QPR to Old Oak Common?

QPR have launched talks to explore a new stadium on the Old Oak Common site set to be transformed by the arrival of crossrail in the coming years, according to the BBC. The new 40,000 stadium would roughly double the current capacity at Loftus Road, while remaining in the backyard of the bush.

A few thoughts. First, I guess I am not the only one never really to have visited the old oak common area, at least until recently when I discovered it was quite useful as a running route back to W12 from the Grand Union canal. I was quite taken aback by the sense of dereliction of the place. Disused warehouses and wasteland are punctuated by the odd used building, such as a Syrian community centre standing forlornly alone. The investment and transformation of the area can't come too soon.

Secondly QPR has really got to find a new stadium and fast. It has long been like stepping back into an episode of the Sweeney to venture into that ground, complete with corrugated iron, micro plastic seats and fat blokes with pies screaming at athletes to run faster. A new stadium would at least deal with the first two!

QPR Quatro

Finally, however, this is one radical transformation of our backyard that everyone can get behind. There are no communities being involuntarily evicted, no businesses being turfed out and there seems to be every reason to celebrate what might be a fantastic new evolution of our part of London with a community club at the heart of it, unlike the experience of others who have felt the need to leave their home bases, such as Barnet recently.

In other words this looks like very good news indeed!