villarule123 Posted February 24, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 24, 2021 The stadium upgrades wouldn't affect our first team budget, it doesn't count towards FFP as far as I know. I really hope the owners are thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post villa89 Posted February 24, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted February 24, 2021 (edited) I'd say they'll just do one big bang development. Knock the entire ground with TNT and rebuild a 96,000 capacity dome with heated massage seats (think Mercedes S Class), Basement underground indoor car park, A pitch that splits into 10 parts and retracts into the stadium roof, sky bar with glass floor suspended from cables hovering over the centre circle with capacity for 1,000 boozed up fans, 1.9 kilometre squared 16K Ultra HD scoreboard/replay screen, built in train stations under two of the stands (the McGrath/Mortimer stations), free scarves/hats/programs on every seat pregame, and the customary shit service at all food and beer kiosks as is the tradition in England. Oh and cold, overpriced pies. Edited February 24, 2021 by villa89 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 28 minutes ago, villarule123 said: The stadium upgrades wouldn't affect our first team budget, it doesn't count towards FFP as far as I know. I really hope the owners are thinking about it. Where does the money come from? If debt then how much will the interest be per annum because that will impact how much we can spend on players (forget FFP, I’m just talking finances) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 42 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: We were selling out every home game pre covid and for the games under Smith in the Championship we were often getting 40K+ crowds so I think the demand is there now. Frankly its about time given the size of the club and the potential size of the catchment area we have. If the owners thought the demand was there they would’ve started the process. Probably based on the stats they get from demand requests for tickets that we don’t have demand in the 50-60k region yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcomsimon Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 30 minutes ago, villa89 said: I'd say they'll just do one big bang development. Knock the entire ground with TNT and rebuild a 96,000 capacity dome with heated massage seats (think Mercedes S Class), Basement underground indoor car park, A pitch that splits into 10 parts and retracts into the stadium roof, sky bar with glass floor suspended from cables hovering over the centre circle with capacity for 1,000 boozed up fans, 1.9 kilometre squared 16K Ultra HD scoreboard/replay screen, built in train stations under two of the stands (the McGrath/Mortimer stations), free scarves/hats/programs on every seat pregame, and the customary shit service at all food and beer kiosks as is the tradition in England. Oh and cold, overpriced pies. Not a theme park though is it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 48 minutes ago, nick76 said: If the owners thought the demand was there they would’ve started the process. Probably based on the stats they get from demand requests for tickets that we don’t have demand in the 50-60k region yet. Think its more cost/benefit rather than demand. Probably not sure spending a lot of money for about 10,000 more capacity is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted February 24, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 24, 2021 48 minutes ago, nick76 said: If the owners thought the demand was there they would’ve started the process. Probably based on the stats they get from demand requests for tickets that we don’t have demand in the 50-60k region yet. In fairness, demand was in place in the last season before Covid took hold, we had the longest run of 40k+ attendances in our history and were looking at an average that was pretty much capacity. Having 30k season ticket holders and more than 20k members with a 9,000 name waiting list for season tickets is unprecedented in my lifetime. I think the club would like to see that sort of over-demand sustained over a period of two or three years, especially since the first thing that demand would be doing would be linked to our old friend price elasticity - if we had been able to sell 30k season tickets for the season that's currently underway after putting up the prices by £100 each then I think they'd have been thinking about expansion. Hopefully we'll have season tickets on sale again in three months time for 2021-22 and there will be some interesting things to learn on demand and on price. If the world decides that what they want to do after a year stuck indoors is go to every concert, every restaurant and every football match then the first thing we'll see is much more expensive tickets - if demand survives that, then I'm sure they'll think about the North Stand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 That might be true but as I have said before as a fan base I don't think we are fabulously wealthy (certainly when compared to London clubs and Man U global base) , and thinking about hiking season tickets after a global pandemic and about a 10% unemployment rate in Birmingham doesn't sound like a fantastic plan to me. The other point is that the North Stand though tatty does have corporate facilities (though dated) and club offices. Any replacement stand will need to match or better this and as I said before stands behind goals are less popular for corporate so the demand might not be there unless we are super successful again. The owners will take the commercial decision on this, they are not going to do it for any other reason. The only other alternative is if England ever get a successful WC bid and may get funding to improve stadium but that is a long shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 2 hours ago, nick76 said: I’d rather the money keep going into the team at the moment and once we have some sustained top half of the table, understand the impacts of covid and a strong squad then look at the ground. It’s not as if we have a small capacity. In my 40 years of following the Villa we haven’t really had massive over demand for games over capacity. Yes you can say we sell out against big clubs, yes we’ve had many full houses especially against big teams but for the debt we would have to service to raise the stadium size another 10-15k I’m not sure the case is there yet. I know it’s a chicken and egg situation, that we need a stadium size increase for when we are good but we also need to be good to fill the stadium. I think we keep investing in the team as the priority, start getting big money from Europe and League placing along with the commercial revenue that follows and then think about the stadium. We don’t how the new covid world either will pan out, there maybe more virtual game watching than going to grounds. How are the clubs going to ticket price after the financial fallout of covid because many people are in debt and won’t be able to afford to go back to games especially if on tv. l’d love Villa Park to be >60k but our priority has to be totally on the team for the next couple of years and invest totally in that for the big spend so we can make sure we are solidify back at the top end of football Not me, currently as a lonely season ticket holder I cannot see in the near future being able to attend a game with my girlfriend or my mates. The demand is there, the season ticket waiting list was huge before the outbreak, a year of nothing and demand for years to come is going to be there. Priority should be expanding the stadium, work should already be under way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulberto21 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 The best way to increase Villa park is to get, trinity rd, witton lane and witton rd closed. Then buy as much of the properties as you can. The wedding hall and whatever else there is also bought. Then knock down the Doug Ellis and rebuild it with the North Stand in one continuous stand thingy. The spare land can make the whole ground into a fan park experience thingy with activities for kids, a museum, a kick Robbie Savage in the balls competition and the nut Graeme souness competition would be popular. Maybe a couple of 3 g 5 a side pitches for the public to use. I'd get Aston hall involved too in some capacity. Naturally it's all very unrealistic. But imo the best way forward. Creates jobs and I believe it will enhance the match day experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, rodders0223 said: Not me, currently as a lonely season ticket holder I cannot see in the near future being able to attend a game with my girlfriend or my mates. The demand is there, the season ticket waiting list was huge before the outbreak, a year of nothing and demand for years to come is going to be there. Priority should be expanding the stadium, work should already be under way. I think we’d have to see several years of that demand before believing it’s the norm. It’s the first time season ticket demand was that high in modern times. Now we also have to see how covid has impacted attendance to games, will people flood back to games because they can go out (when they able to)? With unemployment so high will a % not be able to go that would’ve before? Those on furlough who have increased their debt to cover shortfall now return to football or paying off their debts like credit card bills? How will tv change because companies have enjoyed viewing numbers watching all football not just a proportion of games? If tv continue to show all games in the future how will that impact attendance? Will that impact prices? Savings for families, children’s late nights etc so families choose tv season tickets for a number of reasons. I know my elderly mother won’t go next season if it’s all on tv for a number of reasons so will be giving up her season ticket but if not on tv then she will go. She’s a hard nosed Villa fan and a seasoned season ticket holder but she’s had to assess her options. I have mates who are season tickets holders that won’t be able to afford to go next season due to furlough during the year and loss of overtime for a year so will be catching up on finances so Villa seasons take a back seat. Things may all change and new people may replace former fans but we’ll have to see. Edited February 24, 2021 by nick76 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Silvers Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 (edited) I'm all for keeping up with the Jones's and hope to one day see a state of the art super stadium called Villa Park, a squared off superbowl with one enlarged goal end, I'd call it the Holte End and it would be awesome. Edit. Capacity would be 61874 Edited February 24, 2021 by Phil Silvers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul514 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 5 hours ago, The Fun Factory said: Given the current layout to get to 60,000 would cost a awful lot of money and probably a lot of bought up properties with all the legal issues that comes from it. 50K is more than realistic. I probably repeat myself every month or so on this thread but it is frustrating as for years we have had all this space behind the North Stand, ready to do something really spectacular. In the meantime Spurs (who I used to think was a similar sized club) have gone from the old WHL which was surrounded by light industry buildings and seemingly very little options to expand, to a 60,000 super stadium. Including a cheese room. However one of the problems is that stands behind the goal generate far less corporate revenue than the side main stands. Fulham for example is building a very swanky riverside stand which is side to the pitch but is keeping the putney and hammersmith ends the same which is basically temporary seating over an old terrace. It isn't a surprise that Anfield looked at the main stand first which personally I think now makes the stadium look very uneven and towers over the Kop. Also location Aston/Witton is still a run down area. The Commonwealth Games may help a bit but it is out of the city centre which is where all the development is happening along with HS2. It will be a hard sell to get people to stay in a new hotel/have big corporate events/ visit a football museum and have a meal on non match days. The board have consistently said that they are not interested in this so this will just remain aspirational talks. At least they are planning other developments such as the work at Bodymoor, the new urban academy and the possibility of demolishing Villa Village for something else. If we are ever to do something I would like to see a complete rebuild rather than just adding seats in the corner. The North Stand has served us well but it is a 70s building which is very cramped and tired looking tbh. If we have a couple of billion spare knock down dale end in town and put a new ground there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichfield Dean Posted February 25, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 25, 2021 On 24/02/2021 at 11:49, The Fun Factory said: That might be true but as I have said before as a fan base I don't think we are fabulously wealthy (certainly when compared to London clubs and Man U global base) , and thinking about hiking season tickets after a global pandemic and about a 10% unemployment rate in Birmingham doesn't sound like a fantastic plan to me. The other point is that the North Stand though tatty does have corporate facilities (though dated) and club offices. Any replacement stand will need to match or better this and as I said before stands behind goals are less popular for corporate so the demand might not be there unless we are super successful again. The owners will take the commercial decision on this, they are not going to do it for any other reason. The only other alternative is if England ever get a successful WC bid and may get funding to improve stadium but that is a long shot. I don't know, I did the stadium tour just over a year ago and a lot had been spent on the North Stand corporate and a lot of it looked really quite smart. It might not be as bad as some people seem to think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul514 Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 6 hours ago, Lichfield Dean said: I don't know, I did the stadium tour just over a year ago and a lot had been spent on the North Stand corporate and a lot of it looked really quite smart. It might not be as bad as some people seem to think. The north stand is awful, as is the space inside and the knee room. It looks crap too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 I've tried to imagine what a new North Stand would look like. Anything too modern-looking would look a bit ridiculous and having a stand that wraps around to connect with the other stands might look a bit weird as the tiers of the two stands aren't the same height. Probably a stand similar to the Holte End but slightly smaller with some nice brickwork would be best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongo's Socks Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 19 hours ago, Lichfield Dean said: I don't know, I did the stadium tour just over a year ago and a lot had been spent on the North Stand corporate and a lot of it looked really quite smart. It might not be as bad as some people seem to think. We did the tour last summer, it does look very smart when you first walk in. The boxes have been knocked through into large lounges with nice bars and seating areas. But when you go upstairs to the restaurant area (being used as a players lounge at the mo I think?), it did kind of feel like papering over the cracks to me. I might be being a little unfair, there was a bit of improvement work going on. Haven't watched a game in there for about 15 years, sat upstairs and it was awful. We sit upper Trinity now so it's world's apart in terms of facilities. Saying that, it still had a certain charm, if you like cramped seats, huge queues, and puddles of wee on the bog floor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichfield Dean Posted February 26, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 26, 2021 14 hours ago, Pongo's Socks said: We did the tour last summer, it does look very smart when you first walk in. The boxes have been knocked through into large lounges with nice bars and seating areas. But when you go upstairs to the restaurant area (being used as a players lounge at the mo I think?), it did kind of feel like papering over the cracks to me. I might be being a little unfair, there was a bit of improvement work going on. Haven't watched a game in there for about 15 years, sat upstairs and it was awful. We sit upper Trinity now so it's world's apart in terms of facilities. Saying that, it still had a certain charm, if you like cramped seats, huge queues, and puddles of wee on the bog floor Yeah the concourses and seating are poor, and the players lounges and boxes on the middle floor are basically ok, not great, not awful. The downstairs open plan area I thought was really nice actually. So overall I think that the idea that the corporate side of things in the north stand is below standard isn't necessarily true, I think they've made it reasonably decent. The rest of the stand, yeah, it's poor I agree. Although... I do still love how its proportions are like a giant version of the goal posts in front of it. That is a nice effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Follyfoot Posted February 26, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 26, 2021 On 24/02/2021 at 14:28, Phil Silvers said: I'm all for keeping up with the Jones's and hope to one day see a state of the art super stadium called Villa Park, a squared off superbowl with one enlarged goal end, I'd call it the Holte End and it would be awesome. Edit. Capacity would be 61874 That larger end would have a capacity of at least 28,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Platt Posted February 26, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 26, 2021 If I was to upgrade Villa Park I would keep it simple 2 Holte Ends and 2 Trinity Roads that would give us 60k and keep it special. Ideally some brick work to replace the cladding on Trinity to give us an identity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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