand why QPR want to move.

Equally while I love the Cottage (it's probably the main reason why I'm a Fulham fan) I do recognise that it's quite small, there aren't that many ladies toilets, as has been discussed on a previous thread today the acoustics aren't great, and as I experienced on the way into the Brazil v Ghana match it hasn't got great access routes if we were to expand massively. 

Ultimately though - I've been to too many London Irish rugby games played in a half empty stadium in the middle of nowhere and regardless of what division we play in I'd hate for that to happen to Fulham.

Speaking of rugby does anyone think there's any scope for the occasional 'Big Day Out' like the rugby clubs have?  If Harlequins can practically fill Twickenham for a 'derby' match is there any reason a football club can't fill Wembley for the occasional double header?

[Chesh]

Despite never wanting to share a permanent ground with the Bush Pikeys, it might be just a teeny bit worth it to watch 90% of their fans spontaneously combust when they realise that they can no longer hide behind a tiny tin-pot ground as the sole reason for lower average home attendances than us since the year dot.

In all seriousness though, they can afford to move out on their own, and neither of us need each other. :046:

[SHADY1]

no choice then Chelsea move out we move in... no ground share and the best all round option for us to move forward...

[Holders]

The only mileage in this might be to groundshare at Stamford Brifde if the Dark Side move out. But the seat colours would have to be changed, of course.