Fans Advisory Board Meeting - 16th September

[Captain_Townsend]

If you think the North Stand isn't on track that is hugely disappointing.  Already 12 months behind schedule as it is.

[It's Your Round]

It’s very sad reading indeed (but huge thanks to OBE for your efforts). 

I’m dumbfounded as to how they can’t sort basic facilities out when there’s barely anyone onsite during the week, or two weeks if we’re playing away. The Facilities Managers seriously need a kick up the arse. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else, let alone a multi-million pound organisation like Aston Villa 

[Talldarkandransome]

4 minutes ago, It's Your Round said:

It’s very sad reading indeed (but huge thanks to OBE for your efforts). 

I’m dumbfounded as to how they can’t sort basic facilities out when there’s barely anyone onsite during the week, or two weeks if we’re playing away. The Facilities Managers seriously need a kick up the arse. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else, let alone a multi-million pound organisation like Aston Villa 

Maybe they are waiting on delivery of the new pound a pee (two a poo) toilets. 

 

[tomav84]

2 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

By then, it was pretty much time for Mr Heck to go

sounds like this was the highlight of the meeting

[markavfc40]

Thanks again @OutByEaster?for taking the time to attend and reporting back.

What you have said makes quite depressing reading. I get that the club want to increase revenue but money isn't the only thing of value. They should also still value the average Joe everyday supporter. 

In the grand scheme of things I doubt the changes to how the Holte suite is utilised will make anything like a significant difference to the balance sheet. It sticks another big nail into relations with season ticket holders though which are only compounded by the fact that the club have found the resources and time to complete the Terrace View, are spending time and money on the revised Hotle Suite yet can't sort out basic facilities that the masses use all over the ground. Toilets, drink/food access in a reasonable time and decent wifi.

The club need to be very careful. Fans will only take so much as whilst the club is still riding a bit of an Emery induced wave it won't last forever and when it does start to wane I'd imagine the masses may well start to be much more intolerant of the way they are now regarded/treated by the club.  

Edited September 18, 2023 by markavfc40

[tomav84]

the thing is, that with the terrace view not being the success they'd hoped it would be (in that it's far from sold out), why do they think there's a demand for MORE hospitality?

[tomav84]

2 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

On away ticketing, it works like this - there's a percentage of our season ticket holding that hold their tickets in Hospitality, and I'm told it's around 8%.

So, 8% of the away tickets go to hospitality fans and are then applied for by hospitality fans on the same sort of tiered basis as the rest of us.

So - if we get 2,000 tickets, it would divide up like this:

• 100 tickets (50 pairs) would go into the Pride rewards ballot
• 160 tickets would go into the Hospitality Ballots
• A number of tickets would go to the Lions clubs
• 40 tickets (20 pairs) would go to internal staff at Villa Park/Bodymoor
• The remainder (about 1,650) would go on sale through the normal purchasing hierarchy. 

Hope that makes sense.

 

the cynic in me can see this changing in order to sell more hospitality areas. there's a big section of the fanbase that are out of the away ticket criteria and would jump at a meaningful chance to get to away games

[Mic09]

1 minute ago, tomav84 said:

the thing is, that with the terrace view not being the success they'd hoped it would be (in that it's far from sold out), why do they think there's a demand for MORE hospitality?

I can only assume there isn't a demand now. But the plan is to be consistently successful in European competitions, achieve CL football, and that brings a whole lot of a different type of fans.

We want success on the pitch? Let's get ready to have the Emirates like type of clientele that are willing to pay an extra £500 a season ticket.

It's just a shame that when I first arrived at VP in 2005, we had much less yet the experience was far better. 

PL football (including our Villa) will soon, if not already, became a luxury good. 

[May-Z]

57 minutes ago, tomav84 said:

the thing is, that with the terrace view not being the success they'd hoped it would be (in that it's far from sold out), why do they think there's a demand for MORE hospitality?

It's probably why they're looking at more. They want a tiered system of hospitality so that nearly every supporter in the ground is opting for one thing or another in addition to their tickets. 

The Terrace View costs a lot and you have to opt in for a whole season. The new Holte Suite will be something people can go for once as a birthday present or Christmas treat for £70...then there's the Gas Lamp/Heineken for £150...then the 1874 etc. 

I think Villa have been a bit off the pace in terms of other teams when structuring ST benefits to get more money from fans. Not long ago we had two free cup games and the Holte Suite benefits for one of the cheapest prices...it feels like the brains at the top have tried to catch up with other teams in a short space of time...and it feels unfair. 

[villarule123]

Season tickets will be over a grand before long, I'm almost certain. 

[OutByEaster?]

1 hour ago, tomav84 said:

the cynic in me can see this changing in order to sell more hospitality areas.

It's not a choice on change - 8% of our current season ticket holders have their season ticket in a hospitality area, 8% isn't a figure someone chose, it's how many people have bought season tickets. It will change as we add more hospitality, so if we add another 1,000 hospitality places before the North Stand is built, it might be that 12% of our season ticket holders are in hospitality, so they'll get 12% of the allowance - it's a balance of numbers of ticket holders against tickets available - the only difference being the way those tickets are then distributed within the two groups.

 

[OutByEaster?]

23 minutes ago, May-Z said:

The Terrace View costs a lot and you have to opt in for a whole season. The new Holte Suite will be something people can go for once as a birthday present or Christmas treat for £70...then there's the Gas Lamp/Heineken for £150...then the 1874 etc.  

They've not yet decided on how they'll sell the Holte Suite - I wouldn't rule out it being a season long commitment.

 

[HanoiVillan]

15 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

They've not yet decided on how they'll sell the Holte Suite - I wouldn't rule out it being a season long commitment.

 

They might find that Birmingham isn't London, and that there just aren't enough people willing to shell out this kind of price. 

[Risso]

My mate pays £5,000 a year for the equivalent of the Terrace View at Arsenal. We've still got an awful long way to go before we're anything like Arsenal or Spurs.

[OutByEaster?]

6 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

They might find that Birmingham isn't London, and that there just aren't enough people willing to shell out this kind of price. 

They're going to be looking for thousands of people willing to pay this price and more - the new North Stand will double our hospitality capacity and they're looking to put hospitality in anywhere they can - the Holte Suite is a drop in the ocean - if they've got it wrong, they've got it very wrong.

 

 

[Hank Scorpio]

1 hour ago, villarule123 said:

Season tickets will be over a grand before long, I'm almost certain. 

Thing is everyone says they can do this because we are successful now.

Are we really? Yes we are less shit than the last 15 years right now, but last time I checked we won a trophy in 1996

You can only assume what the pricing would be next season if we did actually win something. 

Clearly the rank and file match day and season tickets in the cheap seats are less important than ever and will continue to be.. they will just be gouged by price rises as long as a waiting list exists as they assume there will always be someone to take your place.

All the while they do not look after the general access areas of the stands to prioritise corporate.

The ticketing system remains utterly awful for 2023, they actively lose money because of it but have done nothing to fix it.

[TheAuthority]

Trying to play devils advocate and look at it completely dispassionately.

The owners have brought in Heck to make us compete with likes of Arsenal, Spurs and ultimately aim for Barcelonas, Madrids & Manures of the football world.

Heck and co don't know anything of 1980's & 90's football. What it was to stand on the terrace, smoke ciggies, eat a pie and get hammered with your mates while your team won or lost.

Sadly, those of us that do remember that yearn for it not just out of nostalgia, but because so much of the games has gone. It's no longer the pure sporting spectacle of the working classes, its full of money, hypocrisy and all of the other things like "Sky Super Sunday."

So Heck and co look at a stadium who's last major update was nearly 25 years ago. It has major infrastructure issues, terrible transport problems and financially does not come near to being able to compete with Arsenal and Spur for creating revenue.

Again, looking at it completely dispassionately, the obvious long term answer is to move to a more suitable venue. NWSE have bought in Unai to make us a success on the pitch and Chris Heck to make us successful off it. The bankruptcy of BCC and the doubts around upgrades to the local train network are both reasonable excuses to move the ground sooner rather later.

This is very sad, but Villa Park wasn't always our home either. I just hope that if that time comes, the new build is tasteful and looks back to what is unique about VP.

[Don_Simon]

Sounds incredibly frustrating @OutByEaster?, thank you for your time and energy in this.

It seems clear that these evenings are now meant for the club to advise fans of changes being implemented. The notion of consultation and dialogue to reach mutually beneficial outcomes are a distant dream. 

On Saturday, at minute 86 when we're losing 1-0, I couldn't get a beer or food at half time, my son couldn't use the bathroom due to queues, I'd paid £90 for tickets and had to navigate getting back to Brum from VP, I was questioning my judgement in taking us there. 

Victories tend to mask all ills, I do wonder however how much more fans will take.

[Zatman]

I said it last summer when the club had no right to increase the prices on a lot of things like tickets/friendly matches when we had a donkey in charge that the fans are not that important anymore.

Heck has probably no idea about football culture and is only doing what he was asked in making money. He wont be popular on here

 

[DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth]

Thanks OBE for the representation and feedback. I think a large portion, although not entire, diminishing of relations in regard to the match day experience will be solved with the addition of the extra capacity. It is understandable that they want to maximise the spend of the 42k they are limited to at the moment - but feels sort of hard considering those being squeezed have filled that stadium during some really hard times.

To hear that plans are potentially even further behind schedule is disturbing on many levels, mostly because this disconnect will only grow wider until “GE” admissions grow to a level where pretty much everyone who wants a standard ticket can get one.

As someone who is reliant on using trains to get back to the westcountry, when I’m queuing for a train, I don’t blame Villa at all for this when I’m in my fortnightly hour wait. If Villa have any capacity to (planning wise), I would urge them to just build the bloody increase and force the local governments hand with the rail expansion that way.