Holte End to be renamed?

[MarkM]

The problem is that we are all in the dark on the objectives that the owner has in the short term (long term he wants out)

Would the money be spend on improving the team or simply put straight into the pockets of the players we have now?

Does RL want to bring down his debt so would use any money raised to pay himself back prior to his exit?

Is this just a first step to the renaming of Villa Park? (which would be the biggest money earning option)

Do we as a club want to be part of this kind of money raising business model? We are already most of the way down this road with pretty much everything up for sponsorship of some kind.

For me, Villa Park is not the ground that I first came to back in the late 70's most of it is gone and replaced, and to be fair the facilities that we have now are far better than in the past so I have no issues with the functionality of the stands even if much of the heart and soul was ripped out.

Should we throw open the door to stand sponsorship? I would say that as long as we are aware of the potential final destination (the Bet365 Stadium) and we are happy to accept this in exchange for a better performing club / team then we should do it.

If however we want to keep tradition and are happy to be mid table with a cup run every so often (which is arguably where we are now) then we should kindly decline and be content to be where we are

[UK Redsox]

"Microsoft* Stadium at Villa Park" would work for me

(*- other operating systems are available)

[Chico Hamilton III]

Should we throw open the door to stand sponsorship? I would say that as long as we are aware of the potential final destination (the Bet365 Stadium) and we are happy to accept this in exchange for a better performing club / team then we should do it.

If however we want to keep tradition and are happy to be mid table with a cup run every so often (which is arguably where we are now) then we should kindly decline and be content to be where we are

But there are teams who are successful who haven't sold their ground's name to sponsors. You make it sound as if the only way we can sniff success is if we sell the naming rights.

[Chris Smith]

"Microsoft* Stadium at Villa Park" would work for me

(*- other operating systems are available)

iVilla Park.

[pauliewalnuts]

Should we throw open the door to stand sponsorship? I would say that as long as we are aware of the potential final destination (the Bet365 Stadium) and we are happy to accept this in exchange for a better performing club / team then we should do it.

If however we want to keep tradition and are happy to be mid table with a cup run every so often (which is arguably where we are now) then we should kindly decline and be content to be where we are

But there are teams who are successful who haven't sold their ground's name to sponsors. You make it sound as if the only way we can sniff success is if we sell the naming rights.

How much money do we think we'd actually make from naming rights to stands or the ground?

A few million?

I can't see it being anywhere near enough to make the difference between competing and not competing.

It is interesting that pretty much everyone on this thread has said "it'll still be Villa Park to me", and I am sure it will, for all of us.

Which is exactly why naming rights for one of the most established, well known and used grounds in the country are not going to be worth much money.

The thing that worries me about this whole subject isn't so much the idea that it might happen, it is the idea that Randy really thinks it'll earn decent money. If that's the case, then he's going to be disappointed, I reckon.

[class-of-82]

can't believe that people can slag off sky for the greed and the blinkered bias towards the so called big clubs, the moving to whatever time and day the games they want because they are sky and we can do what ever we fooking well want then come on here and say but it would be ok to rename the Holte end its going to happen and we will forget about it in a few years time.
The two go hand in hand money money and more money to waste
imagine telling a cardill fan that in 5 years time you will be playing in red
Same with a hull fan city or tigers?
We are the villa and we play in claret and blue and villa park is in aston but in 10 years time ?
But it's ok because one day it's going to happen Don't matter about bit of a glorious club being changed does it

[peter w]

So it changes name every x years, the point is the same, over time people will stop calling it what it used to be. It doesn't matter if the name on it is commercial or not. A generation never knew it as the Witton Lane Stand so they don't call it that. If this sponsorship stuff happens then a generation will grow up never knowing it as The Holte End. Which is why i'm against it, but i'm not going to pretend that over time the new name won't be used more and more.

And how much value does this naming right have for whoever decides that their name rather than the Holte End will be the first new name? Not enough to make a difference in the grand scheme, is my bet.

Which begs the question (again), what's the point of doing it in the first place? Especially against the backdrop of the considerable amount of TV money coming in to the club.

It's free money, why would anyone turn it down?

How could it possibly, under any criteria, be called free money?

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

No thank you.

[Dave Cooper please]

can't believe that people can slag off sky for the greed and the blinkered bias towards the so called big clubs, the moving to whatever time and day the games they want because they are sky and we can do what ever we fooking well want then come on here and say but it would be ok to rename the Holte end its going to happen and we will forget about it in a few years time.

But all of these things have happened anyway with barely a whimper from the fans. We complain about fixtures being moved but we buy the tickets anyway and take the hit on wasted train fares etc. Cardiff fans did much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the colour change but they now play in red in front of full houses anyway.
 In the grand scheme of our beloved game being sold out to the highest bidders, the sponsoring of a stand that we will all still call The Holte End anyway is a mere blip and not one I'm going to get too worked up about.
 

[Holte L2]

No not for me.  We're Aston Villa.  Not some tin pot club with a flat-pack ground.  I'd be bitterly disappointed to see any form of naming rights appear on any of our stands. 

[bruisedshins]

No not for me.  We're Aston Villa.  Not some tin pot club with a flat-pack ground.  I'd be bitterly disappointed to see any form of naming rights appear on any of our stands.

This. For a couple of million quid (or one Joe Bennett in real terms) i wouldn't want any of the stands renamed. It's not going to make a difference to the quality of the side it's just money to pay inflated wages of existing players and senior management who don't give a toss what the stands are called. The idea of memories being formed of goals being scored at the Bet 365 end or a full house under floodlights at the BAE Stadium is bullshit. It's just cheap advertising for a company and all the stands at Villa are more than just billboards for companies.

If they did have the temerity to rename the Holte End i wouldn't buy another ticket.

[Dave Cooper please]

If they did have the temerity to rename the Holte End i wouldn't buy another ticket.

You've taken all the bullshit, sky high prices and commercialism thrown at us over the years but the final straw is the renaming of a stand that you will no doubt still call The Holte anyway?

[paul_e]

Should we throw open the door to stand sponsorship? I would say that as long as we are aware of the potential final destination (the Bet365 Stadium) and we are happy to accept this in exchange for a better performing club / team then we should do it.

If however we want to keep tradition and are happy to be mid table with a cup run every so often (which is arguably where we are now) then we should kindly decline and be content to be where we are

But there are teams who are successful who haven't sold their ground's name to sponsors. You make it sound as if the only way we can sniff success is if we sell the naming rights.

Who?

(in England)
Man City are basically an advert for Abu Dhabi
Chelsea are the toy of a russian profiteer
Man U have sold out pretty much everything - http://www.manutd.com/en/Club/Sponsors.aspx (I apologise but it's relevant)
Liverpool you may have a point but given they've just started work on a new stand that is being almost fully funded by FSG I'd be amazed if there isn't something in the contract for it regarding naming
Arsenal play at the emirates stadium
Beyond those you get to tottenham and Everton who, whilst ahead currently, are in a similar position to us and with similar requirements to increase commercial revenue to compete.

Abroad
Barce and Real don't really count, both are largely funded by the local government as an obscene example of civic pride, that said Barce are slowly selling themselves to Qatar anyway.
Bayern are practically a franchise.
Dortmund are held up as a perfect example but they sold the ground naming rights 9 years ago in a 16 year deal so don't apply to your argument.
PSG are owned by Qatar
The Italian league isn't massively flushed with corporate/oil money but only 2 teams in the league (Juventus and Sassuolo) actually own their ground and Juventus has a shopping centre attached to it anyway.

As for the value which has been mentioned how much does it need to be for us to consider it significant?  The last round of accounts had our turnover at around £84m so £1m per stand on average is a 5% increase in turnover, that's worth investigating at the very least.

[PeterWithesShin]

If they did have the temerity to rename the Holte End i wouldn't buy another ticket.

You've taken all the bullshit, sky high prices and commercialism thrown at us over the years but the final straw is the renaming of a stand that you will no doubt still call The Holte anyway?

This isn't aimed at bruisedshins, but in reality, the majority of football fans are hypocrites. How many slate Sky for ruining the game etc, but still pay their monthly subscription to Sky as an example?

[Holte L2]

If they did have the temerity to rename the Holte End i wouldn't buy another ticket.

You've taken all the bullshit, sky high prices and commercialism thrown at us over the years but the final straw is the renaming of a stand that you will no doubt still call The Holte anyway?

This isn't aimed at bruisedshins, but in reality, the majority of football fans are hypocrites. How many slate Sky for ruining the game etc, but still pay their monthly subscription to Sky as an example?

I won't Give Murdoch a penny. I'd rather my £40 subscription or whatever it is go towards my away day funds. I'll stream any football via the Internet for free,albeit illegally instead.