Wycombe Wanderers have decided that their preferred site for a new stadium to be shared with London Wasps is Wycombe Air Park at Booker. The plan is to have a stadium that would accommodate at least 17,500 spectators.
The proposed stadium would also include facilities for cricket, a racquet centre and an athletics facility. There are also plans for a hotel, residential development and centres for education and training. It is hoped that the stadium would reduce the reliance of the Chairboy on funds provided by owner Steve Hayes.
Wycombe Wanderers have decided that their preferred site for a new stadium to be shared with London Wasps is Wycombe Air Park at Booker. The plan is to have a stadium that would accommodate at least 17,500 spectators.
The proposed stadium would also include facilities for cricket, a racquet centre and an athletics facility. There are also plans for a hotel, residential development and centres for education and training. It is hoped that the stadium would reduce the reliance of the Chairboy on funds provided by owner Steve Hayes.
Adams Park was only opened in 1990 and is a perfectly adequate stadium for a League 2 or League 1 club which is all Wanderers have ever been. It is one of those rare sites where you are surrounded by countryside, in this case a steep-sided valley. One consequence is that there is only one access road, through an industrial estate, and it is not the easiest ground to get away from.
One does wonder, however, whether in seeking a solution to their financial challenges, the Chairboys might be creating a new problem. Whenever there is a big match in London, the train from High Wycombe is full of Arsenal or Chelsea supporters. When you are so near London, you have to have an attractive product to bring in supporters and what happens on the pitch is ultimately more important than the stadium.
It’s not so long ago when the Chairboys were playing amateur football at Loakes Park. The link up with Wasps in the 2002/3 season, when they moved from a ground share at Loftus Road, was also a smart idea. But are they now overstretching themselves? In any case they have to cross the planning hurdles first.