Queen Park Rangers set to beat Chelsea to new stadium

London: Championship club Queen Park Rangers have overtaken west London neighbours and Premier League giants Chelsea in the search for a new stadium.

Chelsea’s tortuous hunt has stalled, but QPR are in talks over building a futuristic 40,000-seat ground as part of a massive £10 billion (Dh57 billion) Canary Wharf-style development at Old Oak Common, near Wormwood Scrubs and Loftus Road.

QPR are advanced enough in negotiations with Hammersmith and Fulham council and the Greater London Authority for a memorandum of understanding to have been drawn up. The plan is to transform 100 acres of industrial wasteland into a vast railway hub for Crossrail and the proposed HS2 link from Euston to Birmingham. A sports arena will also be built, as well as an office and residential complex with 19,000 homes — more than QPR’s current capacity.

The proposals are said to require a £200m contribution from QPR, who have the backing of airline tycoon Tony Fernandes and the Mittal steel family, one of the richest in the UK.

A QPR spokesman said: “We are taking a good look at various long-term options to see which makes the most sense.”