Villa_Vids Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 I have just been looking at the future vision of Villa Park on the OS. The connection of the North Stand to the Doug Ellis stand looks weird from inside the stadium. There is not a clear picture showing the new NS linking with DE too. The DE stand is too tucked in for proper NS re-development. Surely the DE stand has to be rebuilt first (or together with NS) to properly maximise every seat/space? I think this makes a new stadium more likely post 2028-30. The cynic in me thinks this North Stand re-development plan was created to support the VP Euro bid and Witton Station upgrades, but with no intention of the new NS becoming reality because it is not that feasible to achieve. Also seems like we could be copying Rangers with the stadium bowl plan - they are increasing capacity by extending the upper tiers of their stands and also adding more accessibility spaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 2 VT Supporter Share Posted April 2 8 hours ago, Villa_Vids said: I have just been looking at the future vision of Villa Park on the OS. The connection of the North Stand to the Doug Ellis stand looks weird from inside the stadium. There is not a clear picture showing the new NS linking with DE too. The DE stand is too tucked in for proper NS re-development. Surely the DE stand has to be rebuilt first (or together with NS) to properly maximise every seat/space? I think this makes a new stadium more likely post 2028-30. The cynic in me thinks this North Stand re-development plan was created to support the VP Euro bid and Witton Station upgrades, but with no intention of the new NS becoming reality because it is not that feasible to achieve. Also seems like we could be copying Rangers with the stadium bowl plan - they are increasing capacity by extending the upper tiers of their stands and also adding more accessibility spaces. That's an incredibly expensive way to support a bid to be a Euros stadium considering we almost certainly would have been one anyway 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazrim Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 2 hours ago, Stevo985 said: That's an incredibly expensive way to support a bid to be a Euros stadium considering we almost certainly would have been one anyway Didn't we have to commit to 52k to be a venue? May have imagined that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 2 VT Supporter Share Posted April 2 8 minutes ago, Mazrim said: Didn't we have to commit to 52k to be a venue? May have imagined that. I don't think so. We're still a venue aren't we, despite "pausing" the plans? (genuine question) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andycv Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 3 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: I don't think so. We're still a venue aren't we, despite "pausing" the plans? (genuine question) That's not clear. Last Villa have said is that they are in conversation with the FA and UEFA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 2 VT Supporter Share Posted April 2 30 minutes ago, andycv said: That's not clear. Last Villa have said is that they are in conversation with the FA and UEFA Fair enough, I'd assumed we were still a venue but may be wrong on that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa_Vids Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 (edited) 4 hours ago, Stevo985 said: That's an incredibly expensive way to support a bid to be a Euros stadium considering we almost certainly would have been one anyway One of the prior ceo's vanity projects, expensive mistakes seemed to be the pattern in the end - Gerrard appointment, Coutinho signing, botched launch of the new round badge (which reportedly cost millions) to name a few. I don't think VP hosting the euros is/was a given without re-development. You would imagine a re-developed VP would have given significant weight to our Euro bid, plus the witton station upgrades.The club currently working with Uefa/FA in regards to Euro 2028 was the last word. Edited April 2 by Villa_Vids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 On 29/03/2024 at 21:17, Mazrim said: You think anybody would seriously propose knocking down Aston Hall for a stadium? @DakotaVilla is doing exactly that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 9 minutes ago, Villa_Vids said: One of the prior ceo's vanity projects, expensive mistakes seemed to be the pattern in the end - Gerrard appointment, Coutinho signing, botched launch of the new round badge (which reportedly cost millions) to name a few. I don't think VP hosting the euros is/was a given without re-development. The club currently working with Uefa/FA in regards to Euro 2028 was the last word. You would imagine a re-developed VP would have given significant weight to our Euro bid, plus the witton station upgrades. Or reading it another way ambitious plans in keeping with our traditions just ditched by a new hire. We had plans for a new North Stand under Ellis and Lerner, were they vanity projects? Purslow was CEO when we had our best average attendance since the mid twentieth century. Gerrard, fair enough, but I was a fan of a lot of other things Purslow did. He represented the club well and seemed to be aware of our traditions as a venue for 1966 and 1996 not to mention the primary club colours replacing yellow on our badge. He also was a good communicator. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post OutByEaster? Posted April 2 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted April 2 43 minutes ago, Villa_Vids said: botched launch of the new round badge (which reportedly cost millions) The launch was meticulously planned by Purslow and Dragon Rouge and set for a big reveal on the last day of the season when we beat Brighton and qualified for Europe - a grand relaunch of the club and it's image on a day of glory - a massive opportunity that had it's legs cut off it because the current CEO didn't think the badge was pretty. Let's not rewrite history here, it wasn't "botched", the badge chosen by fans was cancelled, at the very last moment, by a new CEO. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DakotaVilla Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 26 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: @DakotaVilla is doing exactly that. Totally moot conversation as it’s not going to happen and the hall will fall into disrepair in any case considering how broke the council is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted April 2 Moderator Share Posted April 2 Just now, DakotaVilla said: Totally moot conversation as it’s not going to happen and the hall will fall into disrepair in any case considering how broke the council is. There are too many protections around a building of Aston Halls historical significance to allow that - broke council or not. As a club, for redevelopment, if we're looking for land, our focus should absolutely be on the land on the other side of the ground, between Witton Lane and the railway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 16 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said: The launch was meticulously planned by Purslow and Dragon Rouge and set for a big reveal on the last day of the season when we beat Brighton and qualified for Europe - a grand relaunch of the club and it's image on a day of glory - a massive opportunity that had it's legs cut off it because the current CEO didn't think the badge was pretty. Let's not rewrite history here, it wasn't "botched", the badge chosen by fans was cancelled, at the very last moment, by a new CEO. I agree with every single word, there isn't an emoji strong enough to convey how much I agree with your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 (edited) 32 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said: The launch was meticulously planned by Purslow and Dragon Rouge and set for a big reveal on the last day of the season when we beat Brighton and qualified for Europe - a grand relaunch of the club and it's image on a day of glory - a massive opportunity that had it's legs cut off it because the current CEO didn't think the badge was pretty. Let's not rewrite history here, it wasn't "botched", the badge chosen by fans was cancelled, at the very last moment, by a new CEO. There were a lot of fans complaining about the badge as well though remember. Lion apparently facing the wrong way etc... Edited April 2 by GlobalVillan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 2 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: There were a lot of fans complaining about the badge as well though remember. Lion apparently facing the wrong way etc... fans will always moan about something as people have different wants and needs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 (edited) 7 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: There were a lot of fans complaining about the badge as well though remember. Lion apparently facing the wrong way etc... I thought they got out unscathed compared to other clubs rebrands (Leeds, Everton!). The lion could easily have been fixed by reversing it and if they really, really had to make it gold. The Chelsea stuff was such a red herring and died down after Bout 15 minutes. But the North Stand issue is a far bigger concern as it just puts a lot of things back up in the air - commitment to the location, maximising revenue, catering to unprecedented demand, bringing the stadium up to 21st century, commitment to Euro 28, etc Edited April 2 by Captain_Townsend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted April 2 Moderator Share Posted April 2 1 minute ago, GlobalVillan said: There were a lot of fans complaining about the badge as well though remember. Lion apparently facing the wrong way etc... But 85% preferred it to an alternative developed over three months with around twenty meetings with different fan groups. Regardless, the opinion of fans had nothing to do with why it was cancelled - or at least if it did, it was only the opinion of one fan (or maybe three). Purslow made bad football decisions and it's really good that football and business have now been separated at the club, so that people who know what they're doing are focused on doing the things they know. Coutinho and Gerrard are on Purslow, the badge fiasco is on Heck. The bigger question is on why the stadium expansion was cancelled, who made the decisions, what the factors really were and when that decision was made - you'd imagine it was done at ownership level - but why still isn't particularly clear - it seems to me odd, that two very experienced businessmen would spend a great deal of time, money and effort in developing plans for their business getting them right to the point where they'd start, and then pulling them out. In some ways I feel some sympathy for Heck in perhaps being the fall guy in delivering bad news. Time I guess will tell whether Nas, Wes and Purslow were right in wanting to develop Villa Park through adding seats or whether Nas, Wes and Heck are right in looking to increase the stadium yield within the existing infrastructure. And of course, beyond that is the underlying problem of how long you can keep the North Stand going - there's a lot of money going into it this summer, so it looks like it will be around for good while yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 3 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said: And of course, beyond that is the underlying problem of how long you can keep the North Stand going - there's a lot of money going into it this summer, so it looks like it will be around for good while yet. If true that is a sure fire way to confirm we have gone from being ambitious to really thinking only of the short term FFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa_Vids Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 (edited) Purslow is/was an excellent communicator and is knowledgable about English football. Purslow stood up for Villa, I get that and appreciate it. He championed our progression under NSWE and did a lot of good work in other areas too. But how it ended for Purslow wasn't great. Perhaps I am being harsh about the botched badge launch but it was something promised by CP and not delivered. Heck wasn't the only person that didn't like the badge too, lets be honest about that too. Heck/Hatton have made a meal out of handling the new badge with the fan consultation, but lets see where we end up with the "new badge". I can also interpret CP intentions positively, but if the re-development was just bluster - I feel a bit let down by Purslow, I rather have the truth rather than a plan that will never materialise. Lerner and Ellis having similar plans but not being able to achieve them means it is a lot harder to build NS in reality. I think any serious re-development starts with DE stand. Perhaps explore the space in between Witton lane and the railway lines as OBE says. But why rebuild two new stands? When you can build a new, dedicated stadium from scratch in that space between witton lane and the railway line (20 plus arces) without the need to reduce capacity. This re-development all feels like a pretext to a new stadium in the longer term. Edited April 2 by Villa_Vids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted April 2 Moderator Share Posted April 2 9 minutes ago, Captain_Townsend said: If true that is a sure fire way to confirm we have gone from being ambitious to really thinking only of the short term FFS Well, that depends - if we're able to raise revenues from within the existing (but improved) Villa Park, to an extent where those revenues make us competitive, and we're not making a nine figure initial outlay to get there, then it might be smart business. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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