Holte End to be renamed?

[dave.woodhall]

The fact is that changing the name of the stand will cause bitter disagreement between lots of fans, is it really worth upsetting so many loyal fans just to raise a few quid?

If you thought that you'd never do anything; in a few years deals like this will be the rule rather than the exception.

[PeterWithesShin]

If you take it to its limit, that is 4 stands and a ground name being sponsored. That could be a fair old chunk each season. Year after year it could well be the difference between being where we currently are and being top 8 or higher each year.
I still don't want The Holte changing though, not fussed about the other 3, especially Witton Lane. Potentially hypocritical/illogical but ho hum.

[ciggiesnbeer]

I hope they get a lot of money for it and they invest it in the squad.

[Mossie Hennebry]

Who would be a suitable sponsor? When I think of some of the shite that's been emblazoned across the shirts in recent years, DWS, Genting, etc. The last shirt I liked was the Nike Acorns. I haven't bought one since. Anyway, I digress. How about the Moro stand, etc. etc.

[bertlambshank]

The Holte and Witton Lane will get the most money because they can be seen from the A38.Proberly lucky if you got 500k a year each for renaming.
Not really worth all the hassle.

[Toronto Villa]

Do you really think they would go through the hassle for as little as that per year?

[pbavfckuwait]

As has been stated earlier, there is not one part of the ground that is the same Villa Park I first walked into, change happens and if the club can make commercial gain from those changes carry on. It is Villa Park to me and the Holte is the Holte end of.

[NottsVillan]

The fact is that changing the name of the stand will cause bitter disagreement between lots of fans, is it really worth upsetting so many loyal fans just to raise a few quid?

If you thought that you'd never do anything; in a few years deals like this will be the rule rather than the exception.

So the views of the fans mean nothing?

[Comrade Blitz]

So the views of the fans mean nothing?

Is the correct answer.

Welcome to the world of Mancunter Cunty........bums on seats are irrelevant.....shirts sold in Asia and sponsorships are what counts

[Neil Hawkes]

Let me get this straight.
The new CEO has identified we are not generating sufficient income for a club of our means that wishes to progress and compete with other clubs of similar stature. To this end he has identified that in order to achieve said greater revenue streams he needs to appoint a dedicated commercial director to ensure we get the best possible deal.
Therefore he's identified a problem and come up with a viable solution to fix it and some people are still complaining?
Sounds like he's doing the job he was appointed to do; if this is the first step in treating our current malaise there will no doubt be further steps once increased investment funds are coming our way.

[richardhubbard]

It's a stand that has seats that generates income , if by renaming it generates more incipient then fine by me .

[dekko]

Let me get this straight.
The new CEO has identified we are not generating sufficient income for a club of our means that wishes to progress and compete with other clubs of similar stature. To this end he has identified that in order to achieve said greater revenue streams he needs to appoint a dedicated commercial director to ensure we get the best possible deal.
Therefore he's identified a problem and come up with a viable solution to fix it and some people are still complaining?
Sounds like he's doing the job he was appointed to do; if this is the first step in treating our current malaise there will no doubt be further steps once increased investment funds are coming our way.

Yes because believe it or not some people do not agree that this is the right thing to do.  Theres an implication in your post that whatever decisions the club makes are the correct ones, and that we should just be quiet and let them get on with it (which is worrying).

They can sell the naming rights of the other three stands to North Korea, Blackwater and Tampax for all I care, I just wish they'd leave the Holte as it is.

[citizenDJ]

I think it is worth considering that in many ways what the fans in attendance continue to call whatever stand is not that important to whoever ends up sponsoring or renaming it. I think they're more bothered about what the place is called on TV to an audience of millions.

[PaulWinch again]

The thing is I don't mind, because the fans will always call it the same name. However how much money could it seriously raise?

[brian green]

The club has more pressing problems than raising income. Before any sum of money, great or small being generated those who run the club, and I for one consider the club not to have been run for the last four years, an ethos, an identity, a plan, a structure and a self belief has to be created at Villa Park. We have become like a surgeon attempting brain surgery through the soles of the patient's feet. Until we have an owner who wants the club not its asset value and that owner puts in place the creation of the qualities I have listed no amount of peripheral money will make any difference.
Unless there is change in the way we approach being Aston Villa the money will probably be frittered away and the despair of the fans deepened. It would be like putting better quality petrol in the tank of a 1980s Austin Allegro.