Oxford United decide against fourth stand for local derby (From Oxford Mail)

Oxford Utd RSS Feed

Oxford United decide against fourth stand for local derby

9:00am Thursday 26th January 2012 in Oxford Utd

United chairman Kelvin Thomas

Oxford United will not have a fourth stand in place for the visit of Swindon Town in March – because it is not commercially viable.

The U’s sold out of their ticket allocation for the derby fixture in mid-November.

But after discussions with various parties about the possibility of erecting a temporary stand at the west end of the ground, it has been decided – mainly from a financial point of view – that it will not happen.

Chairman Kelvin Thomas said last night: “Everyone in the club would have loved to put a fourth stand up for this fixture.

“It’s something that hasn’t happened before and we all like to create history in some way.

“However, after spending a lot of time on the research and a tremendous amount of time discussing the positives and negatives, we think it is the right decision at this point.

“It could be a safety risk and a financial risk, on top of what is already a very high-profile fixture.

“We are very excited about the fixture anyway, we will have a great crowd with over 10,000 Oxford fans and we look forward to a cracking atmosphere and game.”

If the stand had got the go-ahead, there would have been a record crowd at the Kassam Stadium of around 14,000.

The capacity as it stands is 12,500, but will be reduced because of the extent of segregation now needed in the North Stand.

United held discussions with suppliers, corporate partners, City Council and Thames Valley Police, but ultimately it came down to money.

A statement from the club said: “Due to Football League regulations, the ticket price for a potential fourth stand could not be more than the Oxford Mail Stand.

“In this stand, the blended average price after VAT is £11.94 per seat.

“However the combined cost of the fourth stand has worked out at an estimated £17.74, excluding VAT per seat.

“Therefore the stand itself would be a loss leader.”

It added: “With an additional stand, the overall attendance would be over 14,000, which would also create serious traffic flow and parking issues before and after the match.

“Given that this match will not be a low-key fixture anyway, it is seen as a risk to test traffic flow and any new parking systems in such a high profile fixture.

“If a stand was put in place, 1,974 seats would become available for home fans, which would all need to be sold to close the gap for the costs of the new stand.

“After two months of home tickets selling out and numerous reminders, the waiting list stands at only 165, therefore it is a reasonable assumption that the demand for additional seating will not reach the supply.

“Taking all the factors into consideration it was decided that the financial risk, coupled with the additional potential safety risks, meant that it does not justify the installation of additional seating.”

Swindon have been allocated 1,252 North Stand seats, along with seven tickets for wheelchair users and seven for PAs.

Tickets are already sold out for home fans.

Comments(50)

dave bamber`s caravan says...
9:47am Thu 26 Jan 12

1,252 joke allocation.
Blue square club, blue square ground.
3 stands ha ha ha
forever in our shadow.