Rangers fight for Wasps

Last updated : 15 January 2004 By Mark O' Haire
Queens Park Rangers are involved in a scrummage with Wycombe Wanderers over the future of London Wasps.

Both clubs want the English champions groundsharing with them next season and Rangers have fired the first shots by offering Wasps their 19,000 all-seater ground for big cup matches this season.

Wasps chief executive Alistair McLean confirmed the double winners are considering the offer for Heineken Cup European matches.

McLean said: "That's a real possibility. Heineken Cup is the premier cup competition in European rugby and has got a massive following.

"Should we be fortunate to progress through the group and make the quarter-final and have a home draw, we would hope to sell tickets in excess of the capacity at Wycombe."

Rangers, whose Loftus Road stadium is almost twice the size of the Wanderers' Causeway Stadium, are pinning their campaign to win their ex-tenants back on the explosion in popularity of rugby since England's World Cup win and are playing on Wasps' fears that Wycombe's 10,000 capacity is too small.

Furthermore, Premier Rugby, the body who run the Zurich Premier League, is set to pass a ruling in 2006 which would mean all Premiership clubs need a 12,000 capacity by the start of the 2007/8 season.

Negotiations are delicate because Wasps have a long-term contract with QPR, which was only interrupted temporarily when Fulham bought them out of it, and a short-term right to play at Wycombe with the ability to extend this by one year without discretion.

Wasps owner Chris Wright said: "There are a number of options and we haven't made a final decision.

"It is a bit of a conundrum because you have Wasps, QPR, Fulham, Wycombe Wanderers and Wycombe Council all involved."

Rangers chief executive David Davies said: "Wasps have to come back eventually unless they negotiate their way out of the contract and there's no advantage in staying for another season.

"They're close to selling out in Wycombe as a result of the feelgood factor surrounding English rugby but there's no room for expansion. It's up to them but they need to look at the bigger picture."

Wright added: "We don't want to give up what we have developed at Wycombe but is a capacity of 9,500 going to be big enough for Wasps? It could be possible that we play with agreement the odd game at Loftus Road where the capacity is much greater."

But Wanderers won't give up without a fight.

Blues chief executive Rod Tomlin said: "We've had one formal meeting with Wasps to discuss the groundshare and it raised a number of issues.

"These issues are capacity, access and egress and car parking. We are working on those issues and are planning a second formal meeting.

"There's a desire on both sides for Wasps to share the facilities here.

"That comes across loud and clear."