Villa Park redevelopment

[Risso]

20 minutes ago, JPAngel said:

You don't think Heck is look at the Euros and thinking "Hmmm... 2028... that'd be 4 years to build a new stadium" and seeing it as way more cost effective than renovating the North Stand?

Spitballing, obviously. I'm just wondering what the long game is.

There would be zero chance of identifying a site, doing the public consultation, getting plans drawn and getting it built in four years. 8 years minimum for most places.

[sidcow]

4 minutes ago, Follyfoot said:

Far too many cars on the road

What. Since 1994 road conditions have changed out of all recognition? 

[The Fun Factory]

2 minutes ago, sidcow said:

What. Since 1994 road conditions have changed out of all recognition? 

I would say there must be more cars on the road since the 90s due to the population growth, and demographically I would guess more fans live further away from Villa Park, certainly not in the immediate surrounding areas.

[sne]

I've always had the feeling that "in a perfect world" they'd rather build a new stadium but the love us fans have of VP is holding them back. Failure to get the help we need with infrastructure is a perfectly valid reason to halt the rebuild since another 8000 traveling will not improve things that are already less than ideal.

Would be so interesting to know if we do have a plan or if we are just

I fully get why fans want to remain at VP but as for a partial rebuild done over time the stadium is always going to be a charming Frankenstein's monster that will never be a money making machine like a new stadium could be.

[DaveAV1]

11 minutes ago, MikeMcKenna said:

Obviously taking a ‘wait and see’ approach. 

We already have a 30K waiting list. IF we were to do the incredible and pull off a PL win, demand will increase further at even higher prices. Also, hate to say it but it wouldn’t surprise me if they are discussing a move away from Villa Park. 

Did you watch the interview?

[Brumstopdogs]

16 minutes ago, Follyfoot said:

Far too many cars on the road

Also more fans in the shires now....

[islingtonclaret]

7 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said:

I would say there must be more cars on the road since the 90s due to the population growth, and demographically I would guess more fans live further away from Villa Park, certainly not in the immediate surrounding areas.

And yes, they have.

The Hagley Road at rush hour was a bit crap in 1994.

The Hagley Road at rush hour is not reasonably navigable in 2023.

[sidcow]

8 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said:

I would say there must be more cars on the road since the 90s due to the population growth, and demographically I would guess more fans live further away from Villa Park, certainly not in the immediate surrounding areas.

 

[jayEm]

26 minutes ago, WallisFrizz said:

Do you know what, I’m coming round to the idea of keeping the capacity as it is (for now) as long as they face lift what they have eg improve concourses, toilets, replace the faded claret seating spelling out The Holte End. Just some investment on the existing stuff would be a start. 

Yeah I think this would be a good compromise. Idk if Heck cares about this though.

[Lochheads twin]

Let’s just move the franchise and be done with all these problems!

[HanoiVillan]

1 hour ago, rubberman said:

That side of things isn't going to get any better in the short to medium term though.

Sure, but then maybe the answer is expansion is a bad idea for the medium term. Like, some problems just don't have an easy answer.

[villaglint]

I swear we seem to rebuild Bodymoor Heath every 6 months what more could the players possibly need. 

On the North Stand - over riding initial feeling is dissapointment. As a member and someone who goes to 80% of home games knocking down the North Stand would have effected my directly for the next 2 years. It would have been especially cruel if that had coincided with us getting back in CL. However if we want to kick on as a club we need to start competing with the big boys, we have the support to sell many more seats and I was salivating with the thought of Villa Park being even louder than it is at times now. Be interesting to see what the new plan is there but his interview makes it sound like we will be 42k for a good long while to come. A step backwards in my view even if good news in short term for me. 

BTW everyone talking about not wanting to lose North Stand for CL surely that can't be part of this decision. Yes fans can talk, dream etc but there is such a long way to go on that front surely it cant have been part of any official decision making by the club. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by villaglint

[DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth]

The will lead to some (more) pretty serious price gouging in the summer as the demand for tickets continues to outstrip supply. I suspect that thinking has come into play.

[turvontour]

42 minutes ago, Oaks said:

I think the club have crunched the numbers on season ticket take ups and match day interest in tickets and have calculated that there isn’t 52k regular fans there atm. 

It's a weird time to suddenly make that assessment. In the last two months we've transitioned into one of the most talked about clubs in Europe. There's huge scope for expansion of the fanbase if the current team performance is sustained. 

[Sulberto21]

1 hour ago, Delphinho123 said:

This is what will happen and I agree. 

We'll see a big increase in season ticket prices next season and we'll see a massive backlash, before most people go onto buy them and then all the dust will settle and everyone will have forgotten because we'll be winning (I hope). 

Personally, and I know people hate it, a new stadium isn't a bad idea. It really isn't. 50% of our stadium is shit and quite frankly, aside from the decent hospitality, the Trinity road lost all it's charm the moment we knocked down the brick facade. 

If we can tastefully build a new stadium with 60K+ capacity, do it. Well, in my opinion anyway. 

It’s also in a shit location . The other option is knocking down most of the houses and that ain’t happening.

[Condimentalist]

I can see Heck's argument.

If tearing down the North Stand affects the atmosphere and performance of the team - which is plausible - that could be more damaging to the club financially from loss of TV and commercial revenues (e.g. Champions League) than an additional £8k seats. 

I do think it's a problem that will have to be solved at some point. But I can kind of see that doing it just as we might be establishing ourselves back in the big league is risky timing. 

 

[HanoiVillan]

54 minutes ago, mrchnry said:

What are the current positives about Villa Park over a new stadium? Forget history and heritage for the purposes of this discussion. 

Pros to moving; 

• better local infrastructure 

•better travel options 

•land we can rent out to restaurants for a pre and post match experience

• a lot easier to put on other events like concerts, something that has been a struggle for years. 

•more seats 

CONS 

• Probably wouldn't be a local chippy 

The way you've phrased this suggests it's a joke more than a serious question, but if you're asking seriously the main advantage to Villa Park is that it exists, and it will definitely still exist in 10 years' time, whereas a new stadium does not exist and would be hard to build. There's no guarantee that in the intervening decade between deciding that's what we want to do and it actually being completed that we haven't become crap, entered financial difficulties, or been relegated to the Championship, as Everton's current experience should demonstrate. 

[sidcow]

He's gonna be in for a shock when he asks the council to fund a new 75,000 capacity stadium.

He's probably confused why the club are expected to pay for it. 

[rubberman]

53 minutes ago, Oaks said:

I think the club have crunched the numbers on season ticket take ups and match day interest in tickets and have calculated that there isn’t 52k regular fans there atm. 

Build the capacity and even if demand drops (at current eye-watering prices) you can fill the place through selling cheap tickets (like in Germany) and still get the extra volume of merch/food & drink sales.

[sne]

It's hard to argue against there not being any improvements since the football is exponentially better compared to a year ago, and that's the important bit. But increasing prices by much without offering a better fan experience in a stadium that it partly decrepit is a bit hard to swallow. And they can't really add new shiny bits for traveling fans while keeping the faithful fans wading in piss but paying more (massive exaggeration to make a point) because if they do there will riots when/if the results on the pitch starts slipping.

Hope they have a plan about all this.