A QPR new stadium could become a reality in the coming years after it was revealed the club are actively seeking new investment to move from Loftus Road. The club reportedly want to build a brand-new, state of the art stadium to help them get back into the Premier League and establish themselves as a top-flight club.
According to the Daily Mail, a sales pitch has been sent to potential investors in a QPR new stadium titled “Project Big Ben” and is looking to hook investors in by playing on QPR's location in London. According to the sales pitch, Loftus Road is currently worth between £50-64m while the club as a whole has been valued at £120m.
The club is currently owned by Ruben Gnanalingam (60%), Amit Bhatia (19%), and Richard Reilly (21%). Although all three men are seeking outside investment for the club to help build the new stadium, none of them are reportedly open to walking away entirely from the club and are believed to be in it for the long haul.
Loftus Road currently has a capacity of 18,000 and this season they are averaging an attendance of 16,668 so they do operate close to capacity. This is also in a season where they have struggled towards the bottom of the Championship so there is perhaps justification for the owners wanting a new stadium for the club.
QPR new stadium: Learning from past mistakes
Looking to improve infrastructure and the club, as a whole, is a sign that the current owners are learning from the mistakes made under the previous regime. Tony Fernandes, the club's majority shareholder from 2011-2023, admitted to being “exploited” during his time in charge which led to the club effectively crashing and burning.
Although the club enjoyed three years in the Premier League during the Fernandes Era, their model was entirely unsustainable and dependent on the club being a Premier League club. Fernandes spent hundreds of millions on “flash” players to no avail and the club have been stuck in the Championship now for nine years.
This season, they are still in the mix for relegation and if they do go down, it will undoubtedly be more difficult to bring in the investment the current owners are after. If they do stay up, though, then the club can perhaps start to look up again rather than over their shoulders.
QPR enter partnership with Gemini Sports
Welcome @gemini_sports 🤝
QPR will be using the state-of-the-art AI cloud platform to aid topics such as on-field performance and recruitment 📈
— QPR FC (@QPR) June 1, 2024
Although not directly related to the club's plans to develop a new stadium, QPR's recent partnership with Gemini Sports is a huge boost for the side nonetheless and gives their fans a cause for optimism.
Speaking via an official club statement, Gemini Sports founder, Jake Schuster, said: “By taking QPR's data operations from a blank sheet of paper to using cutting-edge AI tech essentially overnight and actually implementing it into their key player personnel and on-field decisions, we're active participants in the reinvention of a historically-significant sporting organisation.”
As a result, the Hoops' recruitment should see a drastic improvement, and if that were to be the case, then naturally, better performances on the pitch, and thus higher league finishes, can be expected.
This would make securing funds for a brand-new stadium all the more likely and is yet another suggestion that QPR are a club headed in the right direction.