The Lower Grounds Matchday experience

[Don_Simon]

https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/september/20/Villa-launch-The-Lower-Grounds-matchday-experience/

Quote

 

Aston Villa is pleased to announce the launch of a new matchday offering for supporters.

The Lower Grounds will open its doors to a fan-focused experience, which will include food and drinks as part of the package, for the first time against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, September 30.

Located in the former Holte Suite, the Lower Grounds will be open from three hours before kick-off and up to 90 minutes post-match, supporters will be able to take advantage of all-you-can-eat street food as well as a range of beers, wines and soft drinks* while mingling with former players and watching pre-match build-up, interviews and classic matches on large media screens in a convivial atmosphere.

The package will include seats in the Trinity Road Stand or the Doug Ellis Upper and a matchday programme.

Existing season ticket holders can purchase the package as a bolt-on while they may also be bought on a match-by-match basis. An opening offer for the Brighton game is as follows...

Single match package v Brighton - £120 (including VAT)
Season ticket holder bolt-on v Brighton - £60 (including VAT)

 

£120 per game - are these guys on **** crack?

[tomav84]

£120 a game is obviously ludicrous

but £60 for existing season ticket holders for all you can eat food for 4.5 hours with a 2 hour break in the middle? that sounds like a challenge to me...i reckon i could have a pretty decent crack at putting away £60 worth in that time so it's actually not a horrendous deal

[Deano & Dalian's Umbrella]

4 minutes ago, Don_Simon said:

 

The package will include seats in the Trinity Road Stand or the Doug Ellis Upper and a matchday programme.

 

I sit in the centre of the Doug Ellis Upper. It makes you wonder how long it will take them to decide that my seat is a "hospitality seat" and I should be paying an extra £1200 a year for the privilege.

[Dale]

Bloomin 'eck. Sometimes better the devil you know, that the US sports executive you don't. 

[PeterSw]

£120 for a non-season ticket holder is a non starter. I love a buffet as much as the next person but £120.. Christ. The quality of the food and drink would have to be top notch to get a non season ticket holder in there. 

Maybe this is their way of saying the Terrace View is value for money

[ender4]

45 minutes ago, Don_Simon said:

https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/september/20/Villa-launch-The-Lower-Grounds-matchday-experience/

Aston Villa is pleased to announce the launch of a new matchday offering for supporters.

The Lower Grounds will open its doors to a fan-focused experience, which will include food and drinks as part of the package, for the first time against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, September 30.

Located in the former Holte Suite, the Lower Grounds will be open from three hours before kick-off and up to 90 minutes post-match, supporters will be able to take advantage of all-you-can-eat street food as well as a range of beers, wines and soft drinks* while mingling with former players and watching pre-match build-up, interviews and classic matches on large media screens in a convivial atmosphere.

The package will include seats in the Trinity Road Stand or the Doug Ellis Upper and a matchday programme.

Existing season ticket holders can purchase the package as a bolt-on while they may also be bought on a match-by-match basis. An opening offer for the Brighton game is as follows...

Single match package v Brighton - £120 (including VAT)
Season ticket holder bolt-on v Brighton - £60 (including VAT)

£120 per game - are these guys on **** crack?

That's not a bad price. Standard Trinity ticket for Brighton is £62.  So £58 extra for all you can eat street food and a place to mingle and chill before the match.  I'll definitely try this once if its on a match by match basis. 

However, if they could sort the service in the Upper Trinity, they could have £20 extra from me EVERY match as i'd love to buy food and drinks there all the time but i just give up as it's too slow.

Edited September 20, 2023 by ender4

[Wainy316]

2 minutes ago, PeterSw said:

£120 for a non-season ticket holder is a non starter. I love a buffet as much as the next person but £120.. Christ. The quality of the food and drink would have to be top notch to get a non season ticket holder in there. 

Maybe this is their way of saying the Terrace View is value for money

Well it includes a match ticket but yeah, I still very surprised at the price they're effectively charging for a buffet.  I assume drinks are not included?

[ender4]

3 minutes ago, PeterSw said:

£120 for a non-season ticket holder is a non starter. I love a buffet as much as the next person but £120.. Christ. The quality of the food and drink would have to be top notch to get a non season ticket holder in there. 

Maybe this is their way of saying the Terrace View is value for money

It includes the price of a ticket in the Trinity which is a standard £62.

[Villatillidie95]

Just seen this lower grounds nonsense on LinkedIn, did they not tell the fan advisory board that it was going to open ASAP?! 
 

also the Brighton game is early kickoff so seems a strange game to try it out for, people won’t feast as much as they would for a 1500 kick off….I suppose the club are banking on that as it’s cheaper 

[PeterSw]

Oh I didn't realise it included the match ticket. I take my comment back then! £60 for food, I assume a couple of drinks included, and seeing a few famous faces is not THAT badly priced.

[ender4]

The other thing with the Lower Ground and Terrace View options, they should just let people choose that option on the website when booking tickets. 

I don't want to call up Premium/Corporate hotlines to book, i want that option as a button to press when choosing tickets. 

 

[tomav84]

7 minutes ago, PeterSw said:

Oh I didn't realise it included the match ticket. I take my comment back then! £60 for food, I assume a couple of drinks included, and seeing a few famous faces is not THAT badly priced.

no drinks included

[PeterSw]

5 minutes ago, ender4 said:

The other thing with the Lower Ground and Terrace View options, they should just let people choose that option on the website when booking tickets. 

I don't want to call up Premium/Corporate hotlines to book, i want that option as a button to press when choosing tickets. 

 

You are able to choose Terrace View for the Brighton game online - just tried it

[calcifer]

4 minutes ago, tomav84 said:

no drinks included

 

1 hour ago, Don_Simon said:

The Lower Grounds will open its doors to a fan-focused experience, which will include food and drinks as part of the package, for the first time against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, September 30.

Located in the former Holte Suite, the Lower Grounds will be open from three hours before kick-off and up to 90 minutes post-match, supporters will be able to take advantage of all-you-can-eat street food as well as a range of beers, wines and soft drinks* while mingling with former players and watching pre-match build-up, interviews and classic matches on large media screens in a convivial atmosphere.

It says drinks included -  the * means *Alcoholic beverages available from two-and-a-half hours before kick-off and up to one hour post-match.

 

[The Fun Factory]

Unless you are Mr Crescote this isn't value for money.

Taking away another current benefit and monetising it with laughably bad communication.

Was any of this mentioned at season ticket renewal time?  Did any of the literature mention access to the Holte Suite?

Why did they say the Holte Suite was temporarily closed at the start of the season, and now suddenly it is now opened at £60 a pop?

Will any of the free to use existing facilities in the stand be improved? I doubt it.

I know that I am an inconvenience to them as I just turn up and watch the football and go away again. Eventually, I suspect that I will not be able to afford to go and stop attending one day, probably in the not-too-distant future if this type of shit keeps happening. I know my place.

Feel utterly cold towards the club on this.

[PeterSw]

I'd imagine if drinks are included it will be a set amount. I don't think they would want people paying the money to go in there and neck 20 beers every other weekend. Then again, money's money to these guys 

[blunther]

6 minutes ago, calcifer said:

 

It says drinks included -  the * means *Alcoholic beverages available from two-and-a-half hours before kick-off and up to one hour post-match.

 

It doesn't say drinks included.

[rjw63]

4 minutes ago, blunther said:

It doesn't say drinks included.

This.

No way are they going to let football fans get stuck into a free bar for two and a half hours.

[blunther]

It's craftily worded with 'food and drinks as part of the package', but my assumption is that it's just access to food and drink, and there's an all-you-can-eat buffet. Theyd make a far bigger deal of it if it was fully all-inclusive.

[1HoV]

Terrace View for league games - £114 - Holte End tickets + 2 drinks + programme.

Lower Grounds - £120 - Trinity or Doug Ellis ticket + all you can eat.

Hospitality Lite appears to be the aim of the game at the moment. The club is losing out though, if they'd just sort their services for the other 40,000 fans at every game they sell a load more food and drink.