With a planning decision due this July on Oxford United’s proposed new stadium, CEO Tim Williams has reiterated that a positive recommendation to proceed is of critical importance to the future of one of English football’s most historic clubs.
“When our lease at the Kassam Stadium runs out, we won’t have a home and a stadium to play in,” Tim Williams said in a recent interview with Sky Sports News.
“If we don’t have a stadium, there is a risk we won’t have a football club.”
The Club has submitted plans for a 16,000- capacity, world-class, multi-purpose destination that will deliver significant social and economic benefits to the county.
The state-of-the-art development that includes a 180-bedroom hotel, a conference and events centre, gym, and health, wellbeing and community spaces, will set a benchmark for sustainability as the UK’s first all-electric stadium.
For Oxford United, the planning outcome isn’t just about building a new stadium, it’s a decision that will determine the Club’s future.
Tim said: “It doesn’t get more serious than that for a football club. We have seen headlines recently about a new Manchester United stadium, which with all due respect is a want and not a need.
“If Manchester United don’t move out, they still have Old Trafford. If Everton hadn’t moved into Bramley Moor-Dock, they’ve still got Goodison. If we don’t move into a new stadium, we are homeless and we don’t exist and it’s an absolute travesty in my view. It’s that important.”
With less than five weeks until a decision is due, the CEO implored decision makers to understand the seriousness of the situation as a new home is the only way the Club will have a future.
Tim added: “We now have a Football Regulator, and we have a report by Tracey Crouch which talks about football assets. We are a poster child for what good football governance and football clubs should be about.
“It’s going to be a 16,000-seater stadium, on the outskirts of Oxford, and a real community asset, fully sustainable, in a brilliant location in the country.
“We need support, but we also need to say, the point about the Club potentially not existing is a real one. This needs to be moved up every headline.
“We are entering a crucial period in the Club’s history. The future of the Club hinges on the new stadium, and I’d urge every supporter, every stakeholder, and every voice to get behind this project.”
