Loftus Road: Difference between revisions
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| seating_capacity = 18,360<ref>[http://www.premierleague.com/page/queens-park-rangers QPR Club Profile] premierleague.com</ref> |
| seating_capacity = 18,360<ref>[http://www.premierleague.com/page/queens-park-rangers QPR Club Profile] premierleague.com</ref> |
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| tenants = [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.]] (1917–present)<br>[[London Wasps]] ([[Guinness Premiership]]) (1996–2002)<br>[[Fulham F.C.]] (2002–2004)<br>[[Australia national football team|Australia]] (occasional 2001–present) |
| tenants = [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.]] (1917–present)<br>[[London Wasps]] ([[Guinness Premiership]]) (1996–2002)<br>[[Fulham F.C.]] (2002–2004)<br>[[Australia national football team|Australia]] (occasional 2001–present) |
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| dimensions = |
| dimensions = 112m x 72m |
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Revision as of 16:03, 23 October 2011
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The Loft | |
 | |
 | |
| Full name | Loftus Road Stadium or Rangers Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | South Africa Road, London W12 7PJ |
| Coordinates | 51°30′33″N 0°13′56″W / 51.50917°N 0.23222°W |
| Capacity | 18,360[1] |
| Field size | 112m x 72m |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1904 |
| Opened | 1904 |
| Tenants | |
| Queens Park Rangers F.C. (1917–present) London Wasps (Guinness Premiership) (1996–2002) Fulham F.C. (2002–2004) Australia (occasional 2001–present) | |
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End (often shortened to The Loft), Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End, which is used by away supporters. The stadium was shared between QPR and Premier League side Fulham between 2002 and 2004, while Fulham's Craven Cottage was closed for reconstruction. Loftus Road is the smallest stadium in the Premier League followed by the Liberty Stadium
History
The ground was first used on 22 October 1904 by Shepherd's Bush F.C., an amateur side that disbanded in World War I.[2] QPR moved to Loftus Road in 1917, having had their ground at Park Royal commandeered by the army in 1915. At that time the ground was an open field with a pavilion. One stand from Park Royal was dismantled and re-erected forming the Ellerslie Road stand in 1919. This stand remained as the only covered seating in the ground until 1968 and was replaced in 1972. It had a capacity of 2,950.[3]
In 1938 a new covered terrace for 6,000 spectators was constructed by a company called Framed Structures Ltd at the Loftus Road end taking the capacity up to 30,000. It cost £7,000 (with £1,500 donated by the QPR Supporters Club) and was opened by the Rt Hon Herbert Morrison, the leading Labour MP and future war time Home Secretary, at the match vs Crystal Palace on 29 October.[4] The section of the terracing that was covered was concreted at this time with the uncovered section later concreted in 1945.
In April 1948, after winning the Third Division (South) championship, the club bought the freehold of the stadium plus 39 houses in Loftus Road and Ellerslie Road for £26,250. When the club's finances were under pressure in the late 1950s the houses had to be sold.
On 5 October 1953 floodlights were used at Loftus Road for the first time for a friendly game against Arsenal. In the summer of 1966 the original floodlights were replaced by much taller floodlight pylons. In the summer of 1981 these in turn were replaced with the current floodlights.
In the summer of 1968 the South Africa Road stand was constructed at a cost of £150,000 to replace the old open terracing. In 1972 a new stand was completed in Ellerslie Road, replacing the tin-roofed grandstand, and first used in the match versus Oxford United on 2 December 1972. The changing rooms and offices were moved to South Africa Road.
The stadium's highest recorded attendance of 35,353 was in a game against Leeds United on 27 April 1974. The following summer the paddock of the South Africa Road stand was converted from terracing to seating with the installation of 4,600 seats, thus lowering the capacity of the stadium to the 31,002 present for the last home match of the 1975/6 season against Leeds United on 24 April 1976.
During the summer of 1981 an artificial pitch of Omniturf was installed at Loftus Road, the first such surface to be used in British professional football. It was removed in April 1988 because of football legislation and replaced with grass.
New stands were opened at the School End in the summer of 1980 and one year later at the Loftus Road end. At the same time as the Loftus Road stand was built executive boxes were installed in the lower tier of the South Africa Road stand and the artificial pitch laid. The stadium capacity at this time was 27,000 and it was one of the most modern and advanced stadiums in Britain having been completely reconstructed over the 13-year period from 1968 to 1981.
On 8 June 1985 Barry McGuigan successfully challenged Eusebio Pedroza to become WBA world featherweight boxing champion at Loftus Road.
In the summer of 1994 the Loftus Road ground became an all-seater stadium with the construction of seating in the lower Loftus Road stand. The last match where home spectators were able to watch the match from terracing was 16 April 1994 against Everton.
The largest attendance in recent times was 18,234 against Leeds United on 7 May 2011.
Loftus Road is also a nickname of the Bulgarian FC Spartak Plovdiv ground, the Todor Diev Stadium.
Ground sharing
Loftus Road was home to London Wasps from 1996/97 to 2001/02, having moved from their home in Sudbury, near Wembley in Middlesex. It was part of a 7 year ground share deal, by Chris Wright who had just bought Wasps as rugby union became professional. Wasps agreed to move out, to Wycombe Wanderers' Adams Park ground, at the end of the 2001–02 season to allow Fulham F.C. to rent for 2 seasons between 2002 and 2004, while their ground, Craven Cottage, was redeveloped. The success of Wasps at their new ground meant they didn't move back after Fulham left.
Internationals
Loftus Road was the first 'neutral' venue to capitalise on hosting international friendlies not involving England. The ground has subsequently hosted 'home' ties for the Jamaican and Australian national teams to capitalise on the large Australian and Caribbean populations in west London and convenient for their star players who play in the British Isles and continental Europe.
In addition, in 2004, as part of the Gillette Tri-Nations rugby league competition, New Zealand played Australia (Australia winning by 32 points to 16). In 2005, Great Britain lost to New Zealand at the stadium in the same competition, 26 – 42.
On the football front, on 14 November 2006, Australia drew 1–1 with Ghana in an international friendly at the ground. In 2008, Australia played another friendly at Loftus Road against South Africa, the match ended 2–2. In 2007 Denmark won 3-1 against Australia at Loftus Road.[5] South Korea won 2–0 against Côte d'Ivoire at Loftus Road on 3 March 2010.
Stands
South Africa Road Stand and The Paddocks
The South Africa Road stand is the biggest of the four stands at Loftus Road. It is a two tier stand which includes The Paddocks and contains a row of boxes separating The Paddocks and the upper tier. It also houses the dugouts, changing rooms, suites, tunnel, offices, club shop, box office and press conference rooms. The Paddocks area is the cheapest in the ground, whereas the upper tier is the most expensive. The new exclusive W12 and C Clubs are located here.
The Loft
The Loft is a two tier stand built in 1981 behind the goal and traditionally where most members and season ticket holders sit. This is the third most expensive stand to sit in. QPR generally attack this end in the second half because it is believed to be good luck. The police crowd observation box is located in this stand and it is home to the members' bar in the ground, The Blue and White Bar. A new colour scoreboard is located at this end, installed in Summer 2008, on the advertising boards between the upper and lower tiers.
The Ellerslie Road Stand
The Ellerslie Road stand, built in 1972, is constantly renamed and sponsored, but QPR fans refer to it as the Ellerslie Road Stand. It is a single tiered stand and is the smallest in height, but not in noise and capacity. It is also the only stand not to be painted in blue and white hoops, instead it has "QPR" painted across it. It is home to the famous "R Block" where, along with the Loft's Q and P blocks sit QPR's partisan following. Most of the noise is generated from this stand, in addition to the Loft. This stand is a favourite of the fans because of the view and atmosphere. This is the second most expensive stand. It is also home to the commentary and television camera gantry.
The School End
At the west end of the ground is the School End built in 1989. In appearance it is a copy of the Loft. Visiting supporters are accommodated in the 'The School End' upper tier; the lower tier is also allocated to them if demand is high. A new big screen was erected on the roof of the School End in the summer of 2008 which shows match highlights during the game and adverts. This joined a new colour scoreboard which is located on the advertising boards between the middle and lower tiers.
The future
QPR continues to insist that they do not have plans to move, and that they will investigate further improvements to Loftus Road before any relocation would occur. However, given the tight constraints on the ground, it is unlikely that the capacity could be increased significantly unless serious developments were planned.
References
- ^ QPR Club Profile premierleague.com
- ^ Loftus Road Legacy – The History of Shepherd’s Bush Football Club, Frances Trinder, Yore Publications, ISBN0954783018
- ^ The Official History of Queens Park Rangers Football Club, Gordon Macey, Queens Park Rangers FC, ISBN0953636704
- ^ http://www.indyrs.co.uk/index.php?s=history&sbutt=Go Indy R’s history accessed: 26 October 2008
- ^ [http://www.dbu.dk/landshold/landsholdsdatabasen/LBaseMatchInfo.aspx?matchid=5090 DBU.dk
External links
- Queens Park Rangers' Website
- Picture Gallery Loftus Road on londonfootballguide.com