Popular Post OutByEaster? Posted February 29 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted February 29 There's was a meeting of the Fan Board and the club last night, unfortunately I was unable to attend on behalf of VT, but notes on the meeting are below: Quote Club representatives Ben Hatton Chief Operating Officer Tommy Jordan Communications Director Lee Preece Supporter Liaison Manager Agenda items and comments provided by Fan Representatives are shown in normal text. Club agenda items or responses are shown in blue italics. Crest Given the requirement to consult on heritage assets, the FAB reminding the Club of the FA rules regarding changes to the crest, why did the Club not follow its own Fan Engagement Plan? The Club has been in extensive discussions with the FA since beginning the process to review the Club Crest. At no stage during those discussions has the FA informed the Club that it is in breach of the Heritage Asset rules. Following the Club’s stated discussions with the FA, what was the outcome and the plans to announce the new crest? The Club will follow the FA’s outlined process requiring the registration of the Club Crest and will roll out its usage thereafter. Accessible Seating The Club does not meet the Accessible Stadia guide for wheelchair spaces and is somewhat short of the 214 recommended wheelchair bays. It previously shelved plans to remove rows within Lower North for accessible seating and more recently stated that the redevelopment of the new North Stand would improve disabled facilities. How is the Club planning to improve facilities, given it is in breach of the national guidelines? When will it meet its commitment to the Accessible Stadia Guide? The club are currently undertaking a detailed technical study on seating bowl optimisation including integrating compliant accessible standards in line with the Accessible Stadia Guide, Green guide and a peer review of these plans conducted by Level Playing Field. We are at the mid-point of this study and will have a confirmed strategy by early April. The Club would like to engage with AVDSA following the Level playing field peer review. Financial Fair Play This season, the Club announced a new management structure with a Sporting Director and a President of Business Operations. Who has ultimate accountability for FFP decisions under the new structure? The Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules set out a process requiring the reporting on an annual basis of each member Club’s financial status. There is no such thing as “FFP decisions”. The Club carries on its business in the ordinary course and reports as required under the aforementioned rules. The reporting structure the Club has implemented sees the President of Football Operations reporting directly to ownership on football related matters and the President of Business Operations reporting directly to ownership on business related matters. Fans should note that we have changed our financial reporting year to conclude at the end of June. This is simply to align with other contractual commitments such as players contracts etc. Betting Sponsorship Growing concerns over the potential harm caused by betting have resulted in Government intervention in some European countries. If the Club qualifies for Europe next season and still has a front-of-shirt gambling sponsor, how will it navigate the rules? We will follow the same process as has been followed this year. Where it is not possible to show the name of the Club’s principal partner on the front of the playing strip, alternative arrangements will be made. Ticket Pricing 2024 / 2025 Supporters have experienced above-inflation double-digit price increases across the last two seasons sandwiched between a cost-of-living crisis. The FAB calls for the Club to commit to keeping prices affordable and share its plans for 2024/25 as part of a meaningful consultation process and with greater transparency. It was agreed with FAB Representatives that we will use the next Informal FAB meeting scheduled for Wednesday 20th March to consult on this issue in detail. Ticket Re-sale Reportedly, when purchasing resale tickets for the Nottingham Forest game, these were only available at an adult price; no concession options were available. If eligible seats, ordinarily on sale, can be purchased at concession prices, why does this not apply to resale seats? Any seats made available for resale by the club are only sold at adult price, as per the terms and conditions of resale which can be found on the website. This has been the case since we introduced the ticket resale functionality in the 19/20 Season. If we allow for concessions to be sold, we could refund more to an adult season ticket holder than the price paid by a concession. Seating 2024 / 2025 What stadium changes is the Club planning for next season, including changes to the “seating bowl” and further introduction of general admission plus? When will it start consulting with impacted season ticket holders concerning these changes? As per question 2, the technical seating bowl optimisation study on additional seats will be completed by the end of March. At which point the club will be able to communicate any proposed changes / additions and alterations and any impact to existing season ticket holders. In addition, the Club is reviewing the current seating mix in order to ensure that going forwards we have the right balance of GA, GA+ and Hospitality seating. Inevitably this will result in a greater allocation of GA+ and Hospitality seating than we currently have. Changing this mix is an essential part of ensuring we can keep season ticket prices as affordable as possible. 150th What plans is the 150th Anniversary Board proposing, and how can supporters get involved in the commemorations? We have had the first introductory meeting of the 150th Anniversary Board. It is our intention to hold monthly meetings and to communicate any resulting plans with the entire fanbase. It is also our intention that as many of our fans as possible are able to be involved in commemorating this momentous anniversary, so all ideas are welcomed. It was suggested that part of our celebrations should involve the City of Birmingham, specifically events with museums, the arts etc. AOB Club Shop The club shop housed at the Villa Village will be overhauled in the summer to greatly increase product availability and footfall, particularly on matchday. Holte Pub The Holte Pub has been subject to a major face-lift and additional provision (a second bar has been added upstairs). The facility remains free for season ticket holders and lions club members on a first come first served basis, opening three hours prior to each kick-off. Family Fun Zone / Academy Warehouse Work will begin on the Academy building in the summer and will take approximately 12 months for the new facility to complete. Once completed, it is intended that the new facility will continue to be free for fans to access on matchday. The club is contemplating moving the family fun activities to the new Inner-City Academy. Trinity Road Fan Zone It was noted that the Portaloo’s in the area are not accessible. The Club will take this away and see what we can do. Next meeting Wednesday 20th March (see item 5). 3 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody1000 Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Much appreciated @OutByEaster?. Thank you! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nepal_villan Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Re: Holte Pub. How do they check if someone is a Lions Club member? I've never received any type of membership card or number even though I have bought tickets via the Lions Club, so I presume I am a member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 It is ridiculous that the club even wants to overhaul the club shop. It is not big enough nor fit for purpose. We were supposed to have a new one at first in the Villa Live venue, and then the new north stand. I fail to see how capacity can even be remotely increased following this seating bowl configuration. This will lead quite rightly to more disabled seating, and wrongly more corporate stuff. At this rate we will be going more towards 40,000 rather than 50,000. This looks like a perfunctory meeting which they are obliged to do, rather than anything constructive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted February 29 Author Moderator Share Posted February 29 20 minutes ago, nepal_villan said: Re: Holte Pub. How do they check if someone is a Lions Club member? I've never received any type of membership card or number even though I have bought tickets via the Lions Club, so I presume I am a member. That's a good question. I'll find out, or if someone who knows could answer that'd be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Hank Scorpio Posted February 29 Popular Post Share Posted February 29 So... We are doing what we want anyway. Bye. What's the point of these if all the decisions have been made beforehand? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 29 VT Supporter Share Posted February 29 (edited) So more "plus" seating on the way. I take it this means they have confidence in selling them. Edited February 29 by sidcow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enda Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 22 minutes ago, nepal_villan said: Re: Holte Pub. How do they check if someone is a Lions Club member? I've never received any type of membership card or number even though I have bought tickets via the Lions Club, so I presume I am a member. It was a number of years ago but when I went as part of the Irish Lions, I was given a little card that I handed back to the chairman upon entry. The Irish Lions had something like 5 cards for members. Any other time I’ve been to VP, I just bought a ticket under my club account. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted February 29 Author Moderator Share Posted February 29 3 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: It is ridiculous that the club even wants to overhaul the club shop. It is not big enough nor fit for purpose. We were supposed to have a new one at first in the Villa Live venue, and then the new north stand. I think what they are going to do is take the ticket office that's next to the shop and make that part of the store - matchday ticket offices are dead now, no one is buying tickets on matchday and the space is underused - by adding it to the shop, they'll add half again to its size and hopefully give themselves a little bit more room. On matchdays, the shop makes a fortune and I'm sure there's potential for more with more space. 5 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: I fail to see how capacity can even be remotely increased following this seating bowl configuration. This will lead quite rightly to more disabled seating, and wrongly more corporate stuff. At this rate we will be going more towards 40,000 rather than 50,000.. It's interesting, the 'inevitability' of more GA+ seats and hospitality, and the seating which will be lost as we become compliant with the regulations on disabled seating will probably mean that as the club add a couple of thousand spaces over the next two or three years, we won't actually see any increase (and perhaps a decrease) in the amount of seats available to the average matchday supporter. I'd also note that they've added a thousand GA+ seats over the summer and my season ticket went up a fair bit - I'm not sure we've seen the correlation yet between more hospitality and lower season ticket prices. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted February 29 Author Moderator Share Posted February 29 Sadly, I think this bit might be a bit difficult as part of the 150th celebrations: Quote It was suggested that part of our celebrations should involve the City of Birmingham, specifically events with museums, the arts etc. None of those organisations have got a pot to piss in and half of them will be closed down by the time we start celebrating. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 “As per question 2, the technical seating bowl optimisation study on additional seats will be completed by the end of March” Lets hope this isn’t making current seats slightly smaller, so they fit extra people in per row Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishywashy Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 (edited) Quote In addition, the Club is reviewing the current seating mix in order to ensure that going forwards we have the right balance of GA, GA+ and Hospitality seating. Inevitably this will result in a greater allocation of GA+ and Hospitality seating than we currently have. Changing this mix is an essential part of ensuring we can keep season ticket prices as affordable as possible. So the club won't be tacking on more 15% increases to season ticket prices, after they've converted more seats to GA+? Their season ticket price policy revolves around being affordable? Don't think we should hold our breath on that one. It's barely been a few months since they went around proudly proclaiming that their season tickets were benchmarked to be top eight price-wise. I imagine they'll try to sell another increase in the summer by saying that now we're a top six club, the prices have to reflect that... Edited February 29 by wishywashy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 7 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said: It's interesting, the 'inevitability' of more GA+ seats and hospitality, and the seating which will be lost as we become compliant with the regulations on disabled seating will probably mean that as the club add a couple of thousand spaces over the next two or three years, we won't actually see any increase (and perhaps a decrease) in the amount of seats available to the average matchday supporter. I'd also note that they've added a thousand GA+ seats over the summer and my season ticket went up a fair bit - I'm not sure we've seen the correlation yet between more hospitality and lower season ticket prices. You must be joking- there is no way our season ticket prices will be going down any time. With all of this work if capacity is lowered, that will result in more demand so they can put the prices up again. Heck talk of 45,000 is flimsy at best. No evidence at all on this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Risso Posted February 29 Popular Post Share Posted February 29 This is a right arsehole's response: "The Club has been in extensive discussions with the FA since beginning the process to review the Club Crest. At no stage during those discussions has the FA informed the Club that it is in breach of the Heritage Asset rules. Following the Club’s stated discussions with the FA, what was the outcome and the plans to announce the new crest? The Club will follow the FA’s outlined process requiring the registration of the Club Crest and will roll out its usage thereafter." Have the FA bothered to check with the Villa fans if they think that the Heritage Assets rules have been followed? Because we're about to end up with a badge that 99% of people think is shit. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Risso Posted February 29 Popular Post Share Posted February 29 And this, set of wazzocks: "Who has ultimate accountability for FFP decisions under the new structure? The Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules set out a process requiring the reporting on an annual basis of each member Club’s financial status. There is no such thing as “FFP decisions”. The Club carries on its business in the ordinary course and reports as required under the aforementioned rules." There is no such thing as FFP decisions. Oh yes there f***ing well are, decisions that if taken, will impact on FFP. You know, like buying and selling players, salary level etc. Stop trying to be clever and just answer the f***ing question, you know full well what was meant! 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 21 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said: I'm not sure we've seen the correlation yet between more hospitality and lower season ticket prices. There's no such thing as lower season ticket prices in reality. Between inflation and trying to increase matchday revenue season tickets are only going to go up in price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Davkaus Posted February 29 Popular Post Share Posted February 29 It's a shame @OutByEaster? couldn't make this one because I'd love to know what the tone felt like in the meeting and how much of it was the FAB talking and the club listening. Those notes make it sound like the meeting could have been the club sending an email from a "donotreply" address. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted February 29 Author Moderator Share Posted February 29 7 minutes ago, Davkaus said: It's a shame @OutByEaster? couldn't make this one because I'd love to know what the tone felt like in the meeting and how much of it was the FAB talking and the club listening. Those notes make it sound like the meeting could have been the club sending an email from a "donotreply" address. Oddly, although the notes don't give that impression in so far as I can tell - those at the meeting reported it as being conducted in quite a positive way and with a pretty open approach. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishywashy Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 (edited) I'm loving the response to the question as to who in this new structure is ultimately responsible for ensuring Villa don't breach financial regulations, where they a) answer that FFP isn't real, it's actually PSR (okay?) and b) that the President of Football is responsible for Football and the President of Business is responsible for Business. Edited February 29 by wishywashy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osirus Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 That Ben Hatton comes across as a right smarmy prick Never really liked the clubs tone in these meetings, although it can be hard to judge it from the limited responses 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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