NSWE Investment

[AV82EC]

I don’t think Sawiris and Edens would even think one minute about sharing with that lot. They’ve bought in Altairos by the looks of it to really reassess the previous plan and maybe think about alternatives potentially including a new site and Altairos not to look a gift horse in the mouth have bought into V Sports which gives them a small foothold at the start point of V Sports journey which let’s not forget is a global opportunity in England/Portugal/Japan/Eygpt and maybe eventually the US.

 I fully expect a well thought through and optioned proposal to be bought forward once all the requisite thinking has been done, and not for Edens/Sawiris to be gobbing off to the media about pie in the sky nonsense which at the moment looks like a fucking pipe dream. To be quite honest if Blues do end up with some superdome etc etc then fair play but I just can’t see it coming to fruition.

[Ads]

Absolutely! We're where we are in 1992 all over again, not realising what we need to do to compete, thinking the here and now will be sustainable, while Edwards at Man United saw what the Premier League was and would be. If you're not with Risso and me, you're Doug Ellis in 1992, you'll be the reason we watch other clubs lift silverware on TV as we have done for 30 years.

The best part of going to the Villa for me, is doing it with my Cheshire born 8 year old. Who talks my head off about the Villa, in love with a club and a city he's not from. That relationship works just as well in the best stadium in the country, with more silverware and the best in Europe getting done.

[Olneythelonely]

The transport issues will NOT be sorted. There’s no way of sorting in at least the next decade, if at all. New stations won’t do a thing to solve the real issue.

I’ve always been against moving. I have fond memories of having my first season ticket in 1992. Going to the games on my own as a 12 year old felt like a pilgrimage. Now it feels like an absolute chore. I start thinking about the difficulty of getting away from the ground at about 70 minutes. All despite seeing (probably) the best football in my lifetime.

I’m hugely sentimental but I’m now of the opinion we need to move to something purpose built. I definitely don’t give a shit about impressing opposition fans with our “old traditional ground”. I do get why people feel differently though.

[dave.woodhall]

A lot of the reason why away supporters love Villa Park is because we spent a decade and more giving them three points as a going-away present. A couple of seasons losing here and they'll change their minds

[Risso]

A lot of the reason why away supporters love Villa Park is because we spent a decade and more giving them three points as a going-away present. A couple of seasons losing here and they'll change their minds

Absolutely. Alex Ferguson absolutely bloody loved us, but then he would, as we always rolled over and had our tummies tickled.

[Sexual Ealing]

This shit area thing is really bizarre. Which football grounds are in what anyone would deem to be nice?

There's no need to be in a different place, we're in the perfect spot for access, albeit with a few amendments. Better train stations, shuttle bus, one way system for those in a car.

Rebuild? Perhaps, but it would inevitably mean a soulless bowl, like all the others are.

We could invest in the area, and make a huge difference, and increase capacity too.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they would rebuild Villa Park, there are a variety of options, including reconfiguring the layout, taking some of the park, whilst giving some land back.

Moving is a risky business and we already know there are no obvious sites around the city.

Yes, keep it in Aston. Afterall, we are called 'Aston' Villa.

Don't fancy beeing called Bell End Villa or Cock Hill Villa or something like that.

One hand up here for changing the name to Bell End Villa. And for Cock Hill Villa. Are we using the single transferrable vote?

[saunders_heroes]

Absolutely! We're where we are in 1992 all over again, not realising what we need to do to compete, thinking the here and now will be sustainable, while Edwards at Man United saw what the Premier League was and would be. If you're not with Risso and me, you're Doug Ellis in 1992, you'll be the reason we watch other clubs lift silverware on TV as we have done for 30 years.

The best part of going to the Villa for me, is doing it with my Cheshire born 8 year old. Who talks my head off about the Villa, in love with a club and a city he's not from. That relationship works just as well in the best stadium in the country, with more silverware and the best in Europe getting done.

Hear hear!

[Steve67]

Perhaps it's time to reset the poll?

[SamTheMouse]

Brum doesn't have a proper top-class stadium, which is a bit sad for Britain's second city.

[OCD]

A new stadium could still pay respect to our traditions and history, perhaps more so than the ground currently does.

[CT Villan]

I've always wondered why we don't move Trinity Rd towards Aston Hall and incorporate the extra land into VP. Maybe the land is not available for purchase, but if it was it would remove the need to buy the houses on the Witton side. We could then redevelop the existing site and substantially change the footprint.

[Mister E]

As someone who moved away from the area many years' ago, travelling, parking and then hanging around for 3 hours before kick-off is a total pain in the arse. The travel into and out of the area is often also a pain in the arse. When I do arrive, there's really nothing to do since most of the pubs have closed and there are no decent eating establishments.
I don't see the club and / or the council being able to deal with these issues, and - ironically - redeveloping the ground for 60-65,000 spectators will make everything mentioned above even worse.
So, in principle a new site is required: question is - where?

[Somniloquism]

I've always wondered why we don't move Trinity Rd towards Aston Hall and incorporate the extra land into VP. Maybe the land is not available for purchase, but if it was it would remove the need to buy the houses on the Witton side. We could then redevelop the existing site and substantially change the footprint.

A crap load of trees we would need to remove which would get lots of protests and also it starts getting quite a camber on closer to the hall, so we would also need to remove lots of earth for Witton Road etc. A few months ago, I mentioned purchasing the properties on Nelson Road (and maybe Jardine depending on the space needed) and expand out all the land where the current ticket office is, that would give the footprint then. However either work would cost alot, and would also mean arranging a ground share for two to three years.

[pauliewalnuts]

Having had time to sleep on it, I'm still dead set against moving from Villa Park. However, if we were to do similar to what Spurs have done then that might be acceptable to me.

I'm thinking literally that we move over to the other side of Witton Lane. This would of course mean buying the housing estate opposite the current site (so, Holte Rd, Yew Tree Rd, Village Rd, etc) and so would be potentially unpalateable to many people, not least the residents. That said, if Villa (or the holding company) are prepared to compensate existing residents adequately/fairly then, combined with a local government who are skint then it perhaps could be a goer.

I envisange the new centre spot being roughly in line with the back of the present Holte End giving a potential footprint from it that extends out to a 150m radius (similar to Spurs and Arsenal, see image below). I imagine then that new stands would be built to mirror (in location, if not in design) the North, Doug Ellis and Holte End stands. The new stadium opens with only the three new stands, meanwhile the existing Villa Park is demolished allowing the final stand to be built over the existing Witton Lane and existing Doug Ellis stand. The advantage of this is that, unlike Spurs, we don't have to decamp elsewhere during construction. Instead we move into a new, three-quarters built stadium (presumably with a capacity around that or more of the current Villa Park).

Also, with this suggestion, pre- and post-match habits don't have to change significantly if people don't want them to. They can park where they do presently, go to the same pub and chippy as they do presently. Even if this isn't a big deal to yourself, you'll certainly know other fans for who it would be a big deal.

In terms of infrastructure, there would now be space for a "Villa Live" type venue, as well as an improved club shop and whatever attractions they can dream up, giving people a reason not to just rush off after games (at least for sensibly timed weekend games). And with the space thats available after the demolishion of old VP, possibly a new rail station with multiple platforms to get people away to New St, Erdington/Sutton, Walsall and beyond. I know this last bit needs a lot of co-operation with multiple third parties, but if we're going big then why not? Also, if they is co-operation with local authorities then a temporary one-way system down Aston Hall Rd towards Spaghetti Junction (like they used to do).

I also realise this doesn't answer the obvious "what's in it for those providing the funds?" question, but if they've done this sort of thing elsewhere then why not for us?

Casually throw in the need to buy hundreds of homes there, like it’s easy. It isn’t.

We’ve got space for a Villa Live and bigger shop where we are now.

You’re going to build a new station where the current site. What about the actual train line? If we could do that, we’d just be paying for the existing station to be improved.

The problem is, we are in an area where it made sense to have a football ground in the late Victorian years but does not now.

Risso is right, Aston is a ropey deprived area which offers nothing, not even pubs now

I love our history and my family have been going to Villa Park since it was built. But they lived on Nelson Rd, Endicott Rd, Witton Road, Mansfield Road. Then they’d go to the many local pubs after.

The people who live in those roads now mostly have no interest, and there isn’t a market for pubs that only do decent trade for three hours 19 times a year.

It will be sad but there is now no way to compete without earning the money to do so. We can’t even just spend the money our owners  want to spend.

The comparison with Ellis and 1992 is spot on. We’re approaching a turning point and the choice is going to be to stay as we are and be as relevant as Albion or Blues and just accept it, or face up to facts and do something to remain the big club we think we are.

[The Edge]

I've always wondered why we don't move Trinity Rd towards Aston Hall and incorporate the extra land into VP. Maybe the land is not available for purchase, but if it was it would remove the need to buy the houses on the Witton side. We could then redevelop the existing site and substantially change the footprint.

I suggested this a while back and got a bit of stick for my troubles! It's worth remembering that the original stadium was built on a boating lake and fairground which was part of the original Aston Park lower grounds. So there is a precedent.