The Lower Grounds Matchday experience

[imavillan]

Well, i'm well happy the club are offering this sort of facility/opportunity for fans.

Thanks to my old man and his old man, i've been born into the Villa family. I've supported them all my life, thankfully i didn't have any other option.

I've spent all of my pocket money on them when i was a kid.

I made sacrifices to go to VP the watch the Villa when i was growing up, not going to family birthdays, turning up late to various do's/events late.

I've queued up umpteen times half way round VP for important match tickets, i've used all my match day programme vouchers to get tickets, I've been a season ticket holder.

Having lived in Brum all my life i decided to move 220 miles away for a less frantic lifestyle. So for me, having a ST and doing a 440 mile round trip for matches on whatever day and at whatever time is a none starter.

I get that the club have taken away a facility for season ticket holders and thats a poor show and poor judgement from the club. They should, at least, have had an alternative arrangement lined up.

In my eyes this is the club trying to move us on to another level, generate match day income, help us compete and be part of the best. Why vilify what the club are trying to do in making us better, making us be part of the elite? If we want to be in the Sly 6 club it's what comes along with it. Accept it. If you dont think it does then thats pretty naive.

The Lower Grounds and The Terrace View are fantastic opportunities for people like me to come see a game. When i factor in it costs me £30 for a membership so i can get a ticket, if it gets that far and then the price of a ticket, food and drinks. Then for me £120 is great value and i'm delighted i have the opportunity to be involved. So much so, i've just purchased tickets for the Luton game and boy oh boy am i looking forward to it......and i will more than likely do it again

So, if you see me walking in or out of the Holte Suite/Lower Grounds or sitting in the allocated seats say hello.

You'll be able to spot me because i'll be the tourist with the half and half scarf  UTV

 

[S-Platt]

8 hours ago, imavillan said:

Well, i'm well happy the club are offering this sort of facility/opportunity for fans.

Thanks to my old man and his old man, i've been born into the Villa family. I've supported them all my life, thankfully i didn't have any other option.

I've spent all of my pocket money on them when i was a kid.

I made sacrifices to go to VP the watch the Villa when i was growing up, not going to family birthdays, turning up late to various do's/events late.

I've queued up umpteen times half way round VP for important match tickets, i've used all my match day programme vouchers to get tickets, I've been a season ticket holder.

Having lived in Brum all my life i decided to move 220 miles away for a less frantic lifestyle. So for me, having a ST and doing a 440 mile round trip for matches on whatever day and at whatever time is a none starter.

I get that the club have taken away a facility for season ticket holders and thats a poor show and poor judgement from the club. They should, at least, have had an alternative arrangement lined up.

In my eyes this is the club trying to move us on to another level, generate match day income, help us compete and be part of the best. Why vilify what the club are trying to do in making us better, making us be part of the elite? If we want to be in the Sly 6 club it's what comes along with it. Accept it. If you dont think it does then thats pretty naive.

The Lower Grounds and The Terrace View are fantastic opportunities for people like me to come see a game. When i factor in it costs me £30 for a membership so i can get a ticket, if it gets that far and then the price of a ticket, food and drinks. Then for me £120 is great value and i'm delighted i have the opportunity to be involved. So much so, i've just purchased tickets for the Luton game and boy oh boy am i looking forward to it......and i will more than likely do it again

So, if you see me walking in or out of the Holte Suite/Lower Grounds or sitting in the allocated seats say hello.

You'll be able to spot me because i'll be the tourist with the half and half scarf  UTV

 

Once the word gets about and people understand the concept I am sure it will do well and serve a purpose and I am glad fans like yourself see the benefits.

Where the club have messed up is making facilities worse for the rest of us. Once they sort that out and allow for the seats not sold to be available to normal fans i think the animosity will die down.

There is a sweet spot coming hopefully where we all are happy.

The Holte Pub is criminally under used for instance that is where they should make the effort.

[Don_Simon]

9 hours ago, imavillan said:

Well, i'm well happy the club are offering this sort of facility/opportunity for fans.

Thanks to my old man and his old man, i've been born into the Villa family. I've supported them all my life, thankfully i didn't have any other option.

I've spent all of my pocket money on them when i was a kid.

I made sacrifices to go to VP the watch the Villa when i was growing up, not going to family birthdays, turning up late to various do's/events late.

I've queued up umpteen times half way round VP for important match tickets, i've used all my match day programme vouchers to get tickets, I've been a season ticket holder.

Having lived in Brum all my life i decided to move 220 miles away for a less frantic lifestyle. So for me, having a ST and doing a 440 mile round trip for matches on whatever day and at whatever time is a none starter.

I get that the club have taken away a facility for season ticket holders and thats a poor show and poor judgement from the club. They should, at least, have had an alternative arrangement lined up.

In my eyes this is the club trying to move us on to another level, generate match day income, help us compete and be part of the best. Why vilify what the club are trying to do in making us better, making us be part of the elite? If we want to be in the Sly 6 club it's what comes along with it. Accept it. If you dont think it does then thats pretty naive.

The Lower Grounds and The Terrace View are fantastic opportunities for people like me to come see a game. When i factor in it costs me £30 for a membership so i can get a ticket, if it gets that far and then the price of a ticket, food and drinks. Then for me £120 is great value and i'm delighted i have the opportunity to be involved. So much so, i've just purchased tickets for the Luton game and boy oh boy am i looking forward to it......and i will more than likely do it again

So, if you see me walking in or out of the Holte Suite/Lower Grounds or sitting in the allocated seats say hello.

You'll be able to spot me because i'll be the tourist with the half and half scarf  UTV

 

I don't think people are criticising the decision makers for trying to evolve the club and take us forward.

The criticism is that the sparkly new facilities have negatively impacted on the pre-existing, dreadful facilities. Communication for season tickets holder and claret club members has been dreadful. Did season ticket holders know the Holte suite was being binned off when they bought their ticket? As a Claret club member I didn't know when I renewed I can no longer buy Holte Upper tickets. Whether this is the case or not, developments for "new fans" have come across as being to the detriment of existing, "loyal" fans.

"Where were you when we were shit" I believe is the song. (That's not aimed at you).

[It's Your Round]

The “where were you when we were shit” chant/notion, is deeply flawed. It assumes that anyone buying a ticket to one of the new hospitality areas has only come to watch Villa because of that, and they’re somehow not a real fan, or at least not as authentic as anyone outside of TV. 

How do we know that these are ‘new’ fans? We don’t, do we? They’re just fans like everyone else who’ve bought a different ticket. It really is stupid to call them out for that. It’s understandable to be annoyed that the existing Holte facilities have reduced and been made worse, it’s understandable to be annoyed at the club for taking the Holte Suite away, and it’s fine to be pissed off that the communication around it all was awful. 

That’s not other fans’ fault though, we shouldn’t be creating a divide over this. 

[Kingman]

1 hour ago, S-Platt said:

The Holte Pub is criminally under used for instance that is where they should make the effort.

Suprised they haven't earmarked it for a massive extension, We could Treble /quadruple the size of the existing building and still be left with the massive car park, Plenty of hospitality options there if they want it. 

[bobzy]

1 hour ago, Don_Simon said:

I don't think people are criticising the decision makers for trying to evolve the club and take us forward.

The criticism is that the sparkly new facilities have negatively impacted on the pre-existing, dreadful facilities. Communication for season tickets holder and claret club members has been dreadful. Did season ticket holders know the Holte suite was being binned off when they bought their ticket? As a Claret club member I didn't know when I renewed I can no longer buy Holte Upper tickets. Whether this is the case or not, developments for "new fans" have come across as being to the detriment of existing, "loyal" fans.

"Where were you when we were shit" I believe is the song. (That's not aimed at you).

I imagine every “lower grounds package” is essentially a 200% markup on usual spend at the ground for someone who buys a ticket. They’re probably happy with that. 

[delboy54]

I am a bit confused (yes I am 65, but please hear me out)...have I got this right?

Terrace View:

This is a corporate facility for those who

(a) is either an existing ST holder who purchases it as a bolt on to their ST for the season (for the season or match by match basis)

(b) have forked out to jump the ST queue and gives them a ticket to a seat somewhere in the Upper Holte (not a block or row of seats)

Lower Grounds:

This is a corporate facility for 

(a) all ST holders (who normally sit anywhere in the ground) purchased on a match by match basis

(b) a ticket for the game and including access to Lower Grounds BUT not access to the Upper Holte. These seats are located in a block in the upper levels of  the Trinity Stand................ (do the recent photos of empty seats prove unsold tickets via this method?)

Have I got the general idea of how this works?

 

[Kingman]

11 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

Interesting  that the Luton game only has 72 places left and that's not on sale yet.

I suspect there's some chicanery at play.

 

Do we know if this is available for away fans to purchase? I've never had issues in years gone by having hospitality in other stadiums just the obvious no away team colours are aloud. 

If its being sold as hospitality/corporate then you would presume home, away, neutral and business folk can buy tickets so just need to create an account/fan ID? 

[choffer]

Interesting that all the tickets for the Lower Ground have sold out for the European games. I guess people have caught on quick. Probably no surprise that Luton and WHU tickets are still available though. 

[PeterSw]

13 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

Looking at the prices for upcoming league games and there's a huge change

For season ticket holders - kids go free - so if you're a family of season ticket holders with two U14's - you pay £60.00 for all three of you and unlimited food and drink - that's actually a bargain.

 

Good to se that they have actually come to a bit of sense and dropped the prices a bit - very good value for money for a young family.

If I was someone who attended the venue at the weekend and paid for my kids to go in.. I'd be annoyed that they have now made it free for kids.

Maybe part of their thinking is that if you bring your kids with you, you're either going to be driving (and therefore not drinking alcohol) or will not want to be necking loads of pints whilst looking after the kids (not a good look).. kind of smart  in a way.

[allani]

21 minutes ago, PeterSw said:

Good to se that they have actually come to a bit of sense and dropped the prices a bit - very good value for money for a young family.

If I was someone who attended the venue at the weekend and paid for my kids to go in.. I'd be annoyed that they have now made it free for kids.

Maybe part of their thinking is that if you bring your kids with you, you're either going to be driving (and therefore not drinking alcohol) or will not want to be necking loads of pints whilst looking after the kids (not a good look).. kind of smart  in a way.

I kind of think the other way - I'd be thinking that they had feedback from other customers like me and had quickly addressed those concerns / issues to come up with a better / fairer solution.

[Davkaus]

2 hours ago, delboy54 said:

 

Have I got the general idea of how this works?

 

Generally yes, with a small correction that it's not "corporate". It's hospitality, but more aimed at more affluent individuals - it's like travelling on a plane in economy plus. More expensive and slightly more comfortable than economy, but it's certainly not business class.

Nobody is going to be impressing their business clients by taking them to the Terrace View or Lower Grounds.

[ender4]

2 hours ago, delboy54 said:

I am a bit confused (yes I am 65, but please hear me out)...have I got this right?

Terrace View:

This is a corporate facility for those who

(a) is either an existing ST holder who purchases it as a bolt on to their ST for the season (for the season or match by match basis)

(b) have forked out to jump the ST queue and gives them a ticket to a seat somewhere in the Upper Holte (not a block or row of seats)

Yes, but the bulk of the tickets are for anyone to purchase on a match by match basis.  When you go online to buy a ticket, just select Premium and then you can choose to buy a ticket which includes Terrace View or Lower Grounds. 

[Kiwivillan]

 

Wow.  FB official site is trolling now. Unreal

[MrBlack]

3 hours ago, Kiwivillan said:

 

Wow.  FB official site is trolling now. Unreal

They put it in X too. 

The comments aren't kind. 

Not that they should be really. 

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Not sure what they are getting at with the post really?

[Deano & Dalian's Umbrella]

1 hour ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Not sure what they are getting at with the post really?

It's like one of those makeover shows. They are showing that if you have a dirty carpet and don't own a carpet cleaner, you can easily cover it up with some tables, people and Ahmed Elmohamady.

[OutByEaster?]

i wonder what would happen if someone who runs an u14's football team turns up having paid £11 a ticket for six of them, then £60 for lounge access and all you can eat and drink for themselves and six kids - do you reckon they'd refuse it?

How many U14's can you take with you on one £60.00 purchase before the club gets pissed off?

 

[S-Platt]

21 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

i wonder what would happen if someone who runs an u14's football team turns up having paid £11 a ticket for six of them, then £60 for lounge access and all you can eat and drink for themselves and six kids - do you reckon they'd refuse it?

How many U14's can you take with you on one £60.00 purchase before the club gets pissed off?

 

It's a good point I have 1 kid so for me it's not really worth it but someone with 2 or 3 could make it very worthwhile particularly older kids closer to 14!

[MrBlack]

31 minutes ago, S-Platt said:

It's a good point I have 1 kid so for me it's not really worth it but someone with 2 or 3 could make it very worthwhile particularly older kids closer to 14!

Football coach walking out of the pick 'n' mix section ...