"The Terrace View" - Upper Holte Lounge

[Tom13]

22 hours ago, rodders0223 said:

I'll cancel this season before I'm paying another £500 next year for the privilege of actually being able to be served a pint of HT.

 

You know...the things must clubs that charge these prices include as standard. Working toilets. Access to refreshments. Etc.

Pretty sure you'll be able to access refreshments etc without having access to this bar.

[Talldarkandransome]

1 hour ago, avfc1982am said:

What a great idea.

Sooo, I'm thinking.... If I tout my ST out say 6 games at £150 a game for an original match day experience. Henrik could have a proper match day. With a pick up at the hotel, few beers in town, a bit of slap and tickle with a a dirt bag, up to the Manor Tavern or a boozer of choice, have a couple more brews, glass smashing in the car park, followed by puking everywhere, then a wander through the beautiful streets of Aston. Then onto one of Astons finest shit burger stands for a beer soaker, bit of music outside the Trinity whilst seeing double and throwing up some more. A ticket for the game, and half time experience of someone pissing on your leg or spilling shit beer over you. Drop off back to the hotel after. Once in a lifetime experience imo. Everyone's a winner!  

Aahhh them were the days

[villa4europe]

6 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

I think this is bang on - the season ticket price - the big number of £480 plus cup games on top of your ticket price feels horrendous and I don't see many Upper Holte Enders wanting to take that up.

We might see some season ticket holders migrate from other parts of the ground I suppose - those paying £899 in the middle Trinity might I guess consider £1,180 with access to a lounge all season and the fun of the Upper Holte as a price worth paying. 

But where it comes into it's own is exactly where you've said - birthdays, special occasions, fans flying in from the States - it's a wonderful opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the Upper Holte End and get a really nice lounge with pub grub, drinks, seating and a view - and sure, you pay for that, but for a special occasion, you'll be happy to - if you're already paying flights and a hotel, you'll also be happy to - that's where this comes into its own - providing an option with fantastic memories and a great matchday experience for people on special days - it's amazing for that.

The club haven't (yet) marketed it as that and I think that's very much because of the desire not to upset existing Upper Holte Enders. This is being marketed as their lounge, but I think that the real point here is that the club is only expecting actual, existing Upper Holte Enders to take up a couple of hundred of these spaces on any given matchday - the rest will be for 'experiences' - some of those will come from season ticket holders in other parts of the ground - Lower Holte Enders on birthday missions, Trinity Road season ticket holders on an adventure, that sort of thing, but I think most will be members looking for a special day.

If I live in France and I can only get over for one game, I'm going to pay for flights, a hotel and buy lots of stuff in the club shop - in relation to the cost of making that trip, £25 for a membership, £45 for a ticket and £30 for my GA+ is still good value for that once in a lifetime afternoon with the 'proper' Villa boys in the Upper Holte.

If it's my brothers birthday and he hasn't been for a couple of seasons, it's a great day out he'll remember and a treat that still lets him have some grub and a peaceful pint in the style he's used to on a Friday night in Bromsgrove.

I think the issue here is that the club can't really focus on that hugely positive opportunity because for existing Upper Holte Enders, the reality for them is that they'll no longer have the McGregors, or any of the facilities on that floor, they won't have access to the balcony and they'll have less space on the concourses available to them and less options for food and drink, and that they might be sat next to a fella called Soren who doesn't know any of the songs rather than Ian who used to come three or four times a season and was sound and proper Villa mate.

The thing is though that Soren will be having the best day of his life, Soren will be making a memory that lasts him a lifetime and Soren will be spending £300 on matchday, for the club, even outside of the obvious spending increase, there are so many advantages to that - Soren will be a Villa fan forever, and as a result there's a chance that his mate Henrik will be because he gets dragged to the pub in Aarhus by Soren every week to watch the Villa and hear Soren tell tales of the famous, the famous Holte End. Soren and Henriks kids will end up being Villa fans, it's all gravy.

 The facility opens up the option for great experiences for those who can afford it and want it - the only downside is that I'm not sure that those people are existing Upper Holte Enders - it's a pity in a way that this is the only place in the ground that has the space for it.

 

Absolutely nailed it

[OutByEaster?]

5 hours ago, Villatillidie95 said:

Thats the thing, i reckon it will be hard to get 1/6th of the upper holte in that place at those prices on a regular basis.

One way or another, just over one in six of the people who are in the Upper Holte on matchdays will be people who have paid to use this area.

That might mean moving some of the people that currently sit in the Upper Holte and don't want to pay those prices.

 

[The Fun Factory]

6 hours ago, Don_Simon said:

It seems more on Twitter than here, (quelle surprise), but the negative reaction to this has surprised me. Even Max from Villa on Tour is kicking off about it!

Perhaps I've not analysed it in enough detail, but I'm not sure how this affects you if you don't want it. 

It affects people in the upper holte as it is removing a facility that is currently free to use to replace it with an additional cost, or to have  worse matchday experience at the upper level with all of the crowd in half of the space.

[The Fun Factory]

1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said:

One way or another, just over one in six of the people who are in the Upper Holte on matchdays will be people who have paid to use this area.

That might mean moving some of the people that currently sit in the Upper Holte and don't want to pay those prices.

 

The upper holte has some of the cheapest seats in the ground. Prey where shall the great unwashed go? In Aston Park sipping special brew on a park bench?

[OutByEaster?]

3 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said:

The upper holte has some of the cheapest seats in the ground. Prey where shall the great unwashed go? In Aston Park sipping special brew on a park bench?

I think if the lounge doesn't sell, they'll put the match-by-match seats on sale at GA+ prices with access built in, rather than at the general price - the Upper Holte will then not have some of the cheapest seats in the ground.

Those people looking for cheaper seats will have to shop around - but the people who go in the Terrace View will sit in the Upper Holte - and they won't have the lounge empty.

[delboy54]

I wonder how long it will be before "The Terrace View" takes Upper Holte blocks K4 and K5 and they all become "corporate/executive" only.....

i.e. "The Ultimate Holte End Experience!" ........................................It will be like a bl**dy theme park

I think it will be only a matter of time that ST holders in Upper Holte who do not buy into the Terrace View will be forced to move......

Of all the stands at VP, there is no place for corporate stuff, just upgrade the catering in the Holte......save the corporate stuff for the new North stand

[villa4europe]

21 minutes ago, delboy54 said:

I wonder how long it will be before "The Terrace View" takes Upper Holte blocks K4 and K5 and they all become "corporate/executive" only.....

i.e. "The Ultimate Holte End Experience!" ........................................It will be like a bl**dy theme park

I think it will be only a matter of time that ST holders in Upper Holte who do not buy into the Terrace View will be forced to move......

Of all the stands at VP, there is no place for corporate stuff, just upgrade the catering in the Holte......save the corporate stuff for the new North stand

those days have gone

you see other clubs putting in cheese rooms, micro breweries and that shite glass at the tunnel entrance nonsense, that's the future, everton had to build a brand new stadium because of it, spurs designed their stadium around it (including future proofing it for NFL games and go karting)

plus the upgrade on the holte end catering works 19 times a year and would no doubt hit more fans in the pocket, this terrace could be all year round and on top of that i think the way to upgrade the catering at VP is actually to push people away from using it 10 mins before kick off and for 15 minutes at half time, provide facilities and a service that gets more fans in at 2pm and out at 6pm, try and end the pretty silly culture of being desperate for a pie at 3.45pm by giving fans their fill and food and drink before the game kicks off, i seriously believe the answer to villas, and other clubs, service problem isn't that you increase the speed or quality of the service at half time you decrease the demand

[delboy54]

50 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

those days have gone

you see other clubs putting in cheese rooms, micro breweries and that shite glass at the tunnel entrance nonsense, that's the future, everton had to build a brand new stadium because of it, spurs designed their stadium around it (including future proofing it for NFL games and go karting)

plus the upgrade on the holte end catering works 19 times a year and would no doubt hit more fans in the pocket, this terrace could be all year round and on top of that i think the way to upgrade the catering at VP is actually to push people away from using it 10 mins before kick off and for 15 minutes at half time, provide facilities and a service that gets more fans in at 2pm and out at 6pm, try and end the pretty silly culture of being desperate for a pie at 3.45pm by giving fans their fill and food and drink before the game kicks off, i seriously believe the answer to villas, and other clubs, service problem isn't that you increase the speed or quality of the service at half time you decrease the demand

Yes I do tend to agree with you buddy....not only has football moved on since the 1970's so must the facilities for the supporters. I am intrigued about a "cheese rooms"......is it for real?, or am I just a gullible old fart?.......

I think we should propose a Kenneth Williams room as well

[ender4]

4 minutes ago, delboy54 said:

Yes I do tend to agree with you buddy....not only has football moved on since the 1970's so must the facilities for the supporters. I am intrigued about a "cheese rooms"......is it for real?, or am I just a gullible old fart?.......

I think we should propose a Kenneth Williams room as well

Yes Spurs new stadium has a cheese tasting room for the corporate crowd.

[villa4europe]

55 minutes ago, ender4 said:

Yes Spurs new stadium has a cheese tasting room for the corporate crowd.

No! It fell through

The proposal was £15k a season and you had to buy at least 2 tickets

And we've got some unhappy with a £500 a year terrace

I'm sure the tunnel club, microbrewery and bakery are all there though

[DaveAV1]

I think it’s a strange place to have this sort of thing. The Holte is traditionally for what we might to refer to as diehard supporters and not those looking for a Man U style “experience”, where football isn’t the main attraction.
 

A customer, a Man U season ticket holder, once took me to Old Trafford to see Villa lose 4-0. Ok that didn’t help but the whole experience, prematch meal, drinks, a few words from Norman Whiteside, etc, I felt had nothing to do with a normal football match. It was a corporate event during which a “soccer match” was one of the attractions. Plastic doesn’t begin to describe it. 

The only thing that cheered me up was that our relatively small section, stuffed into one corner out sang the rest of Old Trafford the whole game, despite getting stuffed. “ Even Fergie Says You’re Shit. was banged out most of the time! 

As I say it was the least footballeaque match I’ve ever been too and certainly didn’t feel remotely like The Holte. 

This whole thing feels like something to make money, devised by someone who knows nothing about football or your average football supporter. I’d say our CEO’s hands are all over this. 

Completely wrong for the Holte, perhaps more suitable for The Trinity Road. Then again I could be missing the point which I think is a chance to mingle with the famous Holte Enders, look ‘ard and still have some exclusivity, so that you don’t have to get your hands too dirty. A bit of cred for those who have the dosh. 

[DaveAV1]

1 hour ago, delboy54 said:

Yes I do tend to agree with you buddy....not only has football moved on since the 1970's so must the facilities for the supporters. I am intrigued about a "cheese rooms"......is it for real?, or am I just a gullible old fart?.......

I think we should propose a Kenneth Williams room as well

Surely the food of choice for any self respecting Villa fan is Fish. So maybe a sushi room, with the walls covered with fish puns? 

[thabucks]

14 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

No! It fell through

The proposal was £15k a season and you had to buy at least 2 tickets

And we've got some unhappy with a £500 a year terrace

I'm sure the tunnel club, microbrewery and bakery are all there though

Beavertown is brewed at the Tottenham stadium for in house consumption and also retail … 

[tomav84]

15 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

No! It fell through

The proposal was £15k a season and you had to buy at least 2 tickets

And we've got some unhappy with a £500 a year terrace

I'm sure the tunnel club, microbrewery and bakery are all there though

i'm sure the plans will brie back

[thabucks]

10 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said:

 

I think it’s a strange place to have this sort of thing. The Holte is traditionally for what we might to refer to as diehard supporters and not those looking for a Man U style “experience”, where football isn’t the main attraction.

 

I hate this type of comment and not a pop at you whatsoever … I’ve been a Villa fan since 1989 and I’m now 42… attended hundred of games over the years and this really appeals to me - just because I’m lucky enough to be able to afford it does that make me less of a die hard fan ? It won’t affect my singing voice or passion for the club and will in fact enhance it … all personal preference and maybe If more than 2’500 odd fans answered the survey then maybe the results would be different … as I said not a criticism of you at all… 

[villa4europe]

Thing is though you look at say spurs, they spent £750m on a building that will see 29 hours of league football per year, literally 0.3% of that buildings annual life is for football

Football can be the main attraction

Football can't be the only attraction, that's gone

And that's before you even throw in FFP and maximising revenue, it's a no brainer that VP has to be as busy as possible outside of 90 minutes every other Saturday, this and villa live are great steps forward towards what modern football is and more so because it's not overly corporate what it should be

Personally I'd now just fully convert the holte car park to a free access fan park with licensed vendors doing a digbeth dining club style service pre and post game

[OutByEaster?]

6 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Personally I'd now just fully convert the holte car park to a free access fan park with licensed vendors doing a digbeth dining club style service pre and post game

This is definitely something that's been talked about - having to show your ticket to get into the car park, but converting it to something like an outdoor box park experience for Holte Enders - the problem is where to put the parking.

[villa4europe]

24 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

This is definitely something that's been talked about - having to show your ticket to get into the car park, but converting it to something like an outdoor box park experience for Holte Enders - the problem is where to put the parking.

Better local transport links and walking / cycling routes paired with the belief that these facilities will lead to a natural staggering of what time people arrive / leave