NSWE Investment

[PeterWithesShin]

VP will be left as it is for 2 years whatever we do. What the club should be doing is getting things in place so that when it is time to make a decision they already have plans in place.

[pauliewalnuts]

Yeah, West Ham have had loads of success.

Marginally more than what they were getting at Upton Park it seems.....

"West Ham: Newham council says the average attendance at West Ham was 42,779 based on the 12 games it attended - which is 12,530 fans fewer than the club's season average figure of 55,309."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45158878

Quoting tickets sold rather than physical bums on seats is nothing new.

Of course, we've done it in previous seasons.

Just disputing the narrative that 55k are rammed into West Ham every week and there's thousands more queuing round the block to watch Jack Wilshere do his knee ten minutes into the season. Reality at least according to that report is they're playing infront of 10k empty seats for over half their league fixtures.

On Man. City they've certainly had terrific support down the years. Didn't they have something crazy like 30k average when they were in division 2 in the late 90s?

Pretty sure their support was starting to decline a bit before the takeover. Remember talking to someone who went up to watch us get a rare win there. Might've been the game where Barton skied a penalty and he was saying there was row on row of empty blue seats and basically the ground was too big for Man. City.

I say leave VP as it is for next two years. If we're getting 40k + end of 2021 season and aren't far off qualifying for europe then decisions can be made then.

It would've been unthinkable in May 2010 to believe we'd be relegated within six years but it happened and could've easily in the three years before.

I'd rather have a stable base as competitive premier league club than just do it on the buzz of a promotion campaign.

Who cares if 8,000 of the people who buy tickets for their matches don't turn up, they are still shifting that many tickets, and therefore picking up the money for them - clubs have always quoted tickets sold.

Again, none of this is about us having got promoted and having a bit of a buzz, look around at what our peers are doing - we are not moving with the times, we are wedded to a ground which offers poor facilities and limited commercial income.

One of the repeated failings of this club is that we always seem to realise things too late, to fail to make the most of our potential. We've had flat commercial income during a 5-6 year period in our last years in the top flight, a period where the game became stupidly awash with money.

If we decide to look at a new ground now, it will be at least five years before we actually move anywhere. Look how long it took Spurs, and look how long it is currently taking Everton.

And again, the thing people are missing - it is absolutely not just about having more seats, it's about having a facility which is up to scratch for the modern game and through which we can maximise our income.

[paul_e]

I say leave VP as it is for next two years. If we're getting 40k + end of 2021 season and aren't far off qualifying for europe then decisions can be made then.

Not going to quote everything but this is exactly what 4-5 are saying and it seems to be being missed. If we get to that point with a proper plan of what we want to do, based on how those 2 seasons have gone then we're ready to implement it. If we sit on our hands and do fuck all whilst we wait to see if there's a demand then you have 2 more years of limbo before we can start work.

[Lastfootstamper]

Why build the North Stand when our attendances were in the 20s?

We didn't. We we averaging almost 40,000 and it replaced an open terrace untouched for eighty years.

Briefly before it opened, maybe one season. Otherwise, 3rd division promotion season aside, we'd been a long time in the attendance doldrums.

We'd had an average of getting on for forty thousand for over two seasons. Our crowds were holding up, the terrace it replaced was antiquated and most importantly, we had the money.

I think we're not arguing with each other here. My point was a dig at those seemingly insistent on us selling out every game for five years before thinking about doing something, as opposed to seizing the moment of alignment of momentum, progressive manager and goddam exciting side to jolt Aston Villa into action, like we did with 74-77.

[Ad@m]

VP will be left as it is for 2 years whatever we do. What the club should be doing is getting things in place so that when it is time to make a decision they already have plans in place.

I have absolutely no doubt that's exactly what the club have done or are doing.  We had planning permission in place for years to redevelop the North Stand - it may still be in place - but we never actually did anything with it so planning ahead for this kind of thing is fairly standard.

[dave.woodhall]

The North Stand was more down to having to do something about part of the ground that was an embarrassment and finally having the funds available - after all, it dropped the ground capacity by about seven thousand.

[Lastfootstamper]

The North Stand was more down to having to do something about part of the ground that was an embarrassment and finally having the funds available - after all, it dropped the ground capacity by about seven thousand.

Up until the hyphen, isn't that also where we're at now?

[dave.woodhall]

There isn't a part of the current ground that's as bad as the old Witton End was. Some are a bit shabby but you'll never catch your death in them.

[tony scott]

Now Dave standing on that hill, was a thing of wonder.

[Hillbilly]

About the London clubs, the population of London has grown by 2 million in 20 years. Birmingham has stood still.

[mr underhill]

does anyone have a handle on how much these two guys have put into the club since last July? Whatever the figure it's an amazing commitment.

[The Edge]

About the London clubs, the population of London has grown by 2 million in 20 years. Birmingham has stood still.

Birminghams population is growing faster than any city outside London. It has the youngest demographic population in Europe. The Birmingham metropolitan area now stands at 3.7 million and growing. The numbers are there for us to attract bigger crowds. Its going to come down to success on the pitch and appealing to the populous to follow their local club. Other traditionally smaller clubs have managed it. Theres no reason why we can't look at attracting crowds much larger than we currently do.

[Mister E]

Birminghams population is growing faster than any city outside London. It has the youngest demographic population in Europe. The Birmingham metropolitan area now stands at 3.7 million and growing. The numbers are there for us to attract bigger crowds. Its going to come down to success on the pitch and appealing to the populous to follow their local club. Other traditionally smaller clubs have managed it. Theres no reason why we can't look at attracting crowds much larger than we currently do.

Which is why action will get taken in a couple of seasons' time, when we've consolidated on the pitch, have a vibrant academy and a global status that currently evades us.
I was just speaking with an Egyptian client who said that whilst Villa have more connection to his country, everyone stops on a Saturday to watch Mo Salah's Liverpool. The point is: we need to get beyond next season before really pushing the expansion plans out.
Re location: I'd advocate exploring all of the possible options for the current site before contemplating a location-move. But that is for far better-qualified people than me.

[dave shelley]

There isn't a part of the current ground that's as bad as the old Witton End was. Some are a bit shabby but you'll never catch your death in them.

I just loved the old Witton End.  Many a drenching I got down there, I used to get upset in latter years when I had to relocate.  Who can forget floating on spilled tea and Bovril in the only refreshment outlet down there?  The steam that used to emanate from there in winter.  The buildings around there tied-in with the original Victorian plan IIRC. I remember when the North Stand was built, for a short while you could still stand at the front.

I think my love of the Witton goes right back to the days when I was a five-year-old and had more interest in digging in the mud and shale at the top than the football.  Who can ever forget the suicidal charges over the top and down the bank at the end of the game to try and beat the rush?  Happy days, I still see them now in my mind's eye.

[Border villan]

There isn't a part of the current ground that's as bad as the old Witton End was. Some are a bit shabby but you'll never catch your death in them.

I just loved the old Witton End.  Many a drenching I got down there, I used to get upset in latter years when I had to relocate.  Who can forget floating on spilled tea and Bovril in the only refreshment outlet down there?  The steam that used to emanate from there in winter.  The buildings around there tied-in with the original Victorian plan IIRC. I remember when the North Stand was built, for a short while you could still stand at the front.

I think my love of the Witton goes right back to the days when I was a five-year-old and had more interest in digging in the mud and shale at the top than the football.  Who can ever forget the suicidal charges over the top and down the bank at the end of the game to try and beat the rush?  Happy days, I still see them now in my mind's eye.

Some have said that a temporary move to Alexander Stadium would not be possible as many of the 40,000 seats are “open to the elements”. For those of us who have served their time as Witton Warriors on the mud bank this will hold no fear.
A winter afternoon on the old Holte End before it had a roof was also invigorating and character forming.