Fans Consultancy Group Meeting

[wilko154]

14 minutes ago, Dave-R said:

It was spoken about under Tony Xia but are there still plans for Villa Park's capacity too be taken too 60000 or exceed that number??

Tony xia had plans other plans for Villa Park, apprantly very good plans. Are those plans still in the pipeline or do the new owners have there own plans for the future of Villa Park and if so can any be revealed??

Hopefully there are plans to upgrade the North Stand first, and then the Doug Ellis stand. However I would doubt anything will happen until we are back in the Premier League.

There's absolutely no point upgrading the capacity of Villa Park to 60,000 as we would never fill it. 70% of our games have 8-10,000 empty seats at Villa Park. Sky are obviously not helping this, especially with the red button games this season... but that is for another conversation.

[Stephen_Evans]

2 hours ago, wilko154 said:

Hopefully there are plans to upgrade the North Stand first, and then the Doug Ellis stand. However I would doubt anything will happen until we are back in the Premier League.

There's absolutely no point upgrading the capacity of Villa Park to 60,000 as we would never fill it. 70% of our games have 8-10,000 empty seats at Villa Park. Sky are obviously not helping this, especially with the red button games this season... but that is for another conversation.

I would settle for a revamped exterior for the absolutely dreadful Trinity Road Stand.  I am sure some clever architects could modify it in a proper "Villa" style without needing to pull the thing down.  Obviously much of the corporate areas internally are first class but the exterior is shocking.

I remember speaking to Mark Ansell, who blamed the council planning department for the design, but surely they did not make all those grey corrugated steel panels compulsory!

[AVTuco]

19 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

 

• Stadium renaming - it isn't happening. It's not been discussed, it's not being discussed, it's not up for discussion, the story hasn't come from the club.

 

 

Yes! Thank you.

[Made In Aston]

What were the key outcomes from the meeting yesterday? 

[sidcow]

2 hours ago, Made In Aston said:

What were the key outcomes from the meeting yesterday? 

If only someone had taken the time to write them down on this thread. 

[The Fun Factory]

6 hours ago, Dave-R said:

It was spoken about under Tony Xia but are there still plans for Villa Park's capacity too be taken too 60000 or exceed that number??

Tony xia had plans other plans for Villa Park, apprantly very good plans. Are those plans still in the pipeline or do the new owners have there own plans for the future of Villa Park and if so can any be revealed??

Xia had a lot of plans, of which none actually happened. I will be happy if we can start getting 40,000 on a regular basis before anything else.  I just can't see how we could get a 60,000 stadium on the current blueprint of the site unless basically the whole thing was knocked down. The Doug Ellis plans had to be lowered in height when it was built in the 1990s due to complaints from the surrounding houses, I can't see how the Holte could be expanded, and Trinity Road was rebuilt which is already over Aston Park.

50,000- maybe, but only if we got promoted and became a solid top 8 side again. The North Stand is fine for now but if we ever want to be one of the big boys again it would have to go.  The whole area gets really busy when we sell out at the moment so I would expect significant investment in the whole of Aston/Witton infrastructure would be needed if we really started to be serious about this again.

Edited November 14, 2018 by The Fun Factory

[Dave-R]

3 hours ago, The Fun Factory said:

Xia had a lot of plans, of which none actually happened. I will be happy if we can start getting 40,000 on a regular basis before anything else.  I just can't see how we could get a 60,000 stadium on the current blueprint of the site unless basically the whole thing was knocked down. The Doug Ellis plans had to be lowered in height when it was built in the 1990s due to complaints from the surrounding houses, I can't see how the Holte could be expanded, and Trinity Road was rebuilt which is already over Aston Park.

50,000- maybe, but only if we got promoted and became a solid top 8 side again. The North Stand is fine for now but if we ever want to be one of the big boys again it would have to go.  The whole area gets really busy when we sell out at the moment so I would expect significant investment in the whole of Aston/Witton infrastructure would be needed if we really started to be serious about this again.

I like your insight into what could be done to the ground.. Yes fans certainly would have to be regularly packing villa park out for talks of plans and only way I see that happening is if we get promoted.

apparently xia had all these plans none really got disclosed apart from the pitch being done and it did get done even though we was in trouble. I would love to see all the plans xia had ready to go and think if they are not still in the pipeline should be released for us to see. 

I also wonder if Nas and Wes have plans of there own for future development of Villa Park. I think the owners should certainly be looking to make villa park into a stadium that can have all sorts going on ie athletics, concerts other sports, wrestling and so on. This could help create jobs and funds for the future, villa park could eventually pay for itself as a venue that has all sorts of events other than football. But as you said with complaints in the past the chances are that a new stadium would have to be made for all of the above. An entirely new stadium and in a location where noise wouldn't be an issue could be what villa needs but would the fans go for it as its a good historical ground.

I guess the question is what facilities could be built in Villa Park that could make use of the events out there on a regular basis, As it stands Villa Park is not a multi event use stadium is it, how would that change if it could be changed.

Wes and Nas I hope at some point say they have plans for Villa Park,  we will just have to wait and see.

Let's get promoted first though and get the fans flooding back to VP..

Edited November 15, 2018 by Dave-R

[Junxs]

I don't get these complaints of noise and congestion, surely people are aware of this before buying a house in the area.

It would be like buying a house next to the airport and complaining of jet noise and low flying aircrafts. 

Villa Park has been there before everyone currently living around there moved in, and had a capacity of over 75000 at times

[limpid]

Please can we use this thread for FCG questions / responses and not general chat. Thanks

[A'Villan]

@OutByEaster?

Standards is a word that Edens uses a lot in interviews as well. Is there any evidence of these standards being implemented effectively? Yes. The Milwaukee Bucks.

I'm sure Purslow, with his experience, is used to working with them in his roles as well. But Edens took an entire sporting franchise that was failing miserably and brought it success. So it's Edens record that impresses me.

Exciting times. Thanks for the write-up.

Edited November 18, 2018 by A'Villan

[OutByEaster?]

Here are the notes from the club:

 

Quote

 

Club representatives

Christian Purslow Chief Executive Officer

Paul Tyrrell Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

Tommy Jordan Communications Director

Lee Preece SLO

 

CHRISTIAN PURSLOW INTRODUCTION

 

Mr Purslow welcomed the group to Villa Park and said he relished the prospect of having a positive and direct relationship with the diverse group of supporters who make up the FCG.

 

Words are cheap, he said, and actions far more important but he hopes that over time supporters will see

a high level of transparency, openness and accountability.

 

He said the owners believe in clear accountability across all aspects of how the club operates. The club’s senior management team will operate under Mr Purslow’s guidance with him – as CEO – directing policy and strategy.

 

Although Mr Purslow said there were numerous areas in which the club needs to improve – from football through to commercial and financial aspects – the priority will always be football. Now “good things happen if we get the football right” he stated while reaffirming that other areas of the business require significant improvement.

 

On the playing front, nobody can make guarantees about on field success but, with good management, the club can create a path that maximises the probability of getting back into the Premier League as soon as possible.

 

He stressed that false promises will not be made and achieving this target will be done in a “responsible, sustainable and sensible way”.

 

This will be led by a “top-down” approach of ensuring the correct strategy is in place to recruit, retain and develop players which creates long-term value.

 

He confirmed that the new owners had cleared off all historic liabilities via their investment in the club but this still requires the club to operate in a prudent and responsible manner. Mr Purslow said he was confident, clear and excited about the changes the new owners are bringing. The new ownership group are hugely experienced in sport and business, know what needs to be done to get the club on a long-term successful and sustainable footing.

 

VILLA PARK RENAMING

Mr Purslow stated categorically that recent suggestions of plans to rename Villa Park were “wholly, completely and utterly inaccurate.”

 

FFP

As somebody who was involved in drafting the rules ten years ago when he was the CEO of Liverpool, Mr Purslow confirmed that the club wants to be FFP compliant and have a clear set of plans to be so going forward.

 

JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW

With a new Sporting Director, Jesus Garcia Pitarch, and Head Coach, Dean Smith, arriving at the club, it represents the first opportunity for Dean to make changes. Mr Purslow recognised the January window is a limited market but expects some ins and outs.

 

CONSULTATION ON DECISIONS

Mr Purslow said an important message from tonight’s meeting is that he thinks the FCG is a very important vehicle and relishes the chance to work with it. He also confirmed senior executives will continue to attend FCG meetings on a regular basis.

 

DR TONY XIA

Dr Tony is a significant minority shareholder and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future, Mr Purslow confirmed.

 

MEDIA TONE AND CONTENT

In his relatively short time at the club, Mr Purslow said he has observed work is needed in this area and acknowledged the desire to provide information from the club can, if unchecked, create content of an inappropriate tone, look or feel. He was insistent that the club should not produce content which is unhelpful or damaging or chasing clickbait. He also said he was amazingly proud to now run this institution and wants the tone to be unremittingly excellent. For these and a number of other important reasons, Mr Purslow confirmed that Paul Tyrrell has joined the club. Paul has been Head of Comms at ITV as well as at a number of major Premier League clubs.

 

OUTSOURCING

Mr Purslow confirmed all outsourcing agreements would be analysed to make sure they are appropriate for the club.

 

BMH NAMING RIGHTS

As part of the sale of the club, Dr Tony’s agreement ended. Mr Purslow confirmed the club may find a replacement in the future but it wasn’t something they were actively working on.

 

CONSTANT BETTING SPONSORSHIPS

The club’s current agreement with 32Red is working well and AVFC is receiving important revenue from it but was in place prior to Mr Purslow’s arrival. He expressed sympathy with the view that there is a high dependency on this sector within the Championship.

 

SOCIAL/COMMUNITY ISSUES (PAUL TYRRELL ANSWERED THE QUESTION)

The club will look for continued improvement in these areas Mr Tyrrell confirmed. He praised the Aston Villa Foundation who have made great strides in the last few years to reach out to our communities. The Foundation staff do a fantastic job and the club would like to build on their success and adopt more socially responsible policies.

 

TRINITY UPPER

Mr Purslow said there is a clear desire to use the stand and the club has to build that demand. It is a key marketing challenge.

 

KITS

The current agreement on kit supply provision, and branding, is perhaps misunderstood, Mr Purslow suggested. The designer and producer of the kit is Fanatics. Hugely respected within the sports industry and a maker of many other high-profile team apparel. Luke, a local retail clothing brand, has

a marketing-only agreement with the club.

Fanatics make their profit from selling merchandise in our store and on websites and wholesale. Luke have a relationship where their brand is promoted with their logo and other visible marketing around the ground.

Mr Purslow added that a priority for him is to drive higher values for the brands associated with Aston Villa.

 

TANNOY

Mr Purslow confirmed he had authorised a very significant capital spend in order to upgrade the sound system in the stadium. As he as well as everyone else at Villa Park accepts the current infrastructure is not fit for purpose.

 

 

 

[sidcow]

Luke was not the kit designer? That is surely not true. 

[Stevo985]

2 minutes ago, sidcow said:

Luke was not the kit designer? That is surely not true. 

Maybe it means officially the designer was fanatics. As in they get the credit and rights or whatever. 

But it was Luke who actually did the designing. 

Just a guess. 

[villan-scott]

It was quite clear from all the promo work when the kit launched that Luke designed it. I believe that Fanatics are the ones making and producing the kits due to the volumes required. It does sound that it’s not a very lucrative deal, which is being reviewed. 

[NurembergVillan]

8 minutes ago, villan-scott said:

It was quite clear from all the promo work when the kit launched that Luke designed it. I believe that Fanatics are the ones making and producing the kits due to the volumes required. It does sound that it’s not a very lucrative deal, which is being reviewed. 

It wouldn't be the first time a kit has been "designed" by a named designer only for the reality to be somewhat different.

I'm not saying that's the case here, and I've no ITK on it, but if the CEO is saying it's a marketing only deal I can see how that'd work for both the club and the brand.  Luke gets his logo everywhere and all the positive PR, and the club doesn't get it in the neck from the fans because we've gone from Nike to Under Armour to Fanatics...

[NurembergVillan]

2 hours ago, NurembergVillan said:

It wouldn't be the first time a kit has been "designed" by a named designer only for the reality to be somewhat different.

I'm not saying that's the case here, and I've no ITK on it, but if the CEO is saying it's a marketing only deal I can see how that'd work for both the club and the brand.  Luke gets his logo everywhere and all the positive PR, and the club doesn't get it in the neck from the fans because we've gone from Nike to Under Armour to Fanatics...

On a possibly related note, here are Kanye West's design sketches for his Adidas collection in 2019.  Obviously, Luke is an actual designer and not a, erm, whatever Kanye West is these days...

[Stevo985]

14 hours ago, NurembergVillan said:

On a possibly related note, here are Kanye West's design sketches for his Adidas collection in 2019.  Obviously, Luke is an actual designer and not a, erm, whatever Kanye West is these days...

 

[Mister_a]

Statue of Alan Hutton outside the ground

[hippo]

On 24/11/2018 at 15:11, sidcow said:

Luke was not the kit designer? That is surely not true. 

Whatever - its a good bet they won't be next season judging by the above.

[OutByEaster?]

We often say that with those people that run our clubs, actions speak louder than words, and I'm happy to say that Mr Purslow followed up on his promise to arrange a meeting with the relevant heads of department this evening., It was good to hear from those in charge of facilities, catering and our media output on issues which particularly related to their areas. I won't go into too much detail as minutes will follow, but it was good to cover some of those topics and there are a couple of positive things that can only help.