NSWE Investment

[Toronto Villa]

How long has Witton Station been something that needs improving? Forever or close to it is a reasonable answer. If we are relying on local government then things never will happen fast enough. We need to take matters into our own hands as much as possible and create a Villa Park for the future. I don’t want us looking back on this opportunity and wondering what if? Something we did all the time under Doug and more recently Lerner. We have a massive chance now to bridge the gap to the top of the table. Won’t be easy but it will require us pulling out all the stops on and off the pitch.

[pauliewalnuts]

Make it about the fans, not the people who want a prawn-fucking sandwich and a comfy seat. Give me a standing space, a pie and a pint. Give me the chance to buy them, a chance to piss and shit them out after and let me get to and from the ground.

Football hasn't been about that for decades, though, and it never will be again, either. You also mentioned the sponsors - sponsors are the very people who want those improved corporate facilities.

If the area is a shithole, help the community have some pride, invest money in that and welcoming local people to the club and give them something too.

The club aren't going to be able to turn Aston around, it's a much bigger problem than that, and it's not even the club's problem to fix.

In fact, the thing the club could do to improve Aston most (for the people who live there) would probably be to leave it.

It's all very well for us as (largely middle class) fans who go in and straight out 20 times a season to talk about what's best for the area, but it's another thing for the people who have to live with the disruption caused.

[exigo]

How long has Witton Station been something that needs improving? Forever or close to it is a reasonable answer. If we are relying on local government then things never will happen fast enough. We need to take matters into our own hands as much as possible and create a Villa Park for the future. I don’t want us looking back on this opportunity and wondering what if? Something we did all the time under Doug and more recently Lerner. We have a massive chance now to bridge the gap to the top of the table. Won’t be easy but it will require us pulling out all the stops on and off the pitch.

It's how you get around the problem though. White Hart Lane station has been extended, but there are still huge queues. So, Spurs keep the ground open long after and sell more food and drink to add to the revenue.
Problem at Villa is everyone starts getting twitchy on 70 minutes, because you either dash out on or before the whistle, or get stuck in a queue for ages. The only people given the option to stay around and have another drink are the people who coughed up over £100 for the privilege. The plebs get an empty concourse and told to eff off.

[Mister E]

The money we'll generate isn't the matchgoers, it's TV and the sponsors.
Make it about the fans, not the people who want a prawn-fucking sandwich and a comfy seat.

It's both / and: it's about stadium utilisation, TV and sponsors; it's about the fans; and, it's about the premium punters who will spend a lot of money for the occasional game. We have to chase it all!

[Chris Smith]

Who builds the travel infrastructure? Who makes Aston somewhere you'd want to visit right now for a drink, something to eat etc? How do you bridge the city centre to get that foot traffic all year round?

The same issues will apply to a new build unless it’s in the city centre and that just isn’t going to happen.

[Toronto Villa]

How long has Witton Station been something that needs improving? Forever or close to it is a reasonable answer. If we are relying on local government then things never will happen fast enough. We need to take matters into our own hands as much as possible and create a Villa Park for the future. I don’t want us looking back on this opportunity and wondering what if? Something we did all the time under Doug and more recently Lerner. We have a massive chance now to bridge the gap to the top of the table. Won’t be easy but it will require us pulling out all the stops on and off the pitch.

It's how you get around the problem though. White Hart Lane station has been extended, but there are still huge queues. So, Spurs keep the ground open long after and sell more food and drink to add to the revenue.
Problem at Villa is everyone starts getting twitchy on 70 minutes, because you either dash out on or before the whistle, or get stuck in a queue for ages. The only people given the option to stay around and have another drink are the people who coughed up over £100 for the privilege. The plebs get an empty concourse and told to eff off.

The question then becomes does the surrounding area or the immediate vicinity of Villa Park allow for entertainment to keep fans behind and avoid the rush at the station? Or the real question is do Villa fans actually want to remain in Aston after a game for a couple of hours, and do the local residents want pissed up supporters roaming the streets? No to both I imagine.

[pauliewalnuts]

We don't know what is going to happen, and where, but given the background of the people appointed as directors of the club, the fact one of them runs a Sawiris company which has been building stadiums in Egypt, one of them represents Comcast who are infrastructure people, and the other one was appointed by Edens to build the Bucks a new stadium is the biggest possible hint that something is going to happen.

[exigo]

How long has Witton Station been something that needs improving? Forever or close to it is a reasonable answer. If we are relying on local government then things never will happen fast enough. We need to take matters into our own hands as much as possible and create a Villa Park for the future. I don’t want us looking back on this opportunity and wondering what if? Something we did all the time under Doug and more recently Lerner. We have a massive chance now to bridge the gap to the top of the table. Won’t be easy but it will require us pulling out all the stops on and off the pitch.

It's how you get around the problem though. White Hart Lane station has been extended, but there are still huge queues. So, Spurs keep the ground open long after and sell more food and drink to add to the revenue.
Problem at Villa is everyone starts getting twitchy on 70 minutes, because you either dash out on or before the whistle, or get stuck in a queue for ages. The only people given the option to stay around and have another drink are the people who coughed up over £100 for the privilege. The plebs get an empty concourse and told to eff off.

The question then becomes does the surrounding area or the immediate vicinity of Villa Park allow for entertainment to keep fans behind and avoid the rush at the station? Or the real question is do Villa fans actually want to remain in Aston after a game for a couple of hours, and do the local residents want pissed up supporters roaming the streets? No to both I imagine.

Well, we've put in a fanzone for two hours beforehand selling booze, so it's hardly rocket science to spread the load afterwards and be less of an inconvenience.

[Ads]

Who builds the travel infrastructure? Who makes Aston somewhere you'd want to visit right now for a drink, something to eat etc? How do you bridge the city centre to get that foot traffic all year round?

The same issues will apply to a new build unless it’s in the city centre and that just isn’t going to happen.

How do you know?

[paul_e]

Who builds the travel infrastructure? Who makes Aston somewhere you'd want to visit right now for a drink, something to eat etc? How do you bridge the city centre to get that foot traffic all year round?

The same issues will apply to a new build unless it’s in the city centre and that just isn’t going to happen.

That really depends on what you see as the city centre though. As someone said earlier give it a few years and matalan island will be the edge of the city centre, anything round there just becomes another step on path to the much expanded city centre that the council is desperate to achieve. I like the idea of the gas towers site but if not there you can find plenty of areas around hockley and the jewellery/gun quarters where buying industrial/warehouse units would give us the sort of footprint we'd need.

[Toronto Villa]

How long has Witton Station been something that needs improving? Forever or close to it is a reasonable answer. If we are relying on local government then things never will happen fast enough. We need to take matters into our own hands as much as possible and create a Villa Park for the future. I don’t want us looking back on this opportunity and wondering what if? Something we did all the time under Doug and more recently Lerner. We have a massive chance now to bridge the gap to the top of the table. Won’t be easy but it will require us pulling out all the stops on and off the pitch.

It's how you get around the problem though. White Hart Lane station has been extended, but there are still huge queues. So, Spurs keep the ground open long after and sell more food and drink to add to the revenue.
Problem at Villa is everyone starts getting twitchy on 70 minutes, because you either dash out on or before the whistle, or get stuck in a queue for ages. The only people given the option to stay around and have another drink are the people who coughed up over £100 for the privilege. The plebs get an empty concourse and told to eff off.

The question then becomes does the surrounding area or the immediate vicinity of Villa Park allow for entertainment to keep fans behind and avoid the rush at the station? Or the real question is do Villa fans actually want to remain in Aston after a game for a couple of hours, and do the local residents want pissed up supporters roaming the streets? No to both I imagine.

Well, we've put in a fanzone for two hours beforehand selling booze, so it's hardly rocket science to spread the load afterwards and be less of an inconvenience.

I would argue before and after are very different propositions.

[simboy]

The Holte pub serves beer post game and is usually rammed, as are a couple of other places. So there’s a demand.

[saunders_heroes]

Who builds the travel infrastructure? Who makes Aston somewhere you'd want to visit right now for a drink, something to eat etc? How do you bridge the city centre to get that foot traffic all year round?

The same issues will apply to a new build unless it’s in the city centre and that just isn’t going to happen.

How do you know?

Agreed. It’s not beyond the wit of man to buy up city centre land/buildings to free up space for a stadium.
I’d love to see a Villa stadium in the the city centre. Imagine getting the train into New St/Moor St/Snow Hill then enjoying the bars and restaurants of town before going to the match. Aston is our spiritual home but it’s run down, unwelcoming and we’ve outgrown the place, and if we don’t keep up with the Jones’ we’ll be left behind by our peers.
It’s time for a bit of ambition.

[Stu]

Would the Smithfield site even be big enough? The footprint of VP is massive. Not only that but the traffic up Sherlock St would be fucking mental after a game. With that said, as it’s right next to Sherlock St, the noses wouldn’t be able to find it if we ever got them in a cup tie.

[PeterWithe]

Aye, the owners didn't become billionaires by taking the view that things cant get done if there are a few obstacles in the way of doing it.