Football club Oxford United have published further details of its plans for a potential new home, which it says will be a sustainable sports, entertainment and lifestyle landmark in Oxfordshire in the UK.
After an extensive site search, the Triangle in Kidlington has been identified as the only viable and potentially available site to create a best-in-class facility as the new home of Oxford United.
Oxford United says it hopes the new home will set a benchmark for community benefit, commercial innovation, and environmental performance.
End of the lease
The club’s current agreement to play at the Kassam Stadium comes to an end in 2026, which has led to plans for a 16,000-capacity stadium and complex within a single building. This will include an 180-bed hotel, restaurant, conference centre, health & wellbeing space and a community plaza.
“With our right to use the Kassam Stadium coming to an end in 2026 and no option to renew the lease, we must find a new home” said Oxford United FC Chief Executive Tim Williams. “The club is committed to developing a proposal which is highly sustainable and community focused whilst providing a state-of-the-art destination for all,” Williams added.
The northern part of the building, next to the new plaza, will have a range of retail, restaurant and community spaces, including a club shop, sports bar, café and restaurant.
Community focus
The building will be surrounded and complemented by new landscaping and community-focused open public green spaces, which Oxford United says will enhance the biodiversity of the site by more than 10%.
The stadium will also be better connected to public transport and create new connections for the wider community, with a new east to west pedestrian and cycle route, improved footway and cycleway links to Oxford Parkway station, and the Water Eaton Park and Ride site as well as enhanced pedestrian facilities along Oxford Road.
The stadium designs feature sensory rooms and a dedicated accessible concourse with elevated views of the field of play.
From October 10 until the 21st, the club is hosting a series of exhibition boards where the designs will be on show for public scrutiny. Oxford united will also host a feedback session specifically for disabled fans, which it says will ensure the stadium is accessible to all fans.
The exhibition follows the decision by Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet last month to give in principle consent to lease the triangle site in Kidlington as the new home for Oxford United.
