Villa Park redevelopment

[Demitri_C]

18 hours ago, hippo said:

I think I'd rather have a new stadium. Let's face the current location is the armpit of the earth. With car vandalism rife on matchdays/nights.

Its absolutely ruined spurs financially.  Rather stay at VP and extend. Invest the money in the team

[nick76]

8 hours ago, Richie k said:

A couple of things I came across online. Old mocks ups obviously 

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/u578ef986-f8d2-4855-80e5-1ec466d10090/Villa-Park-60-000-seats

Love that, we should do that if we ever do that.

[nick76]

18 hours ago, hippo said:

I think I'd rather have a new stadium. Let's face the current location is the armpit of the earth. With car vandalism rife on matchdays/nights.

but it's our armpit of the earth.  Call me sentimental but I would never want to leave Villa Park.

[Dave-R]

33 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Its absolutely ruined spurs financially.  Rather stay at VP and extend. Invest the money in the team

Well I reckon unless champions League football is a regular thing for us a new stadium would not even be contemplated.

So yes invest in the team first and foremost, then get a regular status as a top club in the league and a team that could go deep into the champions League and reach far.

Until that is achieved I don't see a new stadium being in the cards..

Edited April 12, 2021 by Dave-R

[hippo]

1 hour ago, nick76 said:

but it's our armpit of the earth.  Call me sentimental but I would never want to leave Villa Park.

I would - I could forgoe the sentiment factor knowing that I'm not running the crime gauntlet everyone I walk back to my car.

[villa4europe]

2 minutes ago, hippo said:

I would - I could forgoe the sentiment factor knowing that I'm not running the crime gauntlet everyone I walk back to my car.

sounds like you're parking in the wrong place...

[nick76]

29 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

sounds like you're parking in the wrong place...

I agree, (touch wood) I haven’t had an issue in 40 years of going to the Villa.

[OxfordVillan]

As things stand we’d be fine with a 50k capacity stadium. The North Stand and the Doug Ellis Stand would be the focus for me, much improvement to be gained in and around those. 

[hippo]

1 hour ago, nick76 said:

I agree, (touch wood) I haven’t had an issue in 40 years of going to the Villa.

Check the crime facts for that area if you want a scientific answer. Anything else is anecdotal.

Local schools were opened as secure parking at one point. 

That area is crime central.

[nick76]

1 minute ago, hippo said:

Check the crime facts for that area if you want a scientific answer. Anything else is anecdotal.

Local schools were opened as secure parking at one point. 

That area is crime central.

I’ve lived near there, I went to Birmingham City University, I have family members that worked at Villa Park and obviously I’ve spent a lot of time at Villa Park myself, I know the area well.  

There is crime I agree but I’ve also lived in a multimillion apartment on Sydney harbour front for a couple of years and worked on the main street , George St, where my local coffee shop, a Lindt coffee shop back 2014 a terrorist was killed after a 16 hour hostage situation and 2 of them hostages died.  So I haven’t suffered crime for 40 years at Villa Park but I was close to major crime, just luck of timing, in a posh coffee shop.  (You can google that attack)

As villa4europe commented it looks like you are parking in the wrong place but sometimes you can’t avoid crime.  You assess the area, take the best precautions and that’s all you can do.  

With 40,000 people around as well you are less likely to have normal daily crime, only hooligan crime but that is the same wherever our stadium would be especially if they moved the ground closer to the city as some have suggested because of drinking and other non-villa people.

[villa4europe]

personally i dont think you should use the crime stats unless they present them specifically for football attendances, we as fans are there for 3 hours 19 days of the year which is 0.6% of the time

poll the board, poll other villa fans that you know, dont get me wrong its not a nice area and a lot of us will have stories about giving kids a couple of quid to look after their cars and various other local yoof "enterprises" but the percentage chance of your car being vandalised or stolen is very low

local schools still do open i think, so do businesses and Tescos and the power league, there's not loads and from experience the car parks then drag you in to the poor infrastructure and seemingly never ending road works but car parks are available (usually for £5)

[Follyfoot]

On 11/04/2021 at 03:05, Zatman said:

i dont care about an expansion, we want a damn theme park  

I agree 100% 

Build it and they will come 

[hippo]

28 minutes ago, nick76 said:

I’ve lived near there, I went to Birmingham City University, I have family members that worked at Villa Park and obviously I’ve spent a lot of time at Villa Park myself, I know the area well.  

There is crime I agree but I’ve also lived in a multimillion apartment on Sydney harbour front for a couple of years and worked on the main street , George St, where my local coffee shop, a Lindt coffee shop back 2014 a terrorist was killed after a 16 hour hostage situation and 2 of them hostages died.  So I haven’t suffered crime for 40 years at Villa Park but I was close to major crime, just luck of timing, in a posh coffee shop.  (You can google that attack)

As villa4europe commented it looks like you are parking in the wrong place but sometimes you can’t avoid crime.  You assess the area, take the best precautions and that’s all you can do.  

With 40,000 people around as well you are less likely to have normal daily crime, only hooligan crime but that is the same wherever our stadium would be especially if they moved the ground closer to the city as some have suggested because of drinking and other non-villa people.

My point still holds. Aston is a high crime area.

I also think there is limited potential for commercial development due to this. Many ideas have been put forward over the years - but even a shopping mall couldn't get off the ground (not villa related I know).

 

[Follyfoot]

On 11/04/2021 at 11:29, sidcow said:

All we need to do is rebuild the monstrosity of a North Stand. 50,000 is fine for us.  

If we eventually achieve worldwide domination we can add another tier to the Witton Lane stand by bridging over Witton Lane same as we have done on Trinity Road and Man Yew have done at The Theatre of Shityte. We might have to buy some of the houses on Holte Road or pay loss of light compensation.  You could always buy them and then rent them out as an investment! 

That's not necessarily uneconomical, we bought all the houses on Witton Lane when the current stand was built. If Doug Ellis could do it I'm sure NSWE wouldn't blink. 

That's going to take us to 60,000 or so, maybe 62,0000 depending on how big they go.   I can't see us needing much more than that unless we have a decade or more of proper sustained success wining multiple titles. 

Some stadium that would be, the Holte would we circa 200,000, imagine the intimidation 

[nick76]

11 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

personally i dont think you should use the crime stats unless they present them specifically for football attendances, we as fans are there for 3 hours 19 days of the year which is 0.6% of the time

poll the board, poll other villa fans that you know, dont get me wrong its not a nice area and a lot of us will have stories about giving kids a couple of quid to look after their cars and various other local yoof "enterprises" but the percentage chance of your car being vandalised or stolen is very low

local schools still do open i think, so do businesses and Tescos and the power league, there's not loads and from experience the car parks then drag you in to the poor infrastructure and seemingly never ending road works but car parks are available (usually for £5)

Plus if we move, I would imagine prices would go up to pay for everything like car parks around the new ground, transportation, vending outlets so moving would make it even harder for the average Joe and his kids to go the the football.  I’m happy to pay 6 quid to park my car not far from the Holte in a secure business car park than a price of a new ground fees.

[villa4europe]

8 minutes ago, hippo said:

My point still holds. Aston is a high crime area.

I also think there is limited potential for commercial development due to this. Many ideas have been put forward over the years - but even a shopping mall couldn't get off the ground (not villa related I know).

star city dying on its ass probably doesnt help...but thats what the club needs, a reason to go there on non match days

Lerner should have got the football league museum, as stupid as he sounded Xia's theme(d) park was along the right lines, i hope the new owners keep digbeth dining club on board, especially now they're struggling post corona, imagine if we gave them a full time home, it would bring people to the ground

[nick76]

21 minutes ago, hippo said:

My point still holds. Aston is a high crime area.

I also think there is limited potential for commercial development due to this. Many ideas have been put forward over the years - but even a shopping mall couldn't get off the ground (not villa related I know).

 

I’m not sure your original point does hold about walking the gauntlet back to your car.  Does Aston have a high crime rate? Yes, probably more the surrounding areas than Aston itself.  Are you likely to get that on match day? No because of the type of crimes in Aston plus the amount of people in the Villa Park vicinity before and after the game reduces that type of crime. Does crime happen? Of course but that’s not the point you were originally making. It’s not a valid reason or evidence of enough of a reason to move.  More chance of a crime committed on you by a fellow Villa or opposition fan on that day than a normal Aston crime.  That chance is the same wherever the ground is.

Edited April 12, 2021 by nick76

[hippo]

8 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

star city dying on its ass probably doesnt help...but thats what the club needs, a reason to go there on non match days

Lerner should have got the football league museum, as stupid as he sounded Xia's theme(d) park was along the right lines, i hope the new owners keep digbeth dining club on board, especially now they're struggling post corona, imagine if we gave them a full time home, it would bring people to the ground

Yeah - there needs to be one massive incentive to park your car in Aston. !!!!!

I used to work for a local authority concerned with economic regeneration. There was a considerable school of thought that once an area had got so deprived it was nigh on impossible to bring it back. Pretty much as you say impossible to get people to visit Aston on non match days 

[sidcow]

I would say Aston is ripe for development. 

Perry Barr is getting a lot of investment at the moment due to the Commonwealth Games, the City Centre is slowly starting to spread out - there is a 50 storey tower planned opposite that Huge Matalan.  The Gun Quarter is chocka with development.

The City Centre will undoubtedly bust out of the inner ring road shortly. 

I'm sure by the time we're looking at anything beyond a new North Stand there will be a tram route down Lichfield Road to Star City which will always be a big driver for regeneration. 

Maybe big developments at Villa Park can be a catalyst for this.  

The council are spending the next few years developing Ladywood. I would bet my bottom dollar eyes will turn towards Aston after that. 

We already have 2 mainline Railway Stations which makes us as well connected as any club side.  

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by sidcow

[sidcow]

1 minute ago, hippo said:

I used to work for a local authority concerned with economic regeneration. There was a considerable school of thought that once an area had got so deprived it was nigh on impossible to bring it back. 

Sounds like an incredibly short sighted local authority.