Wembley Stadium Sale Plan

[villaglint]

Can't see another topic for this but please correct if I'm wrong.

People have no doubt seen the news that the FA have received an offer to sell Wembley to a bleeding NFL team for £800m, with the good news that England will still be able to play "most" of their games there. 

This seems like a massive piss take for me and if I hadn't double checked it feels more like an Onion story than something real. 

Didn't it cost something like £800m to build and I'd guess it was largely subsidised by the tax payer. People on Twitter saying if the money goes to the grass roots game then it could be a good thing. 

Is there really a kid in the country desperate to play football but can't find anywhere to play? Maybe I live in a privileged area but there are tons of places to play around here. 

[Dr_Pangloss]

Terrible stadium with a terrible atmosphere, couldn't give a shit.

[villaglint]

3 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

Terrible stadium with a terrible atmosphere, couldn't give a shit.

Have you been to any of the games Villa have played there? The atmosphere for some of the games (not all) was something I'll never forget for as long as I live. Don't know how you can say terrible atmosphere. 

[Dr_Pangloss]

1 minute ago, villaglint said:

Have you been to any of the games Villa have played there? The atmosphere for some of the games (not all) was something I'll never forget for as long as I live. Don't know how you can say terrible atmosphere. 

Fair enough, talking more about your average England game where the prawn sandwich brigade comes out in full force and thousands of seats taken up by 'dignitaries'.

[villa4europe]

10 minutes ago, villaglint said:

Have you been to any of the games Villa have played there? The atmosphere for some of the games (not all) was something I'll never forget for as long as I live. Don't know how you can say terrible atmosphere. 

yes

game 1 vs utd, not the stadiums fault really but it highlighted to me how the ticket sales are ill thought out by the club, i was in a group of around 25 holte enders who tried to stand in a group of around 50 trinity road / DE fans, it didnt go down well, spent pretty much the entire second half sat down doing nothing, we were everywhere outside, can remember 

game 2 vs chelsea, changed my seats so i could stand, was in the lower part behind the goal, can still remember the lighters and coins being thrown at the chelsea fans sat in the middle band posh seats, can remember a 10 minute long my old man chant 

game 3 vs liverpool, i had excellent seats and the atmosphere was brilliant, incredible game

game 4 vs arsenal, i sat low down near the pitch, with the sun shining and a lot of arsenal fans wearing yellow, couldnt see much at the other end of the pitch and watch a lot of the game on the big screen, the atmosphere was flat compared to the semi final IMO outside in the little park or whatever it was that the police sensibly let us have was good

i think at 3 games i've witnessed violence with the middle band, all 4 games i've witnessed violence villa fan vs villa fan and 3 of them i've witnessed violence outside the ground

also been 4 times for the NFL, its just a big stadium with average facilities, ridiculously expensive kiosks, personally i think awful infrastructure and until recently in an absolute shit hole, the place has received a massive injection of cash since the utd game and it looks like more construction is still going on, not sure if the stadium is pulling the investment in or if its a concerted effort to tart the place up

[villa4europe]

as for the actual news...

he's an NFL owner, he will no doubt push for the jaguars to relocate (which isnt a shock) but that could be 10 years away, I'd be surprised if part of his offer doesnt tie the FA down for england qualifiers and cup finals, will be interesting to see what else he tries to bring in, the stadium will be busy in may, busy in autumn but spend 340 odd days a year empty, if it is an NFL team then he will have to spend a hell of a lot of cash still in regards to training facilities etc and i dont see how the relocation can work, can the NFL really force players to move to england?

how much of a piss take it is depends on where the cash goes, not sure how the FA secured the financing of the stadium in the first place but if they walk away with a sizable chunk of cash in their pocket then questions have to be asked as to why and what they can do with it

edit: interestingly he's also just had planning permission to expand craven cottage so that isnt going to be his answer on what to do with the place

Edited April 26, 2018 by villa4europe

[LakotaDakota]

FA still owe about 150 million on it, this would obviously clear that and give them a huge chunk to spend on other things. Would make sense for them to flog it and just have a rental agreement for England games/cup finals. No need to worry about maintainance costs etc & Shahid Khan can try and make money from concerts/events & NFL

[villakram]

Lots of suits will have their pockets lined. Same as it ever was.

[Xela]

3 hours ago, LakotaDakota said:

FA still owe about 150 million on it, this would obviously clear that and give them a huge chunk to spend on other things. Would make sense for them to flog it and just have a rental agreement for England games/cup finals. No need to worry about maintainance costs etc & Shahid Khan can try and make money from concerts/events & NFL

Wasn't it heavily subsidised by the tax payer in the first place?

 

[Xela]

4 hours ago, villaglint said:

Have you been to any of the games Villa have played there? The atmosphere for some of the games (not all) was something I'll never forget for as long as I live. Don't know how you can say terrible atmosphere. 

How was it compared to the old Wembley atmosphere in your opinion? 

The cup finals in 94 and 96 were amazing. I can't see the new one being as good as that? I've been to the new Wembley but not with Villa. 

I preferred the old stadium - it was more a spectacle. The long walk from the corner and the steps up to collect the trophy was a lot better back then. The new stadium just feels soulless. 

[coda]

They should give it to West Ham for free.

[Genie]

We shouldn’t have to sell our national stadium to fund grass football with the ridiculous amount of money sloshing around in the game in this country.

It sounds like Farage and the NHS again.

I doubt there are many people in this country who don’t have somewhere to play football. We have enough money around to pay for more coaches if that’s what is needed.

 

 

[villaglint]

1 hour ago, Xela said:

How was it compared to the old Wembley atmosphere in your opinion? 

The cup finals in 94 and 96 were amazing. I can't see the new one being as good as that? I've been to the new Wembley but not with Villa. 

I preferred the old stadium - it was more a spectacle. The long walk from the corner and the steps up to collect the trophy was a lot better back then. The new stadium just feels soulless. 

Personally I much prefer it. Part of the reason for that is age, I was an early teen for the trips there in the 90s the more recent ones have involved booze which makes everything more fun. 

Part of it is also the ground though, the old Wembley while being an amazing national landmark was also a dump. I was sat behind a piller for one game and the toilets, concourse areas, wooden seats etc were also well in need of ripping down and starting again. 

I get why people say it's soulless and I think if you go there for anything other than "your" team then it definitely is. However when's theres 40k fans of opposing teams sat opposite each other giving it all they've got honestly there is nowhere else in the world I'd rather go for a day out. 

Edited April 26, 2018 by villaglint

[Davkaus]

The way the government nationalises losses and privatises profit is ridiculous. 

There almost certainly is no such clause, but I'd want it stipulated that selling an asset which was subsidised by the government can only be done if that subsidy is repaid in full, adjusted for inflation. 

This whole thing absolutely stinks of corruption. 

[Avfc96]

I think it's ridiculous, especially considering the huge amount of subsidy's provided by the taxpayer to get the thing built in the first place.

 

[VillaChris]

I can understand people being disappointed at another national asset being flogged e.g. everything in this country has a price.

Would be a good thing to get England moving around the country again and connecting with other parts which worked well last time. FA cup semi finals would likely go back to neutral venues which is another good thing.