Fans Advisory Board Meeting - 20th December

[sharkyvilla]

So the badge sounds like a shield with a yellow lion on it?  Ground-breaking stuff from Mr Heck.

[sharkyvilla]

11 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

I know that's tongue in cheeks, 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.

 

Could they put a small tier of seats where the boxes are in the North Stand similar to the bottom tier, then put loads of hospitality in the corners to fill the gaps?  Might add a couple of thousand seats to the stand.

[OutByEaster?]

4 minutes ago, sharkyvilla said:

Could they put a small tier of seats where the boxes are in the North Stand similar to the bottom tier, then put loads of hospitality in the corners to fill the gaps?  Might add a couple of thousand seats to the stand.

It's a bit of a mystery where extra seats would go - there's some talk in the Development thread on it.

[Stephen_Evans]

The mystery is why the owners are permitting their senior executives to show such arrogance to the fans’ representatives.  Worrying times off the field I think.

[tomav84]

the only reason VP has seats available for games is becuase they release unsold terrace view and lower grounds like a week before the game, when many cannot make such last minute plans to go. not to mention that those that list their seats for resale get released around that same time. the 'initial' allocation of seats at pretty much all PL games at VP sell out

[wishywashy]

54 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

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 present and discussed, as a result, the group have added some notes to those originally produced by the club as per the below:

 

 

 

Bodymoor Heath redevelopment?

[OutByEaster?]

Just now, wishywashy said:

Bodymoor Heath redevelopment?

I think the most likely thing at Bodymoor will be some accommodation so that people can stay overnight.

[WallisFrizz]

1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said:

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:

 

 

The FAB responses sound like they’re a pre curser to a formal complaint to the FA about the consultation process. Is that likely or is it more of a gripe at the club? In any case, I’d really like to see the new badge before anything further happens.

I agree with others that the 200 seats is a feeble excuse. European attendances (and atmospheres) have been quite poor but the PL attendances have been consistently excellent. The club have tried to force people towards hospitality options to secure tickets and people may have resisted that but any other tickets that haven’t sold will mostly be isolated seats, maybe those that have been returned by season ticket holders after the game has officially sold out. I’ve said before the club are useless at advertising these.

[Davkaus]

6 minutes ago, WallisFrizz said:

The FAB responses sound like they’re a pre curser to a formal complaint to the FA about the consultation process. Is that likely or is it more of a gripe at the club? In any case, I’d really like to see the new badge before anything further happens.

I'm glad to see the group showing some real displeasure. You can really see a gradual deterioration of the collaborative element of the meetings since the started, and for a good few months the vibe from the notes has been that the club summon some fans, tell them stuff, then shove their fingers in their ears when the fans say anything back. I've sometimes had the impression (perhaps unfairly) that the fan reps were perhaps a bit reluctant to rock the boat too much about not feeling heard. 

Bloody good response from them this time though. I appreciate what the owners are doing, but they shouldn't be dictators here, we'll be around long after they're gone (and certainly long after Heck gets chucked in the bin).

Edited December 27, 2023 by Davkaus

[WallisFrizz]

My only problem with challenging the change of badge (apart from the fact that I don’t like the round one) is that the initial consultation was so floored anyway and the options presented to us were both uninspiring.

[mikeyjavfc]

I’m sick of the badge stuff, just want them to pick and stick with a design. They can’t win really. Many people have said previously that the new round badge was too concerned with fan feedback and designed by committee, and therefore basically a rehash of the 1980s badge. Now the club are being accused of ignoring fans opinions and designing their own vision. Whilst the FAB are complaining about this, many have said in the past that this was the correct approach all along. So it’s basically impossible to please everyone and your views on the approach to the design and consultation probably boils down whether you like the end product or not.

[Hank Scorpio]

3 hours 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.

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.

Maybe a reason why some seats go unsold is the godawful website. I'm not computer illiterate but sometimes it's impossible to identify a free seat.

Utterly garbage.

[foreveryoung]

200 seats free??

I tried to get 6 tickets for the Sheffield game the day before ( my director said book on expenses :), none on Website, only literally about 20 random spread around, an when I went the ticket office next day 10am was told fully sold. So where are these secret 200 seats.

[wishywashy]

The FAB notes and added comments show how there is a significant issue regarding the club's current off-pitch communications. Weird and obfuscated communication is fostering a lot of completely unnecessary confusion and negativity that would frankly be easy to avoid by simply telling fans WHY they're doing what they're doing. First it was the kit launch and the crest, now it's the exact same problem with the stadium U-turn. The dialogue just isn't there.

So far we've had "we don't want to disrupt anything" as the public justification for canning the North Stand redevelopment, which anyone with half a brain could immediately tell is probably not a valid justification for why a major £100m+ project has been cancelled: sorry, "delayed". And I'm pretty sure we've just been left to our own devices to conjecture their reasoning for having yet another crest. There's evidently no desire to communicate to fans on either of these issues.

These FABs are a great opportunity for the club to give some explanation on why they're doing what they're doing. The fan representatives, fair play to them, are clearly doing everything in their power to get answers, but it really does feel like the current regime just doesn't want to talk, for reasons completely unknown.

I was really hoping that the poor comms with the crest stuff (and the farce that was Heck's first FAB meeting) was just teething problems with the huge structural overhaul at a director level. Dealing with these exact same problems with the North Stand plan change does not bode well at all.

Edited December 28, 2023 by wishywashy

[HanoiVillan]

Just to add that this 200 empty seats line is an absolute farce. Leftover tickets doesn't prove the demand isn't there. I literally didn't know about leftover tickets until two weeks ago, I bet there's many more like me.

Edited December 27, 2023 by HanoiVillan

[sidcow]

What the Heck is going on? 

[S-Platt]

1 hour ago, HanoiVillan said:

Just to add that this 200 empty seats line is an absolute farce. Leftover tickets doesn't prove the demand isn't there. I literally didn't know about leftover tickets until two weeks ago, I bet there's many more like me.

It's a refresh job on the website which is a ballache.

A better idea if the game is sold out and then they add season ticket returns is to register your interest on how many tickets you require.   I don't think that service exists it really should though.

[FLVillan]

I thought there was a massive waiting list for season tickets?  So, if true, how can a new stand not be logical?

[bcarpet]

The club clearly isn't listening to the FAB, I'd be tempted to boycott the next one.  Let the club and their representatives turn up at the correct time and location, then all the groups and websites put out a statement at the same time the meeting is due to start saying if the club won't listen, there is no point in them attending.

I really don't like Heck.

[icouldtelltheworld]

7 hours ago, FLVillan said:

I thought there was a massive waiting list for season tickets?  So, if true, how can a new stand not be logical?

They don't want the new seats to be filled by season ticket holders, they want daytrippers and tourists who will spend a lot more money per game attended.

Presumably as the LG and TV are not selling to capacity, they've decided not to expand until on pitch success makes us a more attractive day out for tourists.

**** modern football