Popular Post MrBlack Posted December 22, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 22, 2023 (edited) Not universally unpopular. Way to sell the upcoming new badge. These notes always read so argumentative. The tone really feels like it reflects an animosity they seem to have towards the Fans Edited December 22, 2023 by MrBlack 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 39 minutes ago, Talldarkandransome said: They'll make us sit even closer together Whose lap do I have to sit on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 40 minutes ago, Talldarkandransome said: They could also utilise the rest of R1, that seems to be left empty half the time Where is R1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 I guess, Getting us to 44k and then demolishing the North Stand means we would be 38k while it's being done rather than 36k?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 This bit stands out "We are working closely with UEFA and the FA with regards to Euro 2028." No doubt Heck's decision to pause has blotted our copybook there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Captain_Townsend said: I guess, Getting us to 44k and then demolishing the North Stand means we would be 38k while it's being done rather than 36k?? 76k if we all sit on each others laps. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightoffyour Posted December 22, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 22, 2023 1 hour ago, rodders0223 said: 76k if we all sit on each others laps. 1 extra seat for every bullshit answer given at FAB meetings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talldarkandransome Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 4 hours ago, ender4 said: Where is R1? Lower North, sure its R1 in the corner, always empty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHY Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 Shit facilities and hardly any legroom as it is but they can add another 2/3000 seats, pathetic. With the exception of Brighton we have the smallest capacity in the current top 10! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sidcow Posted December 22, 2023 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted December 22, 2023 5 hours ago, ender4 said: Where is R1? Next to R2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brommy Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 9 hours ago, WHY said: Shit facilities and hardly any legroom as it is but they can add another 2/3000 seats, pathetic. With the exception of Brighton we have the smallest capacity in the current top 10! ...and Chelsea. Stamford Bridge is over 2k smaller than Villa Park. CFC have also recently concluded that the constructionally feasible expansion of adding 13000 seats isn't financially viable, with a minimum payback period of 25 years and a return of just 2.8% over 50 years. The construction cost per seat would likely to be double that of a new North Stand but Heck also now knows our fan base can't support Stamford Bridge prices. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 On 22/12/2023 at 17:04, OutByEaster? said: A video was shown to the group which outlined the results of this process and introduced the new crest. Did you speak to any of the other attendees who were able to go to see what they thought of the new crest over and above what the club released as notes? Obviously if they do tell you you can’t release that but any snippets of what the unpopular parts were and popular parts….ie style, complex/simple, colouring, fonts, words or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Davkaus Posted December 23, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 23, 2023 Quote The Club presented a draft crest for discussion and whilst not universally popular neither was it universally unpopular. There were no suggested changes. That is very, very funny. "Here's something to look at with no notice. Any specific changes off the top of your head? No? Does anyone here not hate it? I count one person. We'll crack on then, show yourselves out " 5 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, Davkaus said: That is very, very funny. "Here's something to look at with no notice. Any specific changes off the top of your head? No? Does anyone here not hate it? I count one person. We'll crack on then, show yourselves out " My thoughts exactly. Can anybody who was there describe what the crest they were presented with looked like? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post OutByEaster? Posted December 27, 2023 Author Moderator Popular Post Share Posted December 27, 2023 Whilst I was unable to attend this meeting personally, there was a feeling from those that did that the notes didn't quite capture the way some of the issues were presented and discussed, as a result, the group have added some notes to those originally produced by the club as per the below: Quote 1. Accessible Seating update The club continues to work on a road map to compliance, given that we need 220 wheelchair spaces and currently have 105 spaces, with that number increasing in each of the last two seasons. Any new areas that are introduced will need engineering and structural works and will require the loss of existing seating areas (to reach compliance, we need accessible seating in all four stands). However, as discussed in item 2, we are looking to increase capacity by maximising the efficiency of existing seating which will help mitigate seat loss for anyone affected by the loss of their seat. FAB reply: The lack of disabled places not meeting the Premier League criteria has been an on-going frustration for both this group and Aston Villa’s supporters who need wheelchair/accessible seating. Retro-fitting such seats is very difficult, as the club has confirmed to us on many occasions. So we were encouraged by the fact a new North Stand was being planned, as a new build is the best way to address such issues. The group is now very concerned about the loss of existing Villa Park capacity and remains unconvinced that ‘maxismising the efficiency of existing seating’ will address this issue, considering the club have to over double its number of wheelchair spaces. These wheelchair spaces would no doubt be needed to be in place to host the Euros. 2. Villa Park re-development Whilst the plans for the North stand have been announced as being on hold, the commitment to improve facilities across the stadium will begin as soon as possible. For clarity, rumours on social media suggesting that this decision will result in a new stadium elsewhere are entirely false. Moving away from Villa Park is not part of any plans. To increase capacity, we can change the seating layout in some areas to add approximately 2 to 3,000 seats. Any increase in seat numbers will clearly need to be aligned with improvements to concourse, toilets, food & beverage provision etc. Our owners will be investing significantly into upgrading facilities across Villa Park. We are working closely with UEFA and the FA with regards to Euro 2028. FAB reply: The club statement on the redevelopment plans being ‘on hold’ is not the messaging received at the meeting. Instead, it was strongly communicated that the North Stand will no longer be replaced and instead gradual capacity increases to the stadium will be implemented (beginning this summer). A bowl structure mechanic is being explored. A strong reasoning given for the change in redevelopment plans is that Villa Park is not selling out. Average 200 unsold for Premier League games, and no sell outs for European games. It was communicated that the money now not being used for the redevelopment is being focused on areas, including Bodymoor Heath redevelopment for both the Aston Villa men’s and women’s teams and player salaries. 5. Terrace View & Lower Grounds Are these areas selling out? Both areas are selling well. Terrace View has over 500 season ticket holders, and spaces are being sold on a match-to-match basis. Lower Grounds patronage is also growing, with over 600 fans using the facility versus Arsenal. FAB reply: The club stated the success behind TV and LG, with the average attendances sold. However, they could not confirm the maximum allocations of these areas and performance against that. 6. Ticket Office Opening Times When tickets go on sale at 5pm the ticket office is closed. The 5pm window was originally designed to encourage on-line sales and has been successfully operating for approx. 6 years. We always have staff monitoring sales windows and as recently demonstrated when there was a (worldwide) issue with the payment system, we were on hand to contact 3rd party providers. Phone Lines close between 1pm and 2pm when some fans might need to call during their lunch break. We have recently recruited an additional two staff in the call centre, so can review this policy. However, having half the staff available between 12pm and 2pm might not make it easier to get through (compared to having all staff take their break at the same time). FAB reply: The FAB is aware that the call centre (including home workers) is understaffed, and considering some of the waiting times frequently experienced by supporters, is not fit for purpose. 9. Aston Villa Crest The club confirmed the recently released AV 150 mark is not the new crest and will be used as a mark to help celebrate our 150th year. For example, it is likely to appear on the back of our shirts next season. The club outlined to the group thoughts on the previous consultation that resulted in the round crest, reasons why it was felt that a change was needed and confirmed results from the fans survey which have played the major role in creating our new crest. A video was shown to the group which outlined the results of this process and introduced the new crest. Discussion was held around the consultative process, and the club confirmed that the FA have been consulted throughout. The video highlighted that the Club had 16,000 responses to the 85,000 survey mailings with the suggested crest being designed as a result of those responses. 81% of respondents wanted the name of the Club in the crest whilst 85% wanted the European Cup commemorative star incorporated. The majority of respondents felt that the shield shape was preferable and within that the left facing lion rampant completed the responses. The Club presented a draft crest for discussion and whilst not universally popular neither was it universally unpopular. There were no suggested changes. Having now completed the detailed consultation process, the Club will look to announce the new crest in approximately two weeks from the meeting, and the crest will then be rolled out across the summer. FAB reply: Considering the FA’s new rules on fan consultation to protect club’s heritage assets like badges, we were not happy with the approach taken by those at the club pushing for the badge to be changed again. At the meeting (and in previous recent meetings), Chris Heck and Ben Hatton, at no stage actually asked for any suggested changes on the crest from the FAB. They didn’t even ask, if group members liked it. In fact, in previous meetings it had been stated that no feedback would change the badge that is presented, as it would be ‘left to the professionals’. This contradicts the statement made in the recent Chris Heck interview that the badge is now with fans for feedback before it’s unveiling. The FAB is not aware of this happening and stated this in the meeting. The FAB voiced it’s concern with the consultation on the badge, stating it specifically was not as extensive as for the previous new badge. The club identified that it has already spoken to the FA about the compliance of the consultation, as a precursor to showing the badge to the FAB. The FAB voiced it’s concern on the shape of the badge not being right for Villa. In essence, it’s an update on the current yellow lion shield. In the first survey for the badge, supporters clearly stated they were not happy with it, to quote the club, ‘given that only 19% of fans who filled out the survey claimed to like the current shield shape’. Also, a move from a yellow lion to a claret one was clearly stressed throughout the badge consultation process and embraced by the club. In a vote of 21,500 supporters only 8% of fans voted to keep this shield badge. Regardless of views on the current round badge on the shirts, it has a clear mandate from Aston Villa supporters with 77% of the vote the club. In that respect, the bare minimum of supporter consultation required to give any new badge a similar mandate, would be for it to face and top the round badge in a renewed supporter vote. It is not satisfactory for executives that have been at the club a matter of months, to create a badge that ‘they believe’ is what the majority of fans want, without getting supporter approval first, as per the new FA rules. The round badge this season also has the potential of being associated with a huge upturn in success for the club, unmatched by the period experienced by the previous variations of the recent yellow lion shield design. The initial mission of the club changing the club badge was to signal a new future for the club, and to break away from recent serial underachievement. 3 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted December 27, 2023 Share Posted December 27, 2023 The club's version of the meeting seemed pretty dismal, but it gets worse. Yikes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongo Waring Posted December 27, 2023 Share Posted December 27, 2023 I love the Villa Bowl idea I've always wondered why the stands never joint together. This is a wonderful idea. Saves money, saves time, saves losing out on revenue. Get in there Chris Heck 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sne Posted December 27, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 27, 2023 200 tickets on average not selling in nothing. Could likely sell those easily enough by addressing the issues in point #6 by fixing the ticket office opening times. Mainly thou it's likely down to people not bothering since they don't think there are any seats left. Don't buy that excuse at all tbh. The 30.000 waiting list or whatever feels exaggerated but I don't think it's zero either. Think it's cost and Heck wanting it his way that's the issue/reason. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Davkaus Posted December 27, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 27, 2023 2 minutes ago, sne said: 200 tickets on average not selling in nothing. Could likely sell those easily enough by addressing the issues in point #6 by fixing the ticket office opening times. Mainly thou it's likely down to people not bothering since they don't think there are any seats left. Indeed, you'd have to be an idiot to think that because we have the dregs of 200 seats scattered around, presumably in undesirable locations and single seats rather than grouped together, that if we added 5,000 decent seats with good facilities that we'd still have 5,200 seats unsold rather than, say, about 200. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted December 27, 2023 Author Moderator Share Posted December 27, 2023 31 minutes ago, Pongo Waring said: I love the Villa Bowl idea I've always wondered why the stands never joint together. This is a wonderful idea. Saves money, saves time, saves losing out on revenue. Get in there Chris Heck I know that's tongue in cheek, but I have a feeling in this case that 'the stadium bowl' means the existing seating arrangements and not a desire to remodel Villa Park into something that resembles a Leicester City style bowl stadium - Villa Park doesn't really have corners that we could do that with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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