villa89 Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 1 minute ago, jayEm said: This is my concern. Heck's mindset seems to be to chase every opportunity to extract cash from the fans. What you end up with is a stadium full of people who can afford £60 cheapest seats or £190 match day experiences, expensive food and drink, etc. and absolutely terrible atmosphere. I'm no businessman but I'm not convinced that there isn't an alternative approach where you go all in on making the match day experience for your average fans the best possible -- well priced and easily available food and drink from quality vendors, reasonably priced tickets, working toilets, etc. and in return you get a stadium full of happy, buoyant fans that turn the it into a fortress. The Heck approach just feels like an unimaginative, short-termist dead end to me. This is exactly the approach all top Premier League clubs are taking. Sell the overpriced tickets to tourists who buy merch and "experiences" and ignore the local fan who buys a season ticket for £450. Look at the Anfield atmosphere on Sunday, like a library. PL clubs shouldn't be taking to fans who stand on the terraces and sing for granted. English football atmosphere's are getting worse by the year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 3 minutes ago, villa89 said: You can be sure he hasn't made this decision on his own. It's probably a £100M+ project to rebuild the north stand. One person doesn't just come along and decide I don't like this, scrap it. There are obviously other reasons for this change that won't be shared with fans. Transport, merch etc. are just all a facade. I’ve worked for businesses where a new CEO has literally stopped big projects and decided they needed a review before moving forwards. While he would’ve likely consulted others including the owners they would’ve left the decision to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyjavfc Posted December 19, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 19, 2023 Interesting timing following the Atarios investment the other day. Wonder if the timing of this is a coincidence or not. The press release said the Atarios investment would help fund "infrastructure investments" and we have now just cancelled the biggest infrastructure investment for 20 years? Wonder what they have planned. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 It will never happen. I will be looking at the brutalist classic until I am in my dotage. If it isn't going to happen when we are 3rd in the league, owned by billionaire owners, and with a 30,000 season ticket waiting, it will never happen. Ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiezels Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 With potential champs league and the state the government and Birmingham council are in, As gutting as it is, it makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 (edited) It sounds like it may be down to the transport and parking issues and getting those sorted first before adding 10k extra people with no reasonable way to get home or park. If so, then it is understandable but also disappointing. Edited December 19, 2023 by Brumstopdogs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 (edited) 7 minutes ago, mikeyjavfc said: Interesting timing following the Atarios investment the other day. Wonder if the timing of this is a coincidence or not. The press release said the Atarios investment would help fund "infrastructure investments" and we have now just cancelled the biggest infrastructure investment for 20 years? Wonder what they have planned. Edited December 19, 2023 by Brumstopdogs 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WallisFrizz Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 15 minutes ago, MattVillaPortsmouth said: It makes sense - we have a good season this year, closing a stand and losing both revenue and as he said fortress VP makes no sense - we can add 10k seats but we aren’t doing transport, car park etc. So we lose fans during 2 years, then it’s a pot mess when it’s open - I agree with this Yes, I couldn’t argue with some of it. Will be a shame if we lose out on the Euros tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiezels Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 Just now, Brumstopdogs said: It sounds like it is may be down to the transport and parking issues and getting those sorted first before adding 10k extra people with no reasonable way to get home or park. If so, then it is understandable but also disappointing. Absolutely. Birmingham council are bankrupt and the tories are **** next year. I’d assume all infrastructure upgrades are canned and if thats the case, we really cant add 10,000 seats. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyjavfc Posted December 19, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 19, 2023 Sounds like a power play to force the BCC's hand regarding Witton Station redevelopment. Bravo Heck, bravo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 Acting like a small-time club again. Teams like Leceister and Palace plan ground expansions and then not do them. Liverpool got on with it, and Spurs bought out the entire neighbourhood to build a new stadium. We have had the land for years and although transport is/was an issue, it was never a condition of the planning application. As ever we flirt with the big time only to get cold feet. Villa moved to Villa Park in 1897 in the double-winning year. We have rarely ever acted like a big club since. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 36 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: Seriously WTF?!!! This will never happen We won't host the euros. Why are we doing this? The North stand is a dated embarrassment, it has to be replaced if we are to compete with the top teams. Bad, bad, bad decision. My worries started when we paused it this year. Heck has been a total diaster since he has come in. How many millions have we already spent on the applications, consultants etc? When Purslow left I got concerned it was his project. I never thought the owners were 100% committed to it. On a scale of 1-100, 100 being maximum, one being minimum, how much of an impact do you think a redeveloped North Stand will have on "competing with the top teams"? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Aston_Villan4 Posted December 19, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 19, 2023 2 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: Acting like a small-time club again. Teams like Leceister and Palace plan ground expansions and then not do them. Liverpool got on with it, and Spurs bought out the entire neighbourhood to build a new stadium. We have had the land for years and although transport is/was an issue, it was never a condition of the planning application. As ever we flirt with the big time only to get cold feet. Villa moved to Villa Park in 1897 in the double-winning year. We have rarely ever acted like a big club since. Maybe step away from the keyboard and take a few breaths. It’s not as catastrophic as you’re making it out to be. 3 4 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teale's 'tache Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 6 minutes ago, mikeyjavfc said: Interesting timing following the Atarios investment the other day. Wonder if the timing of this is a coincidence or not. The press release said the Atarios investment would help fund "infrastructure investments" and we have now just cancelled the biggest infrastructure investment for 20 years? Wonder what they have planned. Indeed, I wonder if the opportunity for extra investment may have led to a rethink, and the scope of the project increased. It's a project that has had pretty obvious obstacles from the start in terms of transport, logistics, the loss of revenue whilst it is completed, and none of these issues seem to have been overcome as of yet. It's frustrating, but it's a massive project and unfortunately, massive projects are often subjected to multiple delays and changes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMcGrath_5 Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 1 minute ago, Teale's 'tache said: Indeed, I wonder if the opportunity for extra investment may have led to a rethink, and the scope of the project increased. It's a project that has had pretty obvious obstacles from the start in terms of transport, logistics, the loss of revenue whilst it is completed, and none of these issues seem to have been overcome as of yet. It's frustrating, but it's a massive project and unfortunately, massive projects are often subjected to multiple delays and changes. Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted December 19, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 19, 2023 36 minutes ago, villarule123 said: Maybe they want a new stadium instead. This is exactly what I fear. He's American. He won't respect the tradition at all. If he thinks he can get a new bowl at The NEC that's exact what he'll do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabby Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 According to The Athletic article regarding this the West Mids Combined Authority needs to find £30mil to develop the Station which Uefa expect 80% of supporters to use for Euro 2028. I'm going to assume this is part of the issue given the well know financial issues with the council. Purslow's plans looked impressive but then so did the signing of Couthinho so perhaps they were not as robustly achievable as communicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted December 19, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 19, 2023 Feels like short term thinking. Capitalise on the extra interest next season and a full house every week rather than lose money by only having 36k seats. Long term that's a drop in the ocean though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Scorpio Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 2 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: Feels like short term thinking. Capitalise on the extra interest next season and a full house every week rather than lose money by only having 36k seats. Long term that's a drop in the ocean though. 1 - What if we fall away and don't get champions league next season. This will look very silly and shirt sighted? 2 - Imagine how much has been spent on consultants, planning fees. It will be in the millions. 3 - No euros then here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lochheads twin Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 (edited) Strange and disappointing decision. Only makes sense to me if he thinks any top 4/5th place becomes a flash in the pan and next year would be our one and only Champions League appearance. He will struggle to sweat much extra revenue out of the existing match attending supporters, given the "success" of his current initiatives. The infrastructure does need improving but should not be a show stopper, this is work that should be in progress now. Extra train services are the number one priority, along with other facilities that may encourage people to spread the time of their departures. Lets hope there will be some clarity soon that suggest he is the right man for the job and understands both Birmingham and Aston Villa. Edited December 19, 2023 by Lochheads twin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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