NSWE Investment

[Rory]

Wonder if we'll ever find out who really owned us.

I still reckon it was Beijing Red for Life.

With the ghost of Booby Charlton as a silent partner.

[FatSam]

What about adapting it as a sitting on laps stand? Could double capacity that way.

Alright, thanks for that Antoine de Caunes…

[FatSam]

I always think with the Witton Lane ,  could they make it more cantilevered not necessarily higher to gain more space over the road ?

Any increase in the height/ depth of the stand will inevitably impact the properties to the north in terms of daylight/ sunlight. Some impact might be considered acceptable, in which case a marginal increase in height/ depth might be possible - but probably wouldn’t justify the expense of rebuilding the stand.

[FatSam]

But my point is that it could probably be done without much impact on the neighbouring houses, in terms of loss of light or overshadowing. To do it I reckon we’d have to knock the whole thing down and start again. I think when the Witton lane was expanded they left the original bottom tier in place.

Wasn't there a reason for that, though? Seem to remember my dad saying it was listed or something like that.

Ellis was doing it on the cheap.

Ah, that makes sense. Can remember at the time it was built him boasting about how Villa were the only club to have built their own stand, then going in there when it was newly opened and thinking "yeah, you can tell ..."

Was a kitchen porter for a bit at Villa, hated working in the Doug Ellis stand. The drain holes are raised above the level of the rest of the kitchen floor, so was a nightmare whenever the floor got wet ... for example, when you deep cleaned it every week ... cos you'd spend seemingly hours trying to push puddles of water uphill with a mop.

Yes, Ellis was very proud of the fact that the redevelopment was delivered by an in-house construction manger. Basically this means that he was able to save a main contractor’s profit and overheads from the cost, and very clearly demonstrates where his priorities lay. I would imagine that the build had to be kept quite simple to be delivered this way, which would explain the unambitious design.

[dave.woodhall]

The ground redevelopment summed up Villa in the nineties. Take the cheap option wherever possible and make sure that the finished product looked a bit better than what it replaced. 

[FatSam]

Thinking back to 1993 (or presumably 1992) when the Witton Lane rebuild was conceived, there was obviously a scramble to comply with the Taylor Report, and the Premier League was only just starting out. Bringing the stand up to a 10k all-seater capacity probably felt like a pretty good outcome at the time, with only Leeds having a significantly larger side stand. It’s the lack of a long term plan though, as Dave intimated earlier, which is regrettable. Certainly no attention to what makes Villa Park special, and how to reinforce it.

[AV82EC]

Thinking back to 1993 (or presumably 1992) when the Witton Lane rebuild was conceived, there was obviously a scramble to comply with the Taylor Report, and the Premier League was only just starting out. Bringing the stand up to a 10k all-seater capacity probably felt like a pretty good outcome at the time, with only Leeds having a significantly larger side stand. It’s the lack of a long term plan though, as Dave intimated earlier, which is regrettable. Certainly no attention to what makes Villa Park special, and how to reinforce it.

The only thing going for Doug in that time was the limited time available for the govt grants to help with conversion to all seater from recollection. However as Dave said it was always the lowest cost cheap option with little thought beyond whats ok for now.

[Villan82]

I hate to be negative but is there a chance, with the unprofessional way our first team downed tools and gave up on 1/3 of this season, that the demand for tickets won't be the same next year?

I think we could be walking into a bit of a catch-22 here. I am so angry with the way the season petered out. It is shameful.

[Rico]

I hope that when the redevelopment of Villa Park is complete that we are left with a truly world class stadium, something even a bit "bat shit crazy," not just another run of the mill stadium.

For me, I would do it in three phases:

Phase 1: New North Stand. Make it gigantic single tier stand that holds at least 20k.

Phase 2: New Holte End. Again,  make it a gigantic single tier stand.  I know it probably would be smaller in terms of capacity than the new North Stand because of the way the two roads hem it in, but it would be superb to have a giant stand at each end of the ground.

Phase 3: New DE Stand. I would make this the corporate hub of the ground. Keep the bottom tier as it is, maybe increase the leg room between the aisles and improve the communal areas underneath the stand, but I would replace the top tier with row upon row of executive boxes like the ones that they have in the corner of the Holte/Trinity.

Oh and AV floodlights of course, and no corrugated metal sheeting anywhere other than on the roof.

Like I say, a bit crazy, but definitely unique.

[Villan82]

The current Holte is my favourite stand in world football, wouldn't want it replaced.

[N'ZMAV]

is safe standing happening as part of this redevelopment?

[ChicagoLion]

Rico.Executive boxes is not where the money is and is not efficient on a £per sq foot measurement.
It will be executive seating and corporate hospitality areas.

[AV82EC]

The current Holte is my favourite stand in world football, wouldn't want it replaced.

Completely ruined being two tier and the lower rake is far too shallow. It needs to be knocked down and made single tier with safe standing top to bottom. I'd agree the facade at the back of it is superb and the mural is a thing of wondrous beauty but the Holte Suite and Lower concourse is pitifully small considering the space available. Also get rid of the car park and create a fan park.   

[Pete3206]

I hate to be negative but is there a chance, with the unprofessional way our first team downed tools and gave up on 1/3 of this season, that the demand for tickets won't be the same next year?

I think we could be walking into a bit of a catch-22 here. I am so angry with the way the season petered out. It is shameful.

I think you're onto something there. After all, it's not that long ago that the Trinity top tier wasn't even open.

[Rico]

Good point about the executive boxes. Problem is that takes us back to the initial problem with the DE Stand of limited space. Maybe if we can increase the capacity in other areas of the ground we could decrease the capacity in that stand to make it a more enjoyable experience from a supporters point of view,  but still redevelop it so that it is fit for the 21st century.