Popular Post MrBlack Posted March 14 Popular Post Share Posted March 14 31 minutes ago, Villa_Vids said: The official word is the redevelopment is paused because of traffic and transport, nothing has been said about construction or money. Heck has stated the club wants to increase the stadium seating bowl to 45k and invest inside Villa Park to improve the experience for "all fans" rather than just one stand. I think it is about making the existing VP financially viable and boosting revenue for the club. Serious redevelopment takes a lot of time at most football clubs, not just Villa. One step at a time? In the long term (along with transport upgrades and traffic management/ of course on field success and sporting progression) - I can see them producing a Villa Park resort with Villa Live, Muesum and Hotel etc - Atairos/Wes Edens have investments in companies that manage and develop these sorts of resorts and entertainment hubs. Along with new north and witton stands being built too. Is it possible for the club to buy Aston Hall and convert it into a hotel/fan park? There is lots of potential at VP when you think about it. The official line was actually that we didn't want to impact our fortress home for the next couple of seasons when we'll be in Europe and potentially champions league. Also that the demand doesn't seem to be there with 200 unsold tickets every match. Transport and traffic are being dealt with by the redevelopment of Whitton Station, and if they make an offering like the warehouse available the demand immediately before and after a game would reduce anyway. Either way, the official line was most definitely bollocks. 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) I just watched a few things online on Fratton Park, Portsmouth home ground. They are doing some incremental work on the ground and have pushed capacity up by a couple of thousands by re-profiling seats and squeezing in a few more, and at about 10-20 million cost. It is fairly low wattage compared to the sweeping grand plans first announced but I wouldn't be surprised if we tried to do something similar at parts of Villa Park to add this extra 2.5 K capacity that has been mentioned. Edited March 15 by The Fun Factory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 On 14/03/2024 at 14:19, Villa_Vids said: The official word is the redevelopment is paused because of traffic and transport, nothing has been said about construction or money. Heck has stated the club wants to increase the stadium seating bowl to 45k and invest inside Villa Park to improve the experience for "all fans" rather than just one stand. I think it is about making the existing VP financially viable and boosting revenue for the club. Serious redevelopment takes a lot of time at most football clubs, not just Villa. One step at a time? In the long term (along with transport upgrades and traffic management/ of course on field success and sporting progression) - I can see them producing a Villa Park resort with Villa Live, Muesum and Hotel etc - Atairos/Wes Edens have investments in companies that manage and develop these sorts of resorts and entertainment hubs. Along with new north and witton stands being built too. Is it possible for the club to buy Aston Hall and convert it into a hotel/fan park? There is lots of potential at VP when you think about it. The official word may well be a fudge but Heck had just walked through the door and the truth may well be thst he needs more time to assess what the best strategy is, especially given that it will affect us for a long time. He may not like any of the plans he’s been presented with but he doesn’t want to rush into another plan that could end up a poor and unproductive and expensive plan that doesn’t take us forward in the short, medium or long term. I’m sure he and the owners have penty of ideas but they want to take time to get them right before any big glitzy announcement thst they later regret. Which I’m sure with regards to the bigger picture I’m sure is why Chris Heck has been appointed and why Mr Purslow was allowed to leave, without much effort to retain his services. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post GlobalVillan Posted March 17 Popular Post Share Posted March 17 (edited) On 14/03/2024 at 21:19, Villa_Vids said: In the long term (along with transport upgrades and traffic management/ of course on field success and sporting progression) - I can see them producing a Villa Park resort with Villa Live, Muesum and Hotel etc - Atairos/Wes Edens have investments in companies that manage and develop these sorts of resorts and entertainment hubs. Along with new north and witton stands being built too. Is it possible for the club to buy Aston Hall and convert it into a hotel/fan park? There is lots of potential at VP when you think about it. I grew up off Aston Lane (many years ago) and Im sorry but VP is in an awful area with, flithy streets and absolutely no pride taken by most of the locals whatsoever. Additionaly, there is sod all to do within a several miles vacinity of the ground. Nobody is going to stay in a hotel in that area. Theres plenty of decent places in the city centre (although still not a single 5 star) and so buying Aston Hall and converting it would make no sense whatsoever and will never happen. Sadly, the area is a shithole these days and most of the pubs have disappeared due to the local demographic not being drinkers. What we need is an onsite fanzone for matchdays such as Villa live, and more trains to get away from the area quicker post match. People won't be using Aston/Witton on non match days even if we won 10 Champions Leagues in a row. It's a horrible, dirty place unfortunately. Aston Hall is gorgeous however, and I wish the away fans would get to see that side of the ground rather than the concrete brutality of the north stand/witton corner. That is sadly all the majority of visting fans ever get to see. Edited March 17 by GlobalVillan 5 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 5 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: I grew up off Aston Lane (many years ago) and Im sorry but VP is in an awful area with, flithy streets and absolutely no pride taken by the locals whatsoever. Additionaly, there is sod all to do within a several miles vacinity of the ground. Nobody is going to stay in a hotel in that area. Theres plenty of decent places in the city centre (although still not a single 5 star) and so buying Aston Hall and converting it would make no sense whatsoever and will never happen. Sadly, the area is a shithole these days and most of the pubs have diappeared sue to the local demographicj not being drinkers. What we need is an onsite fanzone for matchdays such as Villa live, and more trains to get away from the area quicker post match. People won't be using Aston/Witton on non match days even if we won 10 Champions Leagues in a row. Fair comment but I think we should try to give the “10 Champions Leagues in a row”, idea a go all the same, you never know? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 2 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said: Fair comment but I think we should try to give the “10 Champions Leagues in a row”, idea a go all the same, you never know? Yep I'm up for that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 9 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: I grew up off Aston Lane (many years ago) and Im sorry but VP is in an awful area with, flithy streets and absolutely no pride taken by the locals whatsoever. Additionaly, there is sod all to do within a several miles vacinity of the ground. Nobody is going to stay in a hotel in that area. Theres plenty of decent places in the city centre (although still not a single 5 star) and so buying Aston Hall and converting it would make no sense whatsoever and will never happen. Sadly, the area is a shithole these days and most of the pubs have diappeared sue to the local demographicj not being drinkers. What we need is an onsite fanzone for matchdays such as Villa live, and more trains to get away from the area quicker post match. People won't be using Aston/Witton on non match days even if we won 10 Champions Leagues in a row. Whilst I think what you say about Aston is largely true, that could also be said about lots of areas. I had an old aunty that lived in Alum Rock and my Mom used to say that the area used to be nice and regarded as quite posh in the past. That’s just the passing of time, if we could see into the future we’d be very rich! I’ll let you know if I ever master the trick!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa_Vids Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 22 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: I grew up off Aston Lane (many years ago) and Im sorry but VP is in an awful area with, flithy streets and absolutely no pride taken by most of the locals whatsoever. Additionaly, there is sod all to do within a several miles vacinity of the ground. Nobody is going to stay in a hotel in that area. Theres plenty of decent places in the city centre (although still not a single 5 star) and so buying Aston Hall and converting it would make no sense whatsoever and will never happen. Sadly, the area is a shithole these days and most of the pubs have disappeared due to the local demographic not being drinkers. What we need is an onsite fanzone for matchdays such as Villa live, and more trains to get away from the area quicker post match. People won't be using Aston/Witton on non match days even if we won 10 Champions Leagues in a row. It's a horrible, dirty place unfortunately. Aston Hall is gorgeous however, and I wish the away fans would get to see that side of the ground rather than the concrete brutality of the north stand/witton corner. That is sadly all the majority of visting fans ever get to see. Yh. I think the club would need to have a much bigger space to achieve something that would attract footfall on non-match days. The Witton Station being upgraded could be huge in helping that, but I think the club will need to negotiate and ask for a huge chunk of the surrounding area. It is possible for us to have an AV campus? Villa Live event centre? Aston University offering of some sort too? I think a business case could be made about major regeneration of Witton. it is the only way I can see us staying at VP in the future. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TreeVillan Posted March 17 Popular Post Share Posted March 17 12 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: I grew up off Aston Lane (many years ago) and Im sorry but VP is in an awful area with, flithy streets and absolutely no pride taken by most of the locals whatsoever. Additionaly, there is sod all to do within a several miles vacinity of the ground. Nobody is going to stay in a hotel in that area. Theres plenty of decent places in the city centre (although still not a single 5 star) and so buying Aston Hall and converting it would make no sense whatsoever and will never happen. Sadly, the area is a shithole these days and most of the pubs have disappeared due to the local demographic not being drinkers. What we need is an onsite fanzone for matchdays such as Villa live, and more trains to get away from the area quicker post match. People won't be using Aston/Witton on non match days even if we won 10 Champions Leagues in a row. It's a horrible, dirty place unfortunately. Aston Hall is gorgeous however, and I wish the away fans would get to see that side of the ground rather than the concrete brutality of the north stand/witton corner. That is sadly all the majority of visting fans ever get to see. I think the local demographic issue is bigger than is realised. For example, big clubs like Newcastle, Everton, Liverpool etc.. have a local fan base, with the club forming part of their identity. I don't think we've had that for a very long time. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmygreaves Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 There's plenty of room on the current site if we want to redevelop. There's also room on the site of Aston hall if we need more. We don't need to move away from villa park. If we were to redevelop on the current site, where would we play our games in the interim? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa_Vids Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 It is imperative that Witton station is upgraded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 2 hours ago, SimplyTheBez said: I take your point, but beyond football is where my thoughts are heading with my suggestion. Taylor Swift isn't coming to B6. NFL isn't coming either. Nor Beyonce, UFC or big boxing bouts. Just imagine a big old stadium in the middle of Town. Money maker beyond football, which is clearly the way to go. Spurs know about money and they've done it. Real and Barca have completely rebuilt or are rebuilding for the same reason. There is a ceiling on football money. Beyond football the opportunities are limitless. Watched the Ferrari film recently. Enzo only sold cars to fund the F1 team. We need a stadium that makes money to fund our football operation. Our owners know this and would probably already have this in motion if they thought it wouldn't upset us fickle and capricious Brummies Taylor Swift and Beyonce might not be coming to VP, but last summer we had 3 (I think?) big concerts that sold the ground out and helped as money-spinners. The limiting factor is more the consequences for the playing surface than the wattage of the stars that are getting booked. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimplyTheBez Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 1 hour ago, HanoiVillan said: Taylor Swift and Beyonce might not be coming to VP, but last summer we had 3 (I think?) big concerts that sold the ground out and helped as money-spinners. The limiting factor is more the consequences for the playing surface than the wattage of the stars that are getting booked. I disagree. Hotels and restaurants aplenty in Town make for a much more hospitable venue. Could have several events per week through the summer. Believe these new stadiums even have retractable pitches and all sorts. No need for green sand these days no matter the weather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 The longest circular argument in history. Ahead of the big chicken and egg debate. We will be saying exactly the same things in about 10 year time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa_Vids Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Just now, The Fun Factory said: The longest circular argument in history. Ahead of the big chicken and egg debate. We will be saying exactly the same things in about 10 year time. I think it will catch up with us if things aren't built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaJ100 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 7 hours ago, jimmygreaves said: There's plenty of room on the current site if we want to redevelop. There's also room on the site of Aston hall if we need more. We don't need to move away from villa park. If we were to redevelop on the current site, where would we play our games in the interim? The whole of Aston Park is a registered park and garden containing a Grade I listed building, there's no chance of that being used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted March 18 Administrator Share Posted March 18 8 hours ago, The Fun Factory said: The longest circular argument in history. Ahead of the big chicken and egg debate. There isn't a debate. The egg came first. But not for this topic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 (edited) It's frustrating that we were within touching distance of redevelopment - literally two months from now - and we are back to square one. Years out from knowing what the plan is. Edited March 18 by Captain_Townsend 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb_82 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 One thing I will say having been at West Ham yesterday in the home hospitality is that you can see where we miss out on revenue eg 15k less seats and various lounge/hospitality offerings One I was in was seat, 1 free drink, lounge use and is 2.5k per season so you can see how that soon adds up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Just now, cb_82 said: One thing I will say having been at West Ham yesterday in the home hospitality is that you can see where we miss out on revenue eg 15k less seats and various lounge/hospitality offerings One I was in was seat, 1 free drink, lounge use and is 2.5k per season so you can see how that soon adds up Absolutely. Which is why the plans we had for redevelopment made sense and at £100m much better value than £800m on a new build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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