Oxford United Development Director says it's a pivotal year for the club
Jonathon Clarke says he hopes 2025 will be a pivotal year for the new stadium plans.
Last updated 7th Jan 2025
Oxford United’s board say 2025 promises to be an exciting year for the club.
It’s after last year saw proposals take shape for a new stadium at the Triangle near Kidlington.
The application includes a new 180-bedroom hotel, conference facilities and exhibition centre, which the club say will bring a deal of wider benefits.
They estimate it will create almost 1,000 jobs and around £32 million for the local economy annually.
Development Director Jonathon Clarke has been talking to us about major milestones for the club last year.
One was signing a legally binding lease option with Oxfordshire County Council for the land known as the Triangle, alongside completing an exciting community collaboration agreement.
The lease option includes provisions to secure Oxford United’s right to play at the stadium, along with safeguards on rent and use of facilities.
Development Director Jonathon Clarke explains:
"We made tremendous strides last year towards our goal of securing a permanent, sustainable home that protects the long-term future of the Club and delivers a host of excellent benefits to the wider community."
He's been telling us though the match day experience is the primary focus, they want the proposed new stadium to bring more to the community outside match days:
"The idea being that this is an essential community hub, available 365 days a year, for everyone really."
New stadium a 'night and day comparison' with current home
The community collaboration agreement formalised the Club’s commitment to social, environmental and economic benefits, as outlined in the seven strategic priorities set by the council.
The club say this is an area they continue to work hard on, with an announcement of additional strategic partners and news in due course.
Jonathon explains they've submitted additional information to Cherwell District Planning Department:
"The other key highlight was formally submitting the planning application, as well as providing significant updates just before Christmas. A huge amount of work has taken place to get us to this point, and the result is an ambitious and inspirational project that will be transformational not just for Oxford United, but for the whole of Oxfordshire."
The club say the community is at the heart of their design, with a public plaza, gardens and spaces which can be used to deliver education, health and wellbeing programmes.
Oxford United also say this will be the most environmentally sustainable mid-sized stadium to be built in the UK, with the location, next to Oxford Parkway rail station and close to Park & Ride sites.
"Despite the exciting progress made to date, 2025 could be one of the most important years in the history of this great football club. It is well documented that our current stadium arrangement is unsustainable for the Club to survive long-term. We need to secure planning permission to protect the future of Oxford United and bring this vision to life."
Jonathon calls the proposed new stadium a 'night and day comparison' to the current Kassam Stadium ground, as he calls for continued support of the club on and off the pitch in 2025.